Paranormal Experts or Conmen?: Ed and Lorraine Warren
- Marisa DeRoma ( a.k.a The Wandering Oddball)
- Nov 3, 2024
- 8 min read
(Photo source: Flickr)
Disclaimer: All the paranormal events in this article are alleged according to the parties involved. Another warning I should give is that there is also a mention of an allegation of abuse and some mature subjects in this article, which may be sensitive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Intro
Long before Ghost Hunters and Adventures, a couple of paranormal experts shocked the world. Their cases also contributed to a line of horror flicks. In the '60s and '70s, a duo named Ed and Lorraine Warren would be on the tabloids for extraordinary paranormal cases involving ghosts and demons. Who were the Warrens?
Bios
Ed Warren was born on September 7, 1926, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. During his childhood, he claimed that doors in his home opened and closed on their own.
Lorraine Moran was born January 31st, 1927, also in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Lorraine claimed she noticed auras around people at an early age. When she was sixteen, she met Ed on a date and predicted he would be her future husband.
Supposedly, while serving in the Navy during World War II, Ed almost gets killed when the boat he is on collides with an oil tanker. He is forced to jump ship and miraculously is saved along with the crew. When he came home from war, he would marry Lorraine.
Their paranormal career would have an unusual start. Ed, being a fine artist, would gain entry into people’s homes to look for paranormal activity by painting the owner's home.
The couple founded the New England Society of Physic Research (NESPR) in 1952. During their career, they claimed to have been involved in 10,000 cases.
According to them, Ed and Lorraine have been involved with 10,000 cases throughout their careers. I will talk about a few cases they were involved with as they spawned movies.
Perron Family Case
This story would be the most prominent cornerstone in the The Conjuring franchise and what started it all in movies. The Perron family moved into a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, in 1971. Shortly after, they noticed strange things happening.
One day, at 5 a.m., Carolyn woke up to find a tall, very decrepit woman staring back at her. She described her face as looking like a sack of cobwebs.
After some research, they believed it was the spirit of a witch named Bathsheba tormenting the family. They claimed that Bathsheba cursed the land for those who lived on it to die a horrific death during a seance with the Warrens' Carolyn, who supposedly is possessed. This is also depicted as a tense scene in The Conjuring movie. Carolyn allegedly started speaking tongue, and the chair was levitating.
The family would go on to live in the house for 10 years with some paranormal activity still happening.
One crucial fact the movie leaves out is Bathsheba was never proven to be a witch who worshiped Satan. The court cleared her of any wrongdoing regarding the death of her infant, but the public still believes she sacrificed her newborn to the devil.
Andera Perron would be among the few people who would defend Bathsheba and claim that she was not an evil spirit. Eventually, Mrs. Warren treated Bathsheba as a scapegoat to explain the dark presence in the house. The real Bathsheba did not even live on the property. She only lived a mile and a half away. Not only did she get unfairly a lousy rep in death, but in life as well. In life, she was accused of killing her infant child when a needle was found in their head, which another explanation could have been an accident. Bathsheba was never found guilty but would be treated as a social pariah in her community. To make matters worse, she also lost two other children before the age of four. Her personality was known to be cold and unpleasant, but it did not mean she was evil.
Regardless of Bathsheba’s innocence, the whole case inspired the movie series. The next installment in the series was Conjuring 2, which focused on the Enfield case, but I feel it’s more important we talk about a certain doll that has become one of the many staple Halloween decorations.
The Annabelle Case
Remember that creepy-looking Annabelle doll in the movies? Well, this is what she looked like in real life.
(Photo source: Flickr)
Unlike her movie counterpart, no one would expect this cute Raggedy Ann doll to terrorize the living. Well, try telling that to the Warrens. According to them, in 1970, a nurse was given the Raggedy Ann doll. The nurse noticed the doll acting strangely, moving around independently in different positions. Wanting to get to the bottom of this, they hired a psychic medium who told them that the doll was possessed by Annabelle Higgins, who lived on the property before the apartment was built. The psychic claimed the spirit stated they were comfortable with the two roommates and wanted to stay with them. Thinking it was an innocent request, they agreed for the spirit to continue the doll. This would, however, take a turn for the worse. The doll allegedly started displaying even more disturbing behavior. Supposedly, the doll was reported to have blood on the doll.
Unlike the psychic, the Warrens claimed the doll was under the possession of an “inhumane spirit.” The Warrens took the doll off of the nurse's hands and added it to their occult museum.
Due to her nature of floating and appearing in places, she was contained in a glass case to prevent further mischief. While her presence was not as bad as before, there were still claims she was reaping havoc on those who dared come in contact with or question her.
Her appearance is very different in the movie, likely in an effort to avoid trademark issues with the doll’s manufacturer and possibly increase the creep factor.
I guess the lesson here is that you should not talk to strange dolls, and psychic mediums are sometimes not the best middlemen.
Snedeker house
Remember the movie The Haunting in Connecticut? Well, it was based on the Snedeker House case that the Warrens did. While I had never seen the film, I watched a 2002 documentary called A Haunting in Connecticut years ago. I still have the DVD.
For those who are not familiar with the case, the story goes as follows: In 1986, the Snedekers moved to a house in Southington, Connecticut, so their son Phillip, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, could receive treatment in a nearby hospital. When they moved in, they made a disturbing discovery in the basement of their home. Aside from old furniture, there was a bunch of old mortuary equipment and embalming stuff. This meant the home they bought used to be a funeral home.
Probably the most ironic and even more thing was they let their sick son have a bedroom in the basement. He and his brother reportedly also slept in the room that was once the casket display room.
Not too long after the move-in and ghoulish discoveries, the absolute terror would befall the Snedekers. The paranormal activity would start targeting Phillip. It began when he started seeing a young adult man with long black hair at night who would threaten him.
Every time Carmen mopped the floor, she claimed that instead of water, blood would appear, giving off a very strong foul odor. Carmen and Allen also claimed that invisible forces assaulted them.
Suddenly, Phillip started having a strange personality overhaul. He started becoming physically violent to his siblings. The worst incident happened when his cousin came over and attacked her. She ended up having to stay 45 days in the hospital. Phillip's behavior was brought up to doctors who diagnosed him with schizophrenia until they noticed the medication he was on for his cancer was not known to cause hallucinations as side effects.
In 1988, the Snedekers contacted Ed and Lorraine, who brought a priest in to bless and perform the exorcism.
The case received some criticism. One of the detractors, Darrell Kern, stated that the Snedekers were often behind on rent. When they were behind, the paranormal would suddenly come up. In other words, Kern said, “It was a scheme to make money.” A neighbor would also claim the whole thing of being a hoax. She also claimed the family’s behavior would be completely happy when out of the house, unlike the terrified people they claimed to be. Phillip’s friends even said he was known to tell wild stories for attention.
In later years, when the movie came out, the new owner of the house, who had already lived there for 10 years, never once experienced paranormal activity.
Criticism and Controversy
While the Warrens drew publicity and notoriety, they also drew criticism and detractors.
The most common accusation the couple faced was stretching the truths about their cases. Some truth claims shed light on the cases in several sections of the articles. There are also some more questionable things.
“The Devil Made Me Do It” (a.k.a The Brookfield Demon Murder Case)
Probably one of the strangest insanity pleas to come out of an individual's mouth is “The Devil made me do it.” Most times, when someone pleads insanity for a murder to the court, a physiatrist evaluates and then testifies. Usually, a judge would not call a pair of demonologists to the stand to testify. Well…the Warrens would come under hot water with the public when they were called to defend a murderer who claimed to have been possessed by a demon.
In 1981, the devil allegedly possessed Arne and he stabbed his landlord 22 times. While “possessed,” he then would claim to have no recollection of it. How he got possessed was a few months prior, in 1980, the Warrens were called to perform an exorcism on eleven-year-old David Glatzel, who was Arne’s brother-in-law. Supposedly, in the new house, Arne and his girlfriend, later wife Debbie, had a demon that took control of David.
According to witnesses of the exorcism, Arne told the demon to possess him and leave David alone, which the devil did. Five months later, Arne would claim possession and kill Alan Bono, the landlord. There were rumors that Debbie was having an affair with Alan and Arne was possessive.
Lorraine said that she saw a black mist forming around him when she met him. The judge would throw out the demonic possession claim as it was not a valid defense. Arne was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Arne was sentenced to 10-20 years in prison but got out five years later for good behavior.
This would inspire another movie in the The Conjuring series called The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. There is also a Netflix documentary series called The Devil on Trial. Arne still maintains his innocence to this day.
The Warren’s Occult Museum
Aside from questions about the Annabelle doll, many museum critics questioned the authenticity of the Warrens' mementos, wondering if they were actually haunted or just props from a Halloween shop. The Warrens were also accused of being swindlers, preying on families for fame and fortune.
Allegations from Judith Penney
One of Warren's most disturbing accusations involves a woman named Judith Penney. I will leave a link to an article going into more details about it, but in short, Judith claimed that she and Ed had a 40-year affair with Ed, and Lorraine was well aware of it. What makes it disturbing is the fact it started when she was 15. She would also claim that the couple abused their kid as well. More information about this can be found in an article linked below.
Later Years
In 2006, Ed Warren passed away. Over a decade later, Lorraine passed away in 2019. Both Warrens reside in Stepney Cemetery, which has a black monument and decorations that pay tribute to them. One of these trinkets I saw was a small Raggedy Ann doll in the flower pot.
The museum was open to the public until a few years ago, and artifacts collected throughout Warren’s cases were on display.
Warren’s Occult Museum is currently closed, and the current house owner has placed several “No Trespassing” signs around the property. It was proportionally closed for zoning violations.
Pop Culture
Lorraine herself made a cameo in the audience during the lecture scene in the first Conjuring movie. Annabelle’s movie counterpart also became popular decorations around Halloween.
If you notice one particular case I did not mention above, that is because in the next blog story, we will be doing a deep dive into the city of Amityville.
Links to controversy:
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