The creepy affairs of the Warrens: from the Annabelle doll to the witch Bathsheba
Many people today treat demons, ghosts and spirits with obvious skepticism. For most, these are just images from horror films, books or the figment of the imagination of superstitious individuals. However, some perceive otherworldly forces as an important part of their lives and even a source of income. This is exactly what Ed and Lorraine Warren were - real ghost hunters who turned the study of spirits into a profession.
"Annabelle", "The Conjuring", "The Amityville Horror" - all these popular films are based on real events and cases about the supernatural that this couple investigated. Moreover, Ed and Lorraine became the key characters of these films, which have long received the status of cult.
Over the years of their work, the Warrens have investigated more than 10,000 cases related to paranormal phenomena. They say that the couple achieved impressive results in their investigations. However, disputes about their activities do not subside to this day. Some are confident in their professionalism, while others believe that they were simply clever charlatans making money on gullible clients.
Edward Warren Miney was born in 1926 in Connecticut. From childhood, he showed an interest in the supernatural - at the age of eight, the boy claimed to see ghosts in his house. Lorraine Rita Moran was born in 1927 and from an early age had psychic abilities. According to her, she could see people's auras and sense the presence of spirits.
They met as teenagers in 1943 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Soon after they met, Edward was called up to serve in the US Navy. But this did not interfere with the feelings of the young people. Lorraine waited for her beloved to return from the army, and in 1945 they got married. It is worth mentioning right away that their relationship was built on more than just tender feelings. A shared passion for the supernatural became an important part of their relationship. It is no exaggeration to say that the Warrens were an ideal couple. Their union turned out to be both a family and a professional partnership that lasted for more than 70 years.
The career of paranormal investigators began in the 1950s. Ed worked as an artist and Lorraine was a housewife, but their true calling was studying the supernatural. Ed positioned himself as a demonologist - a specialist in the study of demons. Lorraine called herself a clairvoyant and a medium, claiming that she could communicate with spirits and sense their presence. One day, the Warrens went on a trip across the United States in search of paranormal phenomena. Fortunately, there was more than enough work for them.
Very soon, the entire country was talking about the ghost hunting family. Newspapers wrote about their successes, and people themselves began to contact Ed and Lorraine, asking them to solve their problems. In 1952, the couple founded the New England Society for Psychical Research. A little later, the Warren Occult Museum appeared, where the couple collected the most interesting artifacts and documents related to their investigations. The museum was located in the basement of the Warren couple's house in the small town of Monroe, Connecticut, and operated until Lorraine Warren's death in 2019.
The Warrens solved thousands of mysterious cases involving ghosts, spirits, and curses. They became the most famous paranormal investigators in history. It is worth noting that Edward and Lorraine never charged their clients. They earned a solid income from the sale of their books, the rights to film their stories, lectures, and participation in various TV shows. Let's get acquainted with the most famous investigations of this amazing couple.
The Amityville Haunted House investigation is the Warrens' most high-profile case. On the night of November 12-13, 1974, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo shot and killed six members of his family: his parents, two brothers, and two sisters. The guy was immediately arrested, but he could not explain to the police the reason for his terrible act, referring only to some voices. DeFeo was found sane, tried, and sentenced to 150 years in prison. In 2021, he died in his prison cell.
A year after the massacre, the Lutz family moved into the house with their three children. The first few days the new residents liked everything, but soon they began to notice strange things. They thought that there was some kind of "demonic entity" in the house. At first, the family members thought that it was all because they were suspicious. Knowing the dark history of the house well, they decided that their imagination was just playing up.
But the strange anxiety and attacks of fear grew stronger and soon became unbearable. The Lutzes claimed that the inexplicable sensations reached their peak at 3 a.m. It was at this time that a murder occurred in the house. The new owners seriously believed that they were being haunted by evil spirits, and after 28 days they left the house.
A local journalist contacted the Warrens and nine days after the Lutzes left, the detectives began their work. At first, things were not going well: there were no obvious signs of the otherworldly, and a spiritualistic seance was ineffective. But then Edward installed a special highly sensitive camera on the second floor. It captured a boy who was definitely not in the house at the time of filming.
The baby's photo was shown to the Lutzs' daughter, Missy. The girl immediately recognized the boy as her "friend" who visited her in her bedroom at night. When detectives examined family photos of the deceased DeFeos, it became clear that he was the youngest child of the murdered family. The Warrens then began researching the history of the house to understand what might have driven Ronald DeFeo to commit murder.
At first, detectives found nothing remarkable. According to records, only one person had died in the house, built in 1927, before the DeFeo family, and he was an ordinary, “peaceful” deceased. The Warrens recorded no traces of his restless spirit. But after a thorough study of the archival records, they declared that the ghost of a black magician named John Ketchum was to blame for what happened. This man had lived on this site many years ago and, according to their version, is now buried under the house.
After a series of manipulations, the Warrens claimed to have exorcised the evil from the house. The story of the Amityville house has inspired numerous books, films, and computer games. It has brought considerable profit to both researchers and property owners. Detectives have been accused of colluding with the Lutz family to make the most of the story. The house has been known to change hands several times, and in 2016 it was put up for sale for $800,000.
No less famous is the story of a cursed doll named Annabelle. A woman bought the rag doll at a sale in 1970 and gave it to her 28-year-old daughter Donna, who was a student and fond of antiques. The girl took the doll with her to the rented apartment where she lived with a neighbor named Angie.
The problems with the doll began almost immediately. The students began to notice that the toy would appear in different places in the room, take strange poses, or leave frightening notes. In addition, a red substance resembling blood would sometimes appear on Annabelle's hands. Donna and Angie decided to contact a medium. After communicating with the doll, he said that the spirit of a dead girl named Annabelle Higgins allegedly lived in it.
The medium's explanation did not frighten Donna and Angie, and they decided to make friends with the spirit. However, after this, Annabelle began to show aggression. The students claimed that the doll attacked them at night, and once almost strangled their friend. After these events, the girls turned to Ed and Lorraine Warren for help. They determined that the spirit imprisoned in the doll was possessed by a demon. It was looking for a human body to inhabit.
The ghost hunters performed cleansing rituals in Donna and Angie's home. After that, the girls gave the doll to the Warrens, and it became one of the most famous exhibits in their mystical museum. Annabelle was placed in a closed display case with a warning sign: "Caution: Do not open." The story of the demonic toy became the basis for several films and brought the Warrens many millions of dollars.
In 1971, the Perron family, which included five daughters, bought a large house in Harrisville, Rhode Island, from the Arnold family. At first, everything was going well, and nothing foreshadowed trouble. But soon the household began to feel someone else's presence. The girls complained that at night they heard voices, scraping sounds, and sometimes even felt something touching their feet.
At first, the parents did not attach much importance to the daughters' stories, writing everything off as children's fantasies. But soon the otherworldly phenomena touched them too. One night, the eldest daughter heard her mother screaming from her room. Having rushed in, she saw a figure of a woman with a withered face above the bed. After this incident, the ghost began to appear to the mother of the family, Caroline Perron, almost every night.
Edward and Lorraine Warren immediately sensed the presence of evil spirits in the house. They performed several purification rituals, but this only enraged the demon. Lorraine found out that the house was haunted by the spirit of a woman named Bathsheba Sherman, who lived there in the 1840s. Allegedly, she practiced black magic and sacrificed her own son to the dark forces.
This time, the Warrens' efforts did not bring the desired result. The Perrons asked them to leave the house, which calmed the evil spirit a little. The family continued to live in the cursed house until 1980, occasionally hearing voices and encountering Bathsheba's ghost. They later managed to sell the house and move. Like the other two stories, this case was adapted into a movie. The Conjuring, a film based on the events, became extremely popular and brought in large profits for both the creators and the Warrens themselves.
The Warren detectives are very much "loved" by myth-debunkers and simply skeptical enthusiasts. Many consider their investigations to be absurd hoaxes aimed only at PR and enrichment. Ed once said:
But their supporters believed that the couple was sincerely trying to help, and Lorraine really did have the gift of a medium. There is also an opinion that the couple had a mental disorder, and they themselves sincerely believed in what they were doing.
The Catholic Church supported the Warrens in part by advising them on exorcisms. This added credibility to their work, but it did not remove the questions. Whether it was true or not, everyone must decide for themselves.
Ed Warren passed away in 2006 at the age of 79, and Lorraine passed away in 2019 at the age of 92. Their work is carried on by followers and a new generation of researchers. Their legacy lives on: books, lectures, and films continue to inspire millions. The Conjuring movie universe continues to expand, and the Warrens’ stories remain popular. They not only popularized ghost hunting, but also showed how belief in the supernatural can unite people.
The Warrens have left an indelible mark on the world of paranormal research. Whether you believe in their abilities or dismiss them as charlatans, there is no denying their influence on popular culture and society's interest in the supernatural.
The history of the Warren family still causes heated debate: for some they are heroes who dedicated their lives to fighting evil spirits, for others they are clever manipulators who managed to turn people's fears into a profitable business. What do you think: were the Warrens real ghost hunters or did they just skillfully play tricks on their audience?