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Despite making many scary movies over his career, The Conjuring: Last Rites director Michael Chaves says he was never really a big believer in the supernatural, that is, until he had his first paranormal experience whilst filming the new horror movie.
"We shot [The Conjuring: Last Rites] in London, and I actually stayed in a haunted house. And I was, honestly, mostly, entirely a skeptic before shooting this movie," says Chaves to GamesRadar+. The director added that he and his family were staying at an "old vicarage" at the time of filming, which is the name given to a house where a vicar lives or once lived, as provided by the church.
"So my daughter one day showed me a picture on her iPad," continues Chaves. "It was like a picture down the hall, and she was like, Do you see the man in the hall? It was kind of like shadowy, and there was like a mirror there, which obviously was kind of like in the movie. And I'm like, 'Sweetie, you're probably listening to me making the movie,' because I'm looking at it. I'm like, I can't see the figure or anything."
However, Chaves didn't remain a skeptic for long. "So everyone leaves to see a show. The whole house is empty… This place is like, over 200 years old. I wouldn't be surprised, 300 years old. This was, like, you know, super old Harry Potter house. I'm downstairs. I'm playing video games. It's totally quiet, and I hear voices. I hear male voices." In a bid to find out who was talking, Chaves says he turned off the TV and looked outside, around the house, to find the culprit. But there was no one there.
"I hear it, and it sounds like it's coming from inside the house… It's like articulated, like two male voices talking to each other. Went through every room in the house, and there was, like, no one there, but literally, the spookiest experience I ever had," adds Chaves. "And honestly, it was like the combination of that and then working with the Smurl sisters on the film… I am totally a believer after it, 100%”
Chaves has been involved with the franchise for many years, directing The Nun II, as well as The Conjuring 3, aka The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Curse of La Llorona. However, with a decade of making horror films under his belt, it seems fitting that the Warrens' final on-screen outing would bring Chaves' first ghostly encounter.
The Conjuring: Last Rites hits screens on September 5. For more, check out our guides on how to watch The Conjuring movies in order and our ranking of The Conjuring movies, and keep up with upcoming horror movies.
