It is a cold October night and the cue for some suspense is echoing through streaming libraries. Netflix, the ever-growing home of horror, welcomes True Haunting, a fresh supernatural entry that stirs up comparisons to the iconic The Conjuring films. Certain familiar names and spectral tales inspired by "true stories" swirl in every headline. Are these chilling sagas separated by genre, or does a ghostly thread truly connect them?

Before someone calls the Warrens, let us separate salt-from-sugar in this twisted Netflix séance.

Despite rampant speculation, True Haunting is not formally linked to The Conjuring movies. The newest Netflix spine-chiller lands as a docuseries produced by James Wan’s Atomic Monster, the same as for The Conjuring movies, in partnership with RAW, but stands wholly apart from the fictionalized world of Ed Warren and Lorraine Warren popularized by The Conjuring franchise. The Netflix series paints its own eerie portrait, recounting real-life hauntings, including the infamous Erie Hall episode with Chris DiCesare, focusing on firsthand testimony and documentary detail.

Much of the confusion emerges because the Warrens did briefly visit Geneseo College during the 1984 haunting involving Chris DiCesare, the central figure in one True Haunting episode. However, The Conjuring movies have never used this case as a basis; instead, they are known for adapting other Warren investigations like the Perron family ordeal and Enfield Poltergeist in The Conjuring (2013 )  and The Conjuring 2 in 2016. The proximity of subject matter and the presence of the Warrens as paranormal luminaries does not equate to shared narrative universes or crossovers of the two cinematic p

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Just because horror shares a crypt does not mean every ghost is part of the same family tree.

Regardless of any ties, real or imagined, The Conjuring changed horror cinema with its atmospheric style and dramatization of legendary cases, while True Haunting pushes the genre in a documentary direction. The Conjuring cements itself as a genre pillar, blending fact with fear as a Hollywood spectacle, whereas True Haunting finds its niche by spotlighting firsthand experiences and historic documentation to create present-day chills. Each property reshapes what “true” horror means for viewers on its own terms.

Even though Ed and Lorraine Warren briefly appear in both the real and fictional tapestries, Netflix’s True Haunting is not derived from nor officially tied to the grandly finalized The Conjuring cinematic universe. Horror enthusiasts are treated to two distinct flavors of supernatural horror—one cinematic, one documentary—both making vital, separate contributions to horror’s modern conversation.

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What do you think of the horror legacies of True Haunting and The Conjuring haunting each other? Let us know in the comments below.