Ed and Lorraine Warren - the story of the most famous pair of demonologists

Ed and Lorraine Warren are the world's most famous paranormal researchers. The Warrens have for many years uncovered terrifying stories related to supernatural forces. Visits and possessions were not alien to them. Throughout their lives, demonologists have met with ghosts through seances, becoming an inspiration for many books and filmmakers. What is the biography of a famous couple? Which matters involving them are considered to be the most chilling in the veins? This is the amazing story of Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Ed and Lorraine Warren - the most famous researchers of paranormal phenomena

The beginning of Ed and Lorraine Warren's activities. Biography of a famous couple

Edward Warren (1926-2006) was born in Bridgeport. Even as a child, he experienced numerous paranormal phenomena that often happened even in his home. As Ed said, he had always noticed strange spherical shapes around him. He also often heard screeching noises in the apartment that other household members did not hear. In the evenings, Ed felt someone walking around the house and breathing hard. He also felt a bitter cold in his room, even though the window was closed. During World War II, Ed served in the Navy, from which he returned as one of the few survivors. He later worked in the police, meanwhile attending art school. All the time, however, he experienced inexplicable supernatural phenomena that began to fascinate him more than frighten him.

When Edward was 16, he met Lorraine Moran (1927-2019). The couple quickly became friends with each other. It turned out that Ed and Lorraine had a lot of common topics to talk about. Lorraine confessed to Ed that she could contact the spirits. She could see things invisible to others, which made her a medium. She also heard noises that didn't seem human. Ed sensed and saw similar things, which is why he approached a woman like him. In 1945 Ed and Lorraine got married and in 1950 they had a baby girl, Judy. In 1952, Mr. and Mrs. Warren decided to establish the New England Society for Psychological Research. They decided that they should combine their extraordinary skills and help people who were attacked by supernatural forces. The Warrens, through séances, decided to support, among others exorcisms that were carried out on possessed people.

Demonologists on the trail of paranormal events 

The history of Mr. and Mrs. Warren began with the founding of the Society. More people who witnessed supernatural phenomena came to the demonologists. Many of them needed immediate help from the Warrens who were willing to provide it. The couple cleverly dealt with strange cases, taking their work very seriously. For a time Ed was even the only secular demonologist the Vatican recognized. Lorraine, on the other hand, had a priceless gift of clairvoyance, thanks to which the couple managed to contact the "other party".

Ed and Lorraine have published numerous publications about the cases they investigated. They also often lectured at various universities. When Ed died in 2006, Lorraine was with the Society for the rest of her life. The couple also ran their private Museum of Occultism. The Warrens collected mysterious photographs, items for summoning spirits (like the Ouija board), toys haunted by demons, and other strange things. One of the already iconic exhibits is the Annabelle demon doll, the story of which I will now try to present.

Exorcisms, Possessions, and Paranormal Phenomena - The History of the Warrens

Demonic "Rag Ann"

The end of the 1960s turned out to be dramatic for two nurses from England. In 1968, one of them (Donna) was given a birthday present by her mother. In the package, there was a rag doll named Raggedy Ann - which in Polish means "Rag Ania". It was not a very beautiful toy, but Donna decided to keep it - mostly because of her mother. The nurse set her on the bed in her room and a moment later called for her roommate, Angie. Colleagues from work decided that the doll fits the decor and it will be a perfect place for her.

In the following days, the nurses began to notice that the doll was constantly changing its position. Donna put her on the bed every morning in a completely different pose than what she found when she came back from work. The doll sat differently every day, which began to seriously worry Donna and Angie. One day they left Rag Ania with their arms crossed. Upon returning home, they found that the hands were spread. Another time, the doll completely changed position - instead of on the bed, it was sitting on a chair. Later, she wandered from room to room, which terrified the roommates. Instead of in Donna's room, she appeared in Angie's room, for example. The friends were even more scared when… bloodstains appeared on Regeddy Ann's clothes. 

Ed and Lorraine stepped in, summoned by the terrified nurses. Lorraine looked distractedly at the apartment and the doll. She explained to the girls what really happened in this place. The ghost of 7-year-old Annabelle Higgins, who once died in this apartment in tragic circumstances, lives in a rag toy. The doll was used by Annabelle to contact the world of the living. The nurses had a hard time believing the story told by Lorraine and refused to seek further help from the woman. They left the doll at home, but it still made itself feel.

One day, Annabelle caught up with Lou, a friend of Donna and Angie. The attacked man screamed, fell to the ground in front of the doll, and began to bleed. It turned out that claw marks appeared on his chest. Had the demonic Annabelle left them? Lorraine was right. Soon after, an exorcist appeared at the nurses' home, who, accompanied by the Warrens, blessed the apartment and performed the exorcisms. Ed and Lorraine took the doll and placed it in their private occult museum. For security reasons, however, they locked it in a sealed glass case with the inscription Do not open!

It's hard to believe, but the ragdoll story really happened. The terrifying case of possession has inspired the creators of the horror film series "Annabelle". Three parts of a horror movie about a ghostly doll have already been screened in cinemas:

Annabelle - 2014

Annabelle: The Birth of Evil - 2017

Annabelle Comes Home - 2019

Amityville Horror - Warren's loudest investigation

In 1976, Ed and Lorraine Warren's most famous investigation took place. A couple, Kathy and George Lutz, and their children have moved to the haunted house. The couple bought a house at 112 Ocean Avenue on Long Island (Amityville) for $ 80,000, which was infamous for fame. A terrible story happened here - even more, terrible than the Anneliese Michel exorcisms. On November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo murdered his entire family in this house - his parents and four siblings. Not long after the young couple moved into the house, Kathy and George began to sense strange things in him. It was as if someone else was living in the house.

Every now and then the crosses on the walls of the house turn around by themselves. Kathy's chest was marked with strange red marks. George also found a hidden room in the house that was not on the building plan. All the walls were painted red. Soon after, the Lutz family began to experience terrifying visions. Frightened, they decided to summon Ed and Lorraine Warren, who were the only ones who could chase away the evil forces from the house. The Warrens did sense the ghostly spirits in the Amityville home that remained after the cruel killing of DeFeo. In the infrared image that the demonologists took, the demon boy was captured. The photo was first published during the promotion of the Ghost House movie The Amityville Horror (1979). 

Was the story of the most famous pair of demonologists true?

There is no doubt that Ed and Lorraine were real. Lorraine died not so long ago, on August 18, 2019. Until the end of her life, she ran and guarded the Occult Museum, where the Warrens locked the Annabelle doll, the Ouija board, and other dangerous exhibits. Scary horror films were filmed about many of them, such as The Presence (2013), The Devil's Board Ouija (2014), or The Nun (2018). But did these films actually reflect the events in which the Warrens took part? It has been known for a long time that pop culture has its own rules. So sometimes you have to add spice to certain stories to arouse the interest of your audience.

Ed and Lorraine Warren were eminent specialists in haunting, possession, and ghosts. Marriage has had and continues to have a great influence on contemporary popular culture. Fascinated by magic and the occult, they consider the Warrens as their heroes. Is the rich documentation Ed and Lorraine left behind still enough to make people believe in their abilities? Did the paranormal phenomena they experienced really happen? Or maybe Ed and Lorraine were just acting for… money? Some issues will remain a mystery forever.

Bibliography:

Gerald Brittle: Ed and Lorraine Warrens. Demonologists, Esprit Publishing House, Krakow 2016

Robert David Chase: The Visitation. True Stories, Replika Publishing House, Poznań 2019