Ed and Lorraine Warren are perhaps considered amongst the most controversial figures in the world of the paranormal. The married couple had started making a name for themselves through paranormal investigation as early as 1952, and during those years, they created their own group, New England Society for Psychic Research. They took a deep look at many cases of hauntings and supernatural phenomena at that time; however, it was during the 1960s when Ed and Lorraine began to focus more on demonic activity and possession, a subject that soon terrified the world after movies like The Exorcist and The Omen landed in cinemas.
Lorraine was a self-professed medium and clairvoyant who claimed that she could sense spirit presence and demonic energy, and Ed was a Catholic who studied demonology and used his knowledge to aid the couple in their investigations. They were both, much like anyone involved in the paranormal, considered controversial – there were always critics and cynics, and certainly the pair had their fair share of ridicule, but whether people believed in them or not, the truth is, they were involved in some of the most high-profile haunting and demonic cases of all time. For that reason (amongst others), they garnered a lot of respect and attention throughout their careers.
Over the ensuing years, the Warrens’ cases caught the media’s attention, and soon books, TV interviews, and then films followed, making a mark on the entertainment world and bringing a whole new generation of wannabe ghostbusters and horror fans into the fold.
Those who loved a scary movie soon found that the Warrens were at the heart of many of the most terrifying stories to hit our screens. Few would watch the frightening scenes and imagine that these things happened in real life, but that’s exactly what Ed and Lorraine told the world: Demons are real, evil exists, and they had witnessed it firsthand. Perhaps one of the most famous cases of the Warrens involved Annabelle the doll, something I wrote about in my book, A Cursed Collection of Haunted Dolls. This case, involving an apparently demonically possessed Raggedy Anne doll, caught the public’s attention as soon as it hit headlines in the ’70s. The account is so strange and unsettling that it was bound to capture people’s attention, and it’s not surprising that the movies based on the Warrens’ case are among horror fans’ favorites.
The alleged true account of Annabelle is every bit as creepy as the later movie depictions. It was the year 1970, and 25-year-old nurse Dierdre Bernard was given the large Raggedy Ann doll from her mother as a quirky birthday gift. Bernard lived with her roommate, Lara Clifton, and Clifton’s partner, Cal Rendall. Soon after the toy was placed in the apartment shared by the three young nurses, they began to notice strange things, such as the doll being found in a different position than when they had left it. Soon, they began finding notes around their home, too, written in child-like handwriting.
The three inhabitants decided to contact a medium to ask if there was something going on with the cute Raggedy Ann doll. A medium readily attended and confirmed there was a spirit attached to the doll — according to the spiritualist, a ghost of a child called Annabelle Higgins, aged 7, had died in the local area and wanted to ask if she could have permission to possess the doll. The three nurses agreed, thinking the ghost of a child would be harmless, yet after the meeting with the medium, things went from strange to worse. Spots of red were found on the doll that resembled blood. More troubling was the fact that Cal Rendall had been suffering nightmares about Annabelle and was physically attacked with severe scratches in an empty room of the apartment.
All of this led the troubled trio to contact a local Episcopal priest named Father Hegan, who in turn contacted his superior, Father Cooke. Cooke immediately got in touch with the famous and respected paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Warrens visited and examined the doll, confirming that there was indeed an energy attached to it, but it was not the spirit of a young girl. It was a demonic spirit who was seeking to possess not the toy, but one of the people living at the apartment. The doll was merely a conduit to something darker and sinister.
The Warrens convinced Father Cooke to perform an exorcism on the apartment in order to cleanse the home. He also blessed the individuals who were in attendance. At Dierdre’s request, the Warrens took the Raggedy Ann Doll with them when they departed. It remained in their possession until their deaths, after which it stayed on display at their Occult Museum, which was passed on to family members.
The infamous Annabelle doll made its mark across the world — the story itself was shared publicly by the Warrens after their investigation of it, and it soon understandably made headlines. Annabelle became a horror fan’s ultimate icon, and whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, she is certainly considered by many to be one of the most dangerous and haunted items in the world.
There were three movies released linking to the Annabelle case – Annabelle, Annabelle Creation, and Annabelle Comes Home. Although the movies drifted into dramatization and added fictionalized elements to the case, they highlighted an account said to be rooted in true events and certainly brought to the public’s attention the idea that an object, such as a doll, could be haunted.
Whilst Annabelle is likely the case that most people are familiar with, there is also a close contender: The Amityville Horror. This case was first presented in a film in 1979. Directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder, the story follows the Lutz family and their 28-day nightmare after moving into a haunted home in Long Island, where multiple murders tragically occurred. The murders had been committed by Ronald DeFeo Jr, who awoke one night and killed his family. The Lutz family experienced very disturbing events after moving into the house, which even affected their children, and resulted in them reaching out to Ed and Lorraine Warren, who investigated the property and agreed there were demonic forces at work.
The film itself was met with mixed reviews from critics; it brought the story of the Lutz family to the mainstream and showed how people still took the idea of dark spiritual forces seriously. Fast forward to 2005, and a remake of the Amityville movie was released, this time starring Melissa George and directed by Andrew Douglas. It was a testament to the power of the story itself that the account of what happened to the Lutz family still had such a gravitational pull in popular culture. Again met with mixed reviews, the flick still seems to have become something of a favorite among ardent horror fans, thanks to its tense scenes and atmospheric portrayal of life in the haunted Long Island home over 28 traumatic days. With the second film release, the Amityville case was firmly planted in public consciousness and brought a whole new level of interest to Ed and Lorraine Warren’s work in the paranormal field.
It was in 2013 that the horror world met the first of what was to become known as The Conjuring franchise. To date, there have been four films in The Conjuring series (The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Conjuring: Last Rites). There have been a whopping nine films (at the time of writing) that link to cases that Ed and Lorraine investigated. Those flicks include The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona and their subsequent spin-offs.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It was a standout because it was linked back to a horrifying case that actually landed in court. The 2021 movie is based on the 1981 murder trial of 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson. He fatally stabbed his landlord, Alan Bono, but claimed demonic possession was the reason for his actions, alleging that a demon had jumped from a young boy into him. This made it the first US trial to use this as a defense in a court of law – quite a striking fact, when you think about it. The film packs quite a powerful punch and has become quite a fan favorite.
Whatever people’s opinions on Ed and Lorraine, few can argue that they had a huge impact on the paranormal world as we understand it now, and that subsequently they have impacted horror culture in a meaningful way, with their work being highlighted and dramatized in some of the most popular releases of recent years.
There are many cases that the couple were involved in that have not yet been captured in film, so it’ll be interesting to see if Hollywood has more to depict on their life and the spooky experiences surrounding them.
Fiona Dodwell is a freelance journalist and author who has written several fictional paranormal books. Her latest release is a nonfiction book, A Cursed Collection of Haunted Dolls, which details true-life accounts of haunted and cursed dolls. She has been featured on BBC Radio, The Mirror, Fate and Fortune Magazine, Haunted Magazine and many more. You can find her on Instagram, X and Tiktok.
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