Written by Lauren Lutz

The Conjuring (2013) presents to audiences a ghost who could be considered as pure evil–or perhaps she simply loves Satan. Bathsheba haunts the Perron family as they move into their new home in Rhode Island. Unbeknownst to the amiable Perron clan, they are relocating to a cursed plot of land. The not-so-honorable Bathsheba hexed it right after she sacrificed her newborn son to Satan. To ensure her ability to watch over the home forever, she hung herself from a tree near the house, trapping her spirit within the cursed land.

The powerful Bathsheba targets Carolyn Perron, the mother of the bunch, most heavily. She possesses Carolyn in her bed by vomiting straight into her mouth, purging her dark spirit straight into Carolyn’s body. Throughout the movie, Bathsheba is a vile creature with bluish skin, stringy hair, dark eyes, and an inhuman smile. This riveting moment where her vomit enters Carolyn as she floats over her body, wearing the nightgown she hung herself in, paints the truly revolting picture that her ghost represents.

A paranormal investigative team aids the Perrons in finding out what is haunting their new home. Upon discovering Bathsheba’s backstory, they uncover her ghost’s motive: she possesses the mother to kill the child. To keep Carolyn from suffering Bathsheba’s fate, the team draws the spirit out of her body. The ghostly Bathsheba is thwarted, empty-handed without a child’s soul to sacrifice to her beloved Satan, and the Perron family makes it out of the cursed home intact. Bathsheba’s tenacious love for Satan overrides any compassion she has for humanity. She uses her ghostly presence to rip apart families and gain what she wants, making her an evil, terrifying presence in The Conjuring.

Works Cited

The Conjuring. Dir. James Wan. Perf. Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, and Ron Livingston. New Line Cinema, 2013. Film.