Lorraine Warren

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Lore & Background

Lorraine Warren's role in the Warrens' investigations was that of a psychic medium who claimed to see and communicate with spirits. In the Perron family case (1971), the Warrens claimed the Harrisville, Rhode Island home was haunted by Bathsheba Sherman, a witch who sacrificed her baby son to the devil and cursed the land. Lorraine served as a consultant to the 2013 film The Conjuring and appeared in a cameo role. In the Enfield poltergeist case (1977), the Warrens showed up uninvited and were refused admittance to the home; parapsychologist Guy Lyon Playfair said they 'turned up once' and that Ed Warren told him they 'could make a lot of money out of' the case. In the Arne Johnson case (1981), the Warrens were invited by the family of the accused, not by law enforcement, to deal with alleged demonic possession, and subsequently claimed Johnson was also possessed. In 2017, Judith Penney claimed she had a 40-year sexual relationship with Ed beginning when he was 27 and she was 15; Lorraine allegedly persuaded her to have an abortion. A claim that 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 crimes like sex with a minor is unsupported by any known contract or public statement.

In Their Own Story

Lorraine Warren's life was marked by her partnership with Ed in investigating alleged hauntings. In 1970, the Warrens took a Raggedy Ann doll from two roommates, claiming it was 'being manipulated by an inhuman presence,' and put it on display at their Occult Museum. In 1975, the Warrens became involved in the Amityville Horror case, which Lorraine insisted was real despite multiple sources characterizing it as a hoax. In 1986, the Warrens declared the Snedeker house, a former funeral home, was infested by demons. Horror author Ray Garton, who wrote an account of the Snedeker haunting, later questioned the veracity of the accounts, saying the family 'could not keep their story straight.' Lorraine died on April 18, 2019, and is buried at Stepney Cemetery in Monroe, Connecticut alongside Ed, who died on August 23, 2006.

Reader's Guide

Lorraine Warren is best known for her involvement in high-profile cases that inspired The Conjuring Universe films. Her claimed clairvoyance and mediumship were central to the Warrens' investigations, though skeptics like Perry DeAngelis and Steven Novella investigated their evidence and called it 'blarney.' Skeptical 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. Lorraine's personal life included her daughter Judy (born January 11, 1946) and her membership in the Roman Catholic Church. The Warrens trained several self-described demonologists, including Dave Considine and their nephew John Zaffis.

Did You Know?

• Lorraine Warren was born Lorraine Rita Moran on January 31, 1927, and died on April 18, 2019.
• She and Ed Warren founded the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) in 1952, which has been called the oldest ghost-hunting group in New England, though this claim is unsubstantiated.
• Lorraine claimed to have investigated well over 10,000 cases during her career.
• In 2017, Judith Penney claimed she had a 40-year sexual relationship with Ed Warren beginning when she was 15 and he was 27; Lorraine allegedly persuaded her to have an abortion.
• A claim that 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 crimes like sex with a minor is unsupported by any known con