Who doesn’t love a good horror movie full of jump scares, ominous spirits and at times even horrifying ghosts?! From Bollywood classics like Paapi Gudiya to Hollywood horrors like Annabelle, Conjuring, The Nun and The Amityville Horror. We can’t seem to get enough of these movies or the thrill that comes with them. And we are often left wondering how it would be like to be in their universe or to even experience the horror first-hand. Much like Ed and Lorraine Warren. You Know that couple from the Conjuring movies? Yes, that one.
We all stan the power couple that is Ed and Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring universe. It is always a delight watching them defeat the latest ominous troublemaker. Their chemistry leaves us wishing for a partner who can be our anchor to the real world. Someone who tethers us to reality, who can pull us back when we venture too far. They are like Fred and Veronica from Scooby Doo but grown up. And their little instances of matching with each other is a cherry on the top.
However, what if we were to tell you that the real couple was the exact opposite?
We all know that the entire Conjuring universe is based on true instances and cases encountered by Ed and Lorraine Warren. But in reality, the Warrens were anything but this picture of pure love and sunshine that they are portrayed to be in the movies.
Here are 8 instances about the real life Ed and Lorraine Warren that will horrify you more than their movies-
1. They would spend minimal time at any of the “haunted” locations.
Guy Lyon Playfair, a parapsychologist, confirmed the claim that the Warrens were “not invited” to the real Conjuring 2 [the Enfield Poltergeist] house. He states that the Warrens were present in a far lesser degree than portrayed in the movies. Highlighting the case he alleges that, “They [the Warrens] manufactured their own paranormal evidence simply to make money out of it”.
Guy also confirmed that, “Nobody […] in the family had ever heard of him until [Ed Warren] showed up.” He also stated how they only stayed on the site for a day and tried to insert themselves into the scenario.
Most accounts of the other investigators of the Enfield case don’t even mention the Warrens.
2. They backed up a murderer’s claims to plead ‘not guilty’ for a MURDER on the basis of demonic possession!
In the ‘Conjuring 3- The Devil Made Me Do It’ family, the eldest brother of the victim stated how his brother-in-law, Arne Johnson had stabbed his landlord because the latter had made advances on his wife. Being extremely possessive of his wife, he did not receive it well and ended up stabbing his landlord.
The Warrens however promised that Arne could beat the murder allegations by using demonic possession as a defense.
3. They would make deals with the “victims” to write books on their experiences and would rarely ever give them the fair end of the deals.
Netflix documentary, The Devil on Trial is about members of Glatzel family on whom the movie Conjuring 3 was based. The eldest son of the affected family disclosed how he found notes in his late mother’s belongings about the deal she had made with the Warrens. There were diary entries and official papers about the book that they would be writing on the possession of the youngest child and everything that took place as a result.
The Glatzel brothers sued the Warrens for inventing the demon story for personal gain and taking advantage of their situation. They also stated that the younger brother [David] was mentally ill, not possessed and needed actual help from actual doctors.
They wrote books and had them made into movies, series and T.V. shows based upon hoaxes. For instance, the Amityville Horror was proven to be a hoax that was debunked by various organizations on different occasions. So happens to be the case with the case of the Enfield Poltergeist that paved the way for Conjuring 2, the Snedeker house case that was made into a T.V. film named The Story of a True Haunting, and more.
4. They claimed to have experienced forceful sexual encounters with ghosts at 3:33 AM.
At a summer camp for 14-15 year old kids back in 1997, Massachusetts, USA; they luridly talked about encountering ghosts who would perform forceful sexual acts with the both of them at 3:33 AM.
An attendee of the talk confirmed that they talked about the whole thing in such a matter-of-factly way that it was terrifying for all the naïve teenagers present. They went as far as saying that this could happen to the kids as well. Some children (who probably might have had a history of abuse) reacted poorly to such a discussion.
5. They rarely provided any actual facts or evidences of their “investigations”.
It seemed as though the Warrens were above the process of presenting evidences to back up their claims. Their response to any such request was to label the evidence as either highly disturbing for people or too dangerous to let out.
According to Benjamin Radford, the story of Amityville was refuted by neighbors, eye-witnesses as well as forensic evidence. Not only that, lawyer William Weber stated that Jay Anson (author of the novella The Amityville Horror) made up the entire story along with the occupants of the house “over many bottles of wine.”
6. They produced false evidence to lead astray the “victims” as well as the general public.
They would rarely ever provide evidence but in the few cases they did, it was completely manufactured and bordering on disinformation.
In the case of their infamous Enfield Poltergeist (Conjuring 2), they produced false images as proof of the possession of the youngest girl in the movie. They claimed that Janet levitated above her bed while she was possessed. However, in the photos produced by them, it is clearly visible that she is jumping off of her bed and indeed not levitating.
7. The real life Ed Warren had an extra- marital affair that lasted for 40 years!
Ed Warren harbored an extra-marital affair and allegedly Lorraine knew about this whole ordeal. Their on-screen portrayal had us all fooled for the longest duration. But IRL, people closely related to them have spoken up about just how false the portrayal is. They went as far as to say that the reel couple is nothing like the real one.
The woman confirmed that there were repeated incidents of abuse between Ed and Lorraine. She then confirmed that Lorraine knew about the relationship when she stated, “As I’m older now, I can’t even fathom why Lorraine let me stay there”.
8. They often preyed on desperate people who were directionless.
The Warrens preyed upon mostly poor and desperate people who seemed to be lost. They acted as their saviors and would provide false information just to confirm the biases. They would often misinterpret information to relay it to the “victims” to create an atmosphere of dread and urgency.
Ed and Lorraine would knit up a story backed with poorly manufactured beliefs to make money off of scared families. They often left them in worse conditions than when they arrived. The Warrens were fear mongers and exploiters who would base their stories on faith and religion stating that those who lack in faith are the ones who get possessed.
This is a short account of the reality of the lovely Warrens who we see on screen in their subtle matching attires. As contrary to the reel portrayal as this might be, it stands to be true. Leaving us to contemplate whether we should really believe everything we see in movies?