What actually happens
The doll was only the warm-up
In 1968 the demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren look into the Annabelle case. Two friends, Debbie and Camilla, have a doll, and they let a spirit calling itself Annabelle Higgins, a seven-year-old, attach itself to it. The haunting gets worse, and the Warrens say the doll itself was never possessed. It was a way in for a demonic spirit that wanted one of the friends. Three years later, Roger and Carolyn Perron arrive at a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, bringing their five daughters, Andrea, Nancy, Christine, Cindy and April. Their dog, Sadie, will not go inside. The family finds a boarded-up cellar, and within the first few nights the clocks all stop at 3:07 a.m., Carolyn finds fresh bruises every morning, and someone finds Sadie dead in the yard. Both Carolyn and Christine run into a malevolent spirit.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
The Church wants a letter from the Vatican
Carolyn calls the Warrens, who investigate. Lorraine, a clairvoyant, senses a dark entity attached to the family, one that will follow them even if they leave. The Warrens set up cameras and bells with their assistant Drew Thomas and a police officer, Brad Hamilton. Research turns up Bathsheba Sherman, who was accused of being a witch and a Satanist, gave her week-old baby up as a sacrifice to the devil, and took her own life in 1863 at 3:07 a.m. after cursing anyone who takes her land. Murders and suicides have been reported in the houses built there ever since. Bathsheba then takes full possession of Carolyn, and Lorraine sees a spirit in the cellar, a woman Bathsheba once forced to kill her own child. Lorraine realizes Bathsheba will make Carolyn do the same. The Warrens have enough evidence to ask the Catholic Church for an exorcism, but Father Gordon says approval has to come from the Vatican, since the Perron family are not members.
Ed does the exorcism himself
As a warning, Bathsheba attacks Judy, the Warrens' daughter. The Perron family moves to a motel, but the possessed Carolyn goes back to the old house with Christine and April, planning to kill them. With no time left to wait for the Vatican, Ed, Lorraine and Brad strap Carolyn into a chair, and Ed performs the exorcism himself. This is the scene people dread: Carolyn gets loose and goes after April, and Lorraine stops her by calling up a memory the family shares, which gives Ed the opening to finish. It is the climax and it is loud.
The ending, explained
Ed finishes the exorcism, and Bathsheba is condemned back to Hell. Carolyn is free of her. Back home, Ed puts the haunted music box from the Perron house in the room where the Warrens keep cursed objects from their past cases. Roger, Carolyn and all five daughters make it through the haunting. The only casualty the movie names is Sadie the dog, who was found dead in the yard in the first few nights.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: not fine, and it happens early.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is The Conjuring scary?
Yes, The Conjuring is a 6.5 out of 10 with medium dread. It is a haunted house built on well-timed jump scares, with a loud exorcism at the end and a family that makes it through.
How does The Conjuring end?
Ed performs the exorcism himself after Lorraine reaches Carolyn through a shared family memory, and Bathsheba is condemned back to Hell. The Perron family survives, and Ed adds a haunted music box to the Warrens' collection of cursed objects.
Does the dog die in The Conjuring?
Yes, the dog dies in The Conjuring. Sadie refuses to enter the farmhouse and is found dead in the yard soon after. Birds are also shown flying into glass and suffering.
Is there a post-credits scene in The Conjuring?
No. The Conjuring has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is Bathsheba in The Conjuring?
Bathsheba Sherman was accused of being a witch and a Satanist, and took her own life in 1863 at 3:07 a.m., after cursing anyone who takes her land. In The Conjuring her spirit possesses Carolyn Perron, and the Warrens have to get it out.
