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Spoiler Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Conjuring (2013).
The ending of The Conjuring feels like a victory but horror movies rarely let families walk away without leaving something behind.
Ed and Lorraine Warren rescue Carolyn Perron from the possession threatening her life, and the family survives the terrifying events inside their farmhouse. But the film leaves an unsettling question hanging in the air: Did the Perron family truly escape the haunting, or did the evil simply retreat?
What Happens During the Final Exorcism?
Carolyn becomes possessed by Bathsheba and is taken back to the farmhouse with two of her daughters. The Warrens and the family find her attempting to harm April, forcing Ed to act before a priest can arrive.
Ed begins the exorcism while Roger, Brad, and Drew try to restrain Carolyn. But the ritual becomes increasingly dangerous, and Carolyn breaks free.
As she prepares to attack April, Lorraine reminds her of a happy family memory and urges her to remember the love she has for her children. Carolyn briefly reconnects with her identity as a mother, giving Ed the opportunity to complete the exorcism.
Bathsheba is expelled, and Carolyn returns to normal. The family embraces outside the house in the morning, creating the appearance of a happy ending.
Was Bathsheba Really Defeated?
According to the movie, yes. Ed condemns Bathsheba back to Hell, and the immediate possession ends.
However, the final scene introduces an important warning. Ed places the music box from the Perron home inside the Warrens’ collection of haunted objects. After the couple leaves the room, the music box begins playing on its own.
This suggests that supernatural evil may not be something that can be permanently destroyed. The Warrens can remove an entity from a person or contain a dangerous object, but the film implies that the threat may continue to exist.
The music box therefore works as a final horror signal: the case may be over, but the world of cursed objects remains dangerous.
Why Does the Music Box Open by Itself?
The music box is connected to April’s experiences and Lorraine’s vision of another woman who suffered under Bathsheba’s influence.
When it plays in the Warrens’ artifact room, the film leaves the exact meaning open. It could suggest that the haunting has not been completely eliminated, or that supernatural forces remain active even after the exorcism.
It also reinforces Ed’s explanation that an object connected to evil cannot necessarily be made harmless simply by removing it from its original location.
The movie does not explicitly confirm that Bathsheba has returned. The scene is designed to leave viewers uncomfortable rather than provide a clear supernatural answer.
Did the Perron Family Really Escape?
From the movie’s perspective, the family escapes the immediate danger. Carolyn is alive, her daughters are safe, and the family reunites outside the house.
But the reported real-life story is very different.
The Perron family lived in the farmhouse from 1971 to 1980. Andrea Perron has said that the paranormal experiences continued for years and that the Warren investigation did not end with the kind of successful exorcism shown in the movie. She also described a séance that allegedly left her family deeply disturbed.
This means the film’s conclusion should not be treated as a verified account of what happened in real life. The movie compresses years of reported experiences into a dramatic horror story with a clear climax.
The Darker Meaning of the Ending
The final scene works because it gives the audience relief before taking some of it away.
Carolyn is saved, but the music box reminds us that evil has not necessarily disappeared from the world. The Warrens continue collecting dangerous artifacts, meaning their work is far from finished.
There is also a thematic contrast between family love and supernatural violence. Lorraine reaches Carolyn through a memory of her children, suggesting that the emotional bond Bathsheba tries to destroy becomes the key to survival.
But the film’s happy ending is deliberately framed within a larger universe of continuing threats. The family escapes one crisis, while the Warrens carry another potentially dangerous object home.
Final Verdict: A Victory With an Uncomfortable Aftertaste
The Perron family survives the events of The Conjuring, and Carolyn is freed from possession. Within the movie’s story, the immediate haunting is defeated.
Yet the music box and the real-life accounts associated with the case complicate that victory. The film offers closure, while the reported history does not provide the same neat ending.
The family may have escaped the house’s immediate danger but the final music box scene reminds us that in the world of The Conjuring, evil is rarely ever truly gone.
FAQs
1. Does Carolyn survive at the end of The Conjuring?
Yes. In the film, Ed completes the exorcism, and Carolyn returns to her normal self before reuniting with her family.
2. Is Bathsheba still alive at the end of The Conjuring?
The movie presents Bathsheba as expelled and condemned to Hell. However, the music box scene leaves the broader supernatural threat open to interpretation.
3. Did the real Perron family experience the same exorcism?
Not according to Andrea Perron’s account. She has described a séance and other experiences, but the dramatic exorcism shown in the movie was a fictionalized part of the film’s story.
4. What does the music box symbolize?
The music box represents the continuing danger of haunted objects and the idea that removing an evil presence does not necessarily eliminate every supernatural threat.
5. Did the Perron family leave the farmhouse after the haunting?
The family reportedly remained in the farmhouse until 1980, despite the experiences they described. The movie presents a much more immediate resolution.