Ed & Lorraine Warren's Most Famous Cases

June 2, 2024, 9:10 a.m.

Movies

Ed & Lorraine Warren's Most Famous Cases

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Summary Ed and Lorraine Warren were the real-life paranormal investigators who inspired The Conjuring.

The Warrens' case files include some of the most famous hauntings in recent history.

These cases range from England's Enfield Poltergeist and Long Island's Amityville Horror.

Ed and Lorraine Warren, the inspiration behind the horror movie franchise The Conjuring, have been involved in some of the most notorious haunting cases in recent history. Ed, who lived from 1926 to 2006, was a demonologist, while Lorraine, who lived from 1927 to 2019, claimed to be clairvoyant. Together, the couple became America's most notorious paranormal investigators though, over the years, the majority of their claims have been thoroughly debunked by various sources.

Despite their real-life studies being widely discredited, their case files have been used as the loose basis for the Conjuring universe movies, which star Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine respectively. The franchise, which is still growing, now spans eight movies including installments from subfranchises such as Annabelle and The Nun. It has also become the highest-grossing horror media franchise of all time, partially thanks to the lurid nature of the cases that the Warrens investigated, which also inspired other landmark horror projects.

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9 The Union Cemetery Case

Published By the Warrens in 1992

The Union Cemetery is one of the only major Ed and Lorraine Warren ghost cases to not be adapted into a horror feature or TV movie at some point in time. This may be the case because the story, which is detailed in the 1992 book Graveyard: True Hauntings from an Old New England Cemetery, doesn't have strong characters around which a narrative can be centered.

The Union Cemetery is located in Easton, Connecticut and has been said to be one of the most haunted cemeteries in the nation, which led to the Warren investigation of the property. During said investigation, Ed allegedly captured video of the location's notorious "White Lady" ghost, an apparition that had also been reported in Monroe, Connecticut's nearby Stepney Cemetery. However, aside from that there are no major incidents that have been reported in which the apparition has interacted, dangerously or otherwise, with a notable living person.

8 The Southend Werewolf

Published By The Warrens In 1991

The Southend Werewolf is one of the most unusual cases among the incidents in the Warrens' files, which numbered over 1,000 over the course of their long careers. This case, which took place in the English town of Southend-on-Sea, was published by the Warrens in their 1991 book Werewolf: A True Story of Demonic Possession. While the claims contained therein don't technically involve a person transforming into a wolf, they take the shape of a much more uncommon form of possession than the usual Warren case.

The Southend case concerned local carpenter William Ramsey, who had unusual "seizures" that began when he was 9 and which led to periods of intense rage and violent behavior. After his seizures became more frequent as an adult, the Warrens visited Ramsey and convinced him to come to Connecticut for an exorcism performed by Bishop Robert McKenna, which they allege dispelled the demonic presence that was causing Ramsey's violent spells.

7 The Smurl Case

Published By The Warrens In 1988

The story of the Smurl family was captured in the 1988 book The Haunted: One Family's Nightmare. According to married couple Janet and Jack Smurl, a demon occupied their West Pittston, Pennsylvania home for more than a decade beginning in 1974. The allegations ranged from typical haunted house phenomena such as noises in the night to more extreme accusations including sexual assault. The Warrens first investigated the home in 1986 and Ed reported the demon writing a message on a mirror warning them to "get out."

In 1991, the story of this case was adapted into a two-hour TV movie titled The Haunted starring The Walking Dead's Jeffrey DeMunn and Oscar nominee Sally Kirkland. Although it wasn't the first feature-length adaptation of a Warren case, it was the first to feature the couple as onscreen characters, in this case played by Stephen Markle (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and Diane Baker (The Silence of the Lambs).

Related The Haunted Was The First Ed & Lorraine Warren Film (Before The Conjuring) Ed and Lorraine Warren's cases have been featured heavily in The Conjuring series, but the 1991 TV movie The Haunted was the first to feature them.

6 The Snedeker House

Published By The Warrens In 1992

Movies Inspired by the Snedeker House Title Year A Haunting in Connecticut 2002 The Haunting in Connecticut 2009

The case of the Snedeker House, which was captured in the Warrens' 1992 book In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting, is another one that the couple first investigated in 1986. It involved the Snedeker family, who had moved into a home that was formerly a funeral parlor. Although poltergeist activity was originally suspected to be the cause of mysterious happenings around the house, the Warrens report that the house was infested with demons.

A documentary about the case, featuring reenactments starring Brett Fleisher (Hearts in Atlantis) and titled A Haunting in Connecticut was produced in 2002 as a special introducing the Discovery show A Haunting, which would eventually run for 11 seasons and 115 total episodes. That TV movie was later adapted into the 2009 movie The Haunting in Connecticut, which starred Virginia Madsen (Candyman) and Kyle Gallner (Smile) and was followed by the unusually titled sequel The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia.

Related The Haunting In Connecticut True Story & Inspiration Explained 2009’s The Haunting In Connecticut is allegedly based on real events, but whether the horror movie really depicts a true story is difficult to tell.

5 The Arne Johnson Case

Investigated By The Warrens In 1981

Movies Inspired by Arne Johnson Title Year The Demon Murder Case 1983 Where Demons Dwell 2006 The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It 2021

In an investigation that was later captured in Gerald Brittle's 1983 book The Devil in Connecticut, the Warrens attempted to solve the possession of a young man in the early 1980s. This was followed by his older sister's fiancé, Arne Cheyenne Johnson, murdering his landlord in 1981. The Warrens claimed that this was also a case of demonic possession, and Johnson's trial - in which he claimed that he was Not Guilty by Reason of Demonic Possession - ignited a major media circus at the time.

This story was adapted into the 1983 television movie The Demon Murder Case, which starred Kevin Bacon just three years after his performance in the iconic horror movie Friday the 13th. Decades later, that movie received a prequel in 2006, but the most notable adaptation of the case came when it was folded into the Conjuring universe in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, in which Johnson was played by Irish actor Ruairi O'Connor (Handsome Devil).

Related Conjuring 3: Did David’s Waterbed Incident Really Happen? True Story Explained Conjuring 3 shows David Glatzel first becoming possessed while playing on a waterbed in his home; did this incident really happen in the true story?

4 The Perron Case

Investigated By The Warrens In 1971

One of the earliest notable cases investigated by the Warrens was that of the Perron family. The Perrons were haunted by supernatural activity at their home in Harrisville, Rhode Island. The Warrens determined that the source of the haunting was a witch named Bathsheba Sherman who had cursed any future occupants of the land.

This story formed the core of the original 2013 movie The Conjuring, which introduced Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga's interpretations of the roles of Ed and Lorraine Warren. The fictionalized story of the family, led by Lili Taylor as Carolyn Perron, captured audiences across the world and the movie earned $319.5 million at the box office against its budget of just $20 million. In addition to being a major hit on its own terms, the movie eventually became the 23rd highest-grossing movie of the year, outgrossing movies including A Good Day to Die Hard and Captain Phillips.

Related How The Conjuring Made Ed & Lorraine Warren Popular After 3 Movies Failed After several failed movie attempts, The Conjuring was able to popularize Ed and Lorraine Warren's supernatural investigations - here's how.

3 The Enfield Poltergeist

Investigated By The Warrens In The Late 1970s

Movies Inspired by the Enfield Poltergeist Title Year Ghostwatch 1992 The Conjuring 2 2016

The Enfield Poltergeist case is one that the Warrens have been tied to, though the historical record shows that they actually had very little interaction with the subjects. The paranormal activity in the case was centered on sisters Margaret and Janet Hodgson, who lived with their family in a council house in Enfield, London and reported strange noises as well as objects moving on their own. Although the Warrens did visit the house, they were only involved briefly, reportedly offering help to get books and movies based on the story off the ground.

As fate would have it, a hit movie would indeed come out of the story when The Conjuring 2 centered the Enfield case. The movie offered more of an explanation for the entity than the real-life case files, linking the origin of the haunting to the demon Valak (who, in the movies, takes on the form of a nun and would later become the primary antagonist of the Nun subfranchise), harnessing the spirit of the house's late former resident Bill Wilkins.

Related Bill Wilkins: Is The Conjuring 2 Enfield Poltergeist Based On A Real Person? The Conjuring 2 features a handful of demons and poltergeists, one being Bill Wilkins, a frightening old man who may not be entirely fictional.

2 Annabelle

Investigated By The Warrens In The Early 1970s

Movies in the Annabelle Franchise Title Year Annabelle 2014 Annabelle: Creation 2017 Annabelle Comes Home 2019

The haunted doll Annabelle is one of the most prominent cases in which the Warrens participated. Two roommates who had acquired the doll reported that it was haunted, and the doll later became a centerpiece of the Warrens' Occult Museum. Although the Warrens did not publish the story of this case themselves or with a co-author (as was the case with many of their published works), it was featured in the 1980 biography The Demonologist, which was written by Gerald Brittle (who later penned The Devil in Connecticut).

The Annabelle matter is the first case the Warrens are ever seen investigating in the Conjuring universe. Before the investigation of the Perron family that takes place over the course of the majority of the original movie, a prologue follows the couple investigating the Annabelle case. The creepy opening sequence would later birth a trilogy of spinoff movies following the origins and subsequent activities of the haunted doll, who was given a redesign to look like an eerie porcelain doll as opposed to the real Annabelle, who was a Raggedy Ann doll.

Related Annabelle True Story & What The Conjuring Movies Changed The Annabelle doll in The Conjuring movies is loosely based on a true story. Here's what really happened, and which parts were changed for the films.

1 The Amityville Horror

Investigated by The Warrens in 1976

Major Movies Inspired by the Amityville Horror Case Title Year The Amityville Horror 1979 Amityville II: The Possession 1982 Amityville 3-D 1983 Amityville 4: The Evil Escapes 1989 The Amityville Curse 1990 Amityville 1992: It's About Time 1992 Amityville: A New Generation 1993 Amityville Dollhouse 1996 The Amityville Horror 2005 Amityville: The Awakening 2017

The Amityville Horror case is by far the most notorious in the Warrens' ouvre. When George and Kathy Lutz moved into a new home on Long Island, they reported that they were haunted in the house, where Ronald DeFeo Jr. had murdered six family members the year before. The Lutz family left the house after 28 days, and the report of their paranormal experience became a major phenomenon.

After Jay Anson captured the story in his 1977 book of the same name, the success of the publication led to the first major movie adaptation of an Ed and Lorraine Warren case in 1979, featuring James Brolin and Margot Kidder as George and Kathy Lutz. That movie was followed by many sequels, a remake starring Ryan Reynolds, and a variety of low-budget offerings that began to appear in the early 2010s, taking advantage of the fact that the name of the town Amityville is not copyrightable. The Warrens' investigation was also dramatized in the prologue of The Conjuring 2.

Related The Amityville Movies In Order: Every Canon Film In The Horror Franchise Launched by the blockbuster 1979 film, the Amityville franchise has seen a deluge of sequels, remakes, and spinoffs, but what order do they go in?