Ed and Lorraine Warren

Lore & Background

Ed and Lorraine Warren married in 1945 and had a daughter, Judy, born January 11, 1946. They were members of the Roman Catholic Church and believed that demonic forces were likely to possess those who lack faith. The Warrens trained several self-described demonologists, including Dave Considine and their nephew John Zaffis. Ed died on August 23, 2006, and Lorraine died on April 18, 2019; both are buried at Stepney Cemetery in Monroe, Connecticut.

The Warrens investigated numerous high-profile cases. In 1970, they took a Raggedy Ann doll they claimed was possessed, later displayed at their Occult Museum, inspiring the Annabelle films. In 1971, they investigated the Perron family home in Harrisville, Rhode Island, alleging a witch named Bathsheba Sherman had cursed the land. The Amityville case (1975) involved a couple claiming a demonic presence drove them out; the Warrens defended its authenticity, though others called it a hoax. In 1977, they investigated the Enfield poltergeist in London, but critics said they were uninvited and exaggerated their role. The 1981 Arne Johnson case involved a murder trial where Johnson attempted a demonic possession defense. The Snedeker house (1986) was declared infested by demons, though later accounts questioned the family's story. The Smurl family case (Pennsylvania) involved claims of multiple spirits and a demon.

In 2017, Judith Penney claimed she had a 40-year sexual relationship with Ed Warren beginning when she was 15 and he was 27, and that Lorraine persuaded her to have an abortion. The Warrens' daughter and son-in-law denied seeing any such conduct. Lorraine had it written into her contract for The Conjuring film series that she and Ed could not be portrayed engaging in extramarital affairs or sex with a minor.

Reader's Guide

Ed and Lorraine Warren are significant figures in American paranormal culture, primarily because their investigations became the basis for a major film franchise, The Conjuring Universe, which includes films such as The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, as well as the Annabelle and Amityville series. Their work brought ghost hunting and demonology into mainstream entertainment, influencing public perception of hauntings and possession. However, their legacy is deeply contested. Skeptics such as Perry DeAngelis and Steven Novella investigated their evidence and called it 'blarney.' Investigators Joe Nickell and Benjamin Radford concluded that the better-known hauntings—Amityville and the Snedeker family haunting—did not happen and had been invented. The Enfield poltergeist case was dismissed by independent observers as a hoax, and the Warrens were criticized for exaggerating their role. The Amityville case was characterized as a hoax by authors Stephen and Roxanne Kaplan, and lawyer William Weber admitted in 1979 that the story was invented over wine. Despite these controversies, the Warrens remain influential in popular culture, and their Occult Museum and NESPR continue to attract interest. Their personal lives also drew scrutiny, particularly the 2017 accusations by Judith Penney, which the family denied.

Did You Know?

• The Warrens founded the New England Society for Psychic Research in 1952, the oldest ghost-hunting group in New England.
• They claimed to have investigated well over 10,000 cases during their career.
• The Warrens were among the first investigators in the Amityville haunting, which was later characterized as a hoax by lawyer William Weber.
• In 2017, Judith Penney claimed she had a 40-year sexual relationship with Ed Warren beginning when she was 15; the Warrens' daughter and son-in-law denied the allegations.