Were it not for the film franchise THE CONJURING and its shared cinematic universe, Lorraine Warren’s name would still be known by fans of the supernatural. Just not as well known. She wouldn’t be as “over” (wrestling jargon), in other words. But long before she was portrayed on film by Vera Farmiga, Lorraine Warren’s name appeared on the pages of a lot of books, books the subjects of which are instantly recognizable, most notably THE AMITYVILLE HORROR.
Ed Warren, Lorraine’s husband, passed away in 2006. He and Elaine had been paranormal investigators since the 1950s, over half a century of work, and claimed to have investigated over 10,000 cases. Regardless of whether or not one buys into all the claims they put forward—and numerous skeptics have been quick to pronounce the Warrens as purveyors of fish stories—no one can deny the impact they have made on pop culture.
Notable investigations with which the Warrens were involved include the aforementioned Amityville case, the Perron family haunting (basis for THE CONJURING), the Enfield Poltergeist (inspiration for THE CONJURING 2), the Arne Johnson murder trial (which will serve as foundation for the third THE CONJURING film due out in 2020), and the Smurl family haunting (which inspired the made-for-television 1991 film THE HAUNTED and 2009’s THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT).
Ms. Warren was 92.
