If you enjoy the 'Conjuring' franchise movies, you need to know the life of the Warren couple. Ed and Lorraine Warren served as the greatest inspiration for the productions and actors Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga came to life on screen.
In the couple's trajectory, the most popular cases they consulted were the 'Raggedy Ann Doll' investigation and the Arne Cheyenne Johnson trial (also known as the 'The Devil Made Me Do It' case).
Although the Warren couple's life itself is a controversy in itself, it is worth getting to know them. After all, would they be a hoax or would they be pioneers of the science known as demonology? Anyway, the supernatural horrors they faced yielded the scripts we know.
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10) Strong belief in God
The couple believed and worked investigating supernatural entities. They even claimed that there was more chance for demonic forces to possess those who had no faith.
However (or for that very reason), they argued that faith in a god helped people to beat the threats of spirits and demons.
That's what Lorraine Warren told The Irish Independent newspaper: “When there's no religion, it's absolutely frightening. This is your protection. God is your protection. It doesn't matter what your religion is."
9) The Warrens Trained Other Demonologists
The couple took it upon themselves to train future religious demonologists. Among them, the best known would be Dave Considine. In addition to working as the lead investigator for the Warrens, he has participated in paranormal reality shows, such as the History Channel's Mystery Quest.
Another student who learned the trade from the couple was his own nephew John Zaffis. He devoted himself to years of training before starting his solo career.
8) The Warrens founded a research society
As soon as they began their investigations into the supernatural world, Ed and Lorraine Warren founded a research society. It was created in 1952 and was called the 'New England Society for Psychic Research' (NESPR).
It is currently headquartered in Monroe, Connecticut and is supported by the couple's daughter and her husband; Judy Spera serves as co-director and Tony Spera as administrator.
Thus, the NESPR continues its work in fighting the forces of another world. To do this, it recruits investigators, religious advisers and 'spiritual warfare advisers'.
7) The case in Amityville
In 1974, young Ronald DeFeo Jr., then 23 years old, shot and brutally killed his entire family in a house located in Amityville, New York.
The following year, George and Kathreen Lutz moved into the house. But a month later, they rushed out claiming the house had a demonic presence.
So, enter the Warrens. Along with other paranormal investigators and media publications, they went to the scene and even photographed a demonic boy standing at the bottom of a staircase. However, debates over the authenticity of the photo continue to this day.
6) Youth romance
Ed and Lorraine dated as teenagers, when they were both 16 years old. They met for the first time while Lorraine was working as a theater assistant in 1944. The following year, Ed left to serve in World War II.
Ed had enlisted in the Navy and returned to the United States after his ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean. So he took advantage of a 30-day leave of absence to marry Lorraine. Some time later, before returning to the role, they had a daughter named Judy.
5) They faced real life Annabelle
In the 'Annabelle' movies, the protagonist is made of porcelain and has a frightening facial expression. In real life, this was a 'Raggedy Ann Doll', which was first marketed in the 1910s. It was a simple rag doll with red hair and a triangle nose.
The version the Warrens collected was given as a gift to a nursing student. However, the student's roommates became convinced that the doll was evil and possessed by a girl named Annabelle. After removing the possessed doll, the Warrens placed it in a glass case to be part of the Hidden Museum's collection.
4) They had a Hidden Museum
In their vast career of supernatural investigation, the Warrens have collected various haunted relics such as the Annabelle doll and a coffin that supposedly belonged to a vampire.
The items are housed in the Warren Occult Museum, which is located in the same NESPR headquarters. The items were also curated by Tony Spera, the couple's son-in-law.
However, the museum closed its doors in 2019 for zoning reasons. That is, he was in a residential building and his numerous visitors caused disturbances to the neighbors.
3) Lorraine appears in Summoning of Evil
In addition to serving as a consultant on the first 'The Conjuring', Lorraine Warren made a brief cameo in the film:
She (black suit and white hair) appears briefly among the seated audience in the scene where the 'Stages of Possession' are being explained by the Warrens.
Lorraine even appeared at the Los Angeles premiere:
The demonologist and psychic also made a cameo in 1991's The Haunted, a horror drama based on a book by the Warrens.
2) Ed Warren was an aspiring painter
When he returned from World War II, Ed Warren enrolled at the Perry Art School, a subsidiary of Yale University. His subjects of interest were mostly haunted houses in his home state of Connecticut.
In 1952 he left school to sell his art. With Lorraine's help, they set up booths in places in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In the same year, they founded NESPR.
1) Paranormality in childhood
Ed and Lorraine had their first encounters with the supernatural in childhood. According to Connecticut Magazine (April 1972), Ed Warren claims that at the age of five he identified that the house his family had moved into, located on the east side of Bridgeport, was haunted. However, her father and a state trooper did not acknowledge the presence of ghosts in the house.
Lorraine Warren claims to have discovered her clairvoyant abilities at the age of 12. According to an account in Gerald Brittle's non-fiction book 'The Demonologist', she had a vision of a tree just as a sapling was planted, implying her powers to see the future.
Via: Screen Rant
