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Post by Joanna on Jul 8, 2014 0:18:48 GMT -5
The Warrens: Separating the Truth from the Hollywood MythMost everyone with an interest in the paranormal will recognize the names Ed and Lorraine Warren, their activities and their “museum of the occult,” which is located in the basement of their home in Connecticut. The Warrens are currently the focus of much media attention currently as a result of the film adaptation of one of their cases in James Wan’s horror film The Conjuring, released in 2013.
Many of those who worked with the Warrens have balked at Ed and Lorraine’s portrayal on the big screen. Whether they were actually helping the families whose homes they investigated remains a matter of opinion, but few can argue that the portrayal of Ed, who died in 2006, as a lantern-jawed hero was greatly exaggerated.
An article in The Daily Beast’s travel section of July 3, 2014, perfectly captures the difficultly many have separating the Warrens from their Hollywood portrayal. The article features a large striking picture of the allegedly haunted/possessed doll “Annabel” (above). According to the story, fans of the 2013 horror film The Conjuring may be familiar with the doll, which plays a central role. This is a dead giveaway the reporter didn’t actually visit the museum. If she had, she would realize that, like real-life Ed Warren, real-life Annabel is actually far less impressive. In fact, without prompting, fans of the film may struggle to recognize this Raggedy Ann doll as Annabel, the figure that caused so much terror in the film.
The situation is further muddied when we consider there was a great deal of myth and legend surrounding the Warrens before Hollywood worked its magic on their story. Much of this has seemingly been of their own making. For example Ed is quoted in the article: “Many of the objects in this room here have had dire effects on people,” Ed told a tour in the mid-90s. “People have been maimed and killed.”
Of course we have nothing but Ed’s word for this, and also for the history and origins of the objects in the museum. In an episode of the MonsterTalk podcast, entitled “The Warren Omission,” host Blake Smith recalls a documentary in which Ed presents one of these dangerous objects to the crew saying: “That’s one of the original Books of Shadows, which was written in the medieval days. This one here is translated into English. Just the reading of that book has had terrible results for many people. This is not a book that anyone should ever buy, a book of shadows. It goes into incantations and devils and demons and rituals.” As Blake indicates, the book in question was not a “book of shadows” as Ed claimed, but a copy of the Simon Necronomicon, an infamous literary hoax, published by Avon books and Bantam at various periods since the 1970s and available to this day in bookstores.
Blake continues: “His museum of demonic, possessed items was full of off-the-shelf Halloween junk, dolls and toys, books you could buy at any bookstore and in this case, one which wasn’t even close to being what he was representing it to be.”
Sounds like a visit to the Warren’s museum may be a disappointment. The difficulty in sifting the truth of the Warrens from the Hollywood portrayal and their self-portrayal will only become more pronounced as time passes. The upcoming release of The Conjuring 2, which is set to revolve around the Enfield poltergeist debacle, a case that none involved wants to have rehashed and one in which the Warrens weren’t significantly involved.
Sources: Skeptic's Booth, DoutfulNews, July 4, 2014; The Amityville Horror Conspiracy by Stephen Kaplan, and Ray Garton.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Dec 20, 2017 17:50:57 GMT -5
The Conjuring’s Ed Warren Accused of Sex with Underage Girl
Fans of The Conjuring horror movie franchise will be familiar with the romantic tale of Ed and Lorraine Warren (above), real-life married demonologists who claimed their Catholic faith assisted them in fending off the forces of evil. In the film’s trailer, Warner Brothers’ New Line division claimed The Conjuring was “based on the true story of the Warrens,” however, according to court filings and recordings obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, it is likely that even the simple depiction of the Warrens as a devoted and pious couple might have stretched the truth past the breaking point.
It appears top studio executives were made aware just weeks after the first film opened in 2013 of allegations that, in the early 1960s, Ed Warren initiated a relationship with an underage girl with Lorraine’s knowledge. Now in her 70s, Judith Penney has said in a sworn declaration that she lived in the Warrens’ house as Ed’s lover for four decades. It is unclear whether Warner Bros. took any action in response to these allegations, but the sequel continued to portray them as a happy couple in a conventional marriage. Warners declined to comment, but an attorney for the studio has asserted in court papers that a disgruntled author and producer suing the studio over profits from the franchise are pushing the story of the Warrens’ personal lives as part of a vendetta. Ed Warren died in 2006 and Lorraine Warren’s attorney, Gary Barkin, says the family has no knowledge of the alleged misconduct and his client, now 90, is in declining health and unable to respond to the allegations.
Movie marketers long have found value in claiming that films are based on fact, but there are no explicit rules governing how far filmmakers may deviate from the truth while still including the phrase “based on a true story” in advertisements. When challenges have arisen in the past, courts have allowed studios a lot of latitude. Sometimes there is backlash against a film when its accuracy is questioned, as happened with Norman Jewison’s The Hurricane or Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. (Both obviously are more serious “fact-based” films than The Conjuring.) Given the supernatural elements of the Conjuring films, it’s fair to assume that not every fan believed everything shown on the screen was literally true. Skeptical or not, audiences flocked to the movies: The Conjuring and its spinoffs have grossed $1.2 billion for Warners – profits that have spawned a veritable horror show of litigation over who owns the rights to the Warrens’ stories. Another spinoff is in post-production, and a second sequel is in development.
Ed Warren was a self-taught ghost hunter, while Lorraine claimed to be a medium who could communicate with spirits. The Warrens didn’t charge for their work, but they enjoyed immense financial success, nonetheless, thanks to nine books, a busy lecture schedule and consulting on films based on their exploits – including the 1979 and 2005 versions of The Amityville Horror.
The original Conjuring film, set in the early 70s, tells the tale of the Warrens’ dramatic rescue of a family in a Rhode Island farmhouse supposedly inhabited by the spirit of a long-deceased witch. From the start, the Warrens’ romantic relationship is central, with Patrick Wilson playing Ed, and Vera Farmiga as Lorraine. “Do you remember what you said to me on our wedding night?” Lorraine asks Ed at one point. “You said that God brought us together for a reason.”
But materials obtained by THR suggest that in real life, the Warrens’ relationship was far from divine. Among such is a sworn declaration by Penney, who maintained that Ed – with his wife’s knowledge – initiated an “amorous” relationship with her when she was 15. Penney, who has not been a party to any of the litigation over The Conjuring movies, declined to comment.
Ed Warren was in his mid-30s when he allegedly met 15-year-old Penney. Having not yet gained enough fame as a self-trained demonologist to pay the bills in the early 1960s, Ed was working as a city bus driver in Monroe, Connecticut. Penney was a student at Central High School in the nearby town of Bridgeport and rode his bus. The two began an “amorous relationship,” Penney alleged in a legal declaration she gave in November 2014. According to the document, as well as newly obtained recordings of Penney’s recollection of events, by 1963, she had moved into the Warrens’ home. For the next 40 years, she claimed, she had a sexual relationship with Ed with Lorraine’s knowledge. At first, Penney stayed in a bedroom directly opposite the one occupied by the married couple, but eventually she moved into an apartment built for her above the home. “One night he’d sleep downstairs,” she said in a recording. “One night he’d sleep upstairs.”
Even in 1963, a teenage girl did not move in with a married man without attracting notice. That same year, Penney was arrested after someone reported her relationship with Ed to local police. According to her November 2014 declaration, she spent a night in the North End Prison in Bridgeport while police tried to persuade her to sign a statement admitting to the affair. After Penney refused to cooperate, she was ordered by the court to report to a delinquent youth office for the next month. According to Penney’s account, Ed picked her up from school every week and drove her to the mandated meetings.
Many times, Penney said, Ed told her she was the “love of his life.” The Warrens, she claimed, often introduced her as a niece or poor girl whom they had taken in out of charity. In May 1978, when in her 30s, Penney became pregnant with Ed’s child, she alleged. In the declaration, she said Lorraine persuaded her to have an abortion because the birth of a child could become public and any sort of scandal could ruin the Warrens’ business. Though Lorraine has claimed to be a devout Catholic, Penney said her “real god is money.” In a tearful recording obtained by THR, Penney recalled: “They wanted me to tell everyone that someone had come into my apartment and raped me and I wouldn’t do that. I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do, but I had an abortion. The night they picked me up from the hospital after having it, they went out and lectured and left me alone.”
Penney also has accused Ed of being abusive toward Lorraine. Early on, she claimed, she witnessed him backhand his wife so hard she lost consciousness. “Sometimes Ed would actually have to slap her across the face to shut her up,” Penney said in one recording. “Some nights I thought they were going to kill each other.”
Penney also said she helped Ed maintain his reputation as a ghost hunter. He claimed to have captured the “white lady” – a ghost who supposedly haunts Union Cemetery in Easton, Connecticut – on tape in the summer of 1990 after camping out in the graveyard for a week. Ed wanted to make a video that would show what the white lady would look like if she were spotted, so she took a page from every grade-schooler’s Halloween playbook and donned a white sheet for the filming.
Barkin, Lorraine’s attorney, tells THR that Judy and Tony Spera, the Warrens’ daughter and son-in-law, never saw any of the alleged conduct during the decades they spent with Ed, Lorraine and Penney. “The Warrens opened their home to Ms. Penney when she was 18 and had nowhere else to live following a childhood of neglect,” writes Barkin in an email. “During much of their career, Ed and Lorraine were on the road, working on cases and giving lectures – and Ms. Penney lived at and watched their house.” They also say Penney had a long-term boyfriend for much of that time, whom she eventually married, and the couple spent holidays with their family. The Speras believe Penney is now being manipulated.
But Lorraine seems to have been intent on preventing any sordid aspects of her story’s being portrayed onscreen. Her deal with New Line to serve as a consultant on, or model for, The Conjuring, includes unusual restrictions: The films couldn’t show her or her husband engaging in crimes, including sex with minors, child pornography, prostitution or sexual assault. Neither the husband nor wife could be depicted as participating in an extramarital sexual relationship. Talent attorney Jill Smith says she has never seen specific language barring such depictions, though individuals selling rights to their stories sometimes place restrictions on portrayals. “I have done deals which prevented depictions of certain specific types of odious behavior which are not relevant to the underlying story and [in] which, typically, the person is not known to have participated,” she explains.
Soon after the original Conjuring movie opened, producer Tony DeRosa-Grund sent an email informing top Warners and New Line executives that the film was a far cry from the advertised “true story of the Warrens.” DeRosa-Grund – now locked in a legal battle with Warners over profits from the movie after he claimed he was unfairly shut out of the sequels and spinoffs – said in his September 2013 email that a woman close to the Warrens had seen the movie and was “mortified as to the inaccurate portrait of the relationship between Ed and Lorraine Warren.” Among those copied on the email were Warners chairman Kevin Tsujihara and marketing chief Sue Kroll, as well as Toby Emmerich, then-president of New Line (now president of Warner Brothers film studio); outside counsel Michael O’Connor; and in-house attorney Craig Alexander. It is unclear whether Warners responded. (A JAMS arbitrator interpreted DeRosa-Grund’s communication to New Line about Penney as a threat that undermined his credibility. New Line is currently pursuing sanctions against the producer in another pending case.)
Sources: Kim Masters and Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter, December 13, 2017, and Ray Garton.
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Post by catherine on Dec 20, 2017 23:29:16 GMT -5
So not only were these two "demonologists" frauds, they were perverts to boot.
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Post by aprillynn93 on Dec 21, 2017 12:17:40 GMT -5
Penney came forward in November of 2014 with her sworn declaration. It seems more credible to me since this was well before the whole "me too" sexual harassment movement came about. I do wonder though why we are only hearing about it now, 3 years later. Maybe it's just me that is seeing this for the first time?
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Post by natalie on Dec 21, 2017 17:51:20 GMT -5
Sick.
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Post by Graveyardbride on May 2, 2019 13:11:04 GMT -5
Lorraine Warren Dies April 18 at Age 92The year 1974 had been weird enough already. Americans were reeling from the energy crisis, Watergate and the resignation of their president. Then word leaked out of an exploding crucifix, flying furniture and a talking cat in a small home on Lindley Street in Bridgeport, Conn. People wanted answers. In stepped Ed and Lorraine Warren of Monroe and the paranormal world changed forever – although some would say not for the better.
On Good Friday, it was announced that Lorraine Warren, 92, departed this world Thursday, April 18, perhaps joining her husband, who died in 2006 – in a place in which they feel more at home. After all Ed was a self-taught demonologist and Lorraine a self-professed clairvoyant and spiritual medium.
On Thursday night, Nick Grossmann of Ghost Storm was leading a ghost-hunting tour at the Twisted Vine restaurant in downtown Derby, Conn. “I was with Lorraine’s niece, (Julie Zaffis-Marron) at about 9:30 p.m., when her phone completely died,” Grossman recalled. “That often happens when a spiritual presence is passing by. No one else’s phone died.” But when Zaffis got home, her phone turned on with 50 percent power. “I really believe the two incidents are connected,” he added. “Lorraine was clairvoyant.”
In 1952, the Warrens found their calling and created the New England Society of Psychic Research. Twenty-two years later, according to Ray Bendici in Damned Connecticut.com, “Lindley Street in Bridgeport became the epicenter for one of the most documented hauntings in Connecticut history.”
Scary times. The public already had an appetite for such things. The Exorcist released in 1973 was still terrifying movie audiences. And Lindley Street? Thousands began making pilgrimages to the site. Some carried religious artifacts while others brought cameras and binoculars hoping to catch a glimpse of the supernatural. “Lindley Street put paranormal investigations on the map,” explained Rose Porto, lead investigator of Connecticut Spirit Investigations and Researchers, in Hamden. “If it wasn’t for the Warrens, I wouldn’t be doing what I am now.”
Porto is investigating possible hauntings at a house in Milford and another in Hamden. On Feb . 23 she said, she confirmed that a friendly spirit called Ben had taken up space inside Ramen-Ya, a Japanese restaurant in Berlin. While Porto admitted she never called Warren for advice “just knowing she was still around was sort of a comfort, especially because she was local,” she continued. “And if there was a paranormal issue or problem, who better to ask? It’s a tremendous loss to the whole paranormal field.”
Grossmann added that because of the Warrens, paranormal and ghost-hunting shows now populate TV.
To the Warrens, Lindley Street reeked of demonic possession, or at least a poltergeist. Even police and firefighters who entered the home reported unbelievable incidents. The home’s address was 966 Lindley Street – turn the first number over and you have 666. The Warrens called for an exorcism. Then police interviewed the 10-year-old American Indian girl from Canada the family had adopted. She admitted to everything, police officials said. And by Christmas everything calmed down.
But the Warrens went on, branching out into books and movies.
Screen legacy. In 1974, they were called to a home in Harrisville, R.I., where they claimed the angry spirit of Bathsheba Thayer was targeting a family. This became the storyline behind The Conjuring, a currently popular movie series.
The following year, the Warrens were in Amityville, on New York’s Long Island, investigating the home where Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered six members of his family. This turned into The Amityville Horror movie franchise.
In 1986, there was the former funeral home in Southington, Conn., rented by the Snedeker family, which the Warrens claimed was haunted by spirits of the dead allegedly abused by morticians. This case made it to the screen as A Haunting in Connecticut.
And there was the White Lady of Easton, who supposedly haunts Union Cemetery and perhaps the Stepney Village Cemetery in Monroe, which is where Ed Warren is buried and where Lorraine will be laid to rest beside him.
But Joe Nickell, a former private detective and senior research fellow for the Committee of Skeptical Inquiry, doesn’t buy any of the Warrens’ claims. “I’m the only full-time professional paranormal investigator who has never met a ghost, demon or poltergeist, even when I’m supposedly just inches away,” he said Friday.
Things came to a head between Nickell and the Warrens during a debate in 1992 over the Southington funeral home haunting, while taping a segment for the Sally Jessy Raphael talk show. Harsh words were exchanged. “I’ve investigated haunted houses for some 20 years and I’ve never met a house that I thought was haunted,” Nickell said afterward. “I think the Warrens have not met a house that they didn’t think was haunted.”
Additionally, when the Warrens were investigating the Southington case, they hired horror novelist Ray Garton to write a book about the “haunting.” Garton soon discovered the Snedekers couldn’t keep their stories straight and brought such to the attention of Ed Warren. According to Garton, Warren replied, “They’re crazy. All the people who come to us are crazy, that’s why they come to us. Just use what you can and make the rest up. You write scary books, right? Well, make it up and make it scary. That’s why we hired you.” Though the publisher claims In a Dark Place is based on a true story, Garton said it is pure fiction.
With both Warrens gone, Tony Spera, their son-in-law, now heads the New England Society of Psychic Research. “The family requests that you respect their privacy at this time,” the society’s website read the day after Mrs. Warren’s passing. “Lorraine touched many lives and was loved by so many. She was a remarkable, loving, compassionate and giving soul.”Sources: Michael P. Mayko, The Connecticut Post, April 19, 2019; Ray Benedict, Damned Connecticut, March 2009; The Amityville Horror Conspiracy by Stephen Kaplan, and Ray Garton.
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Post by LostLenore on May 3, 2019 11:52:51 GMT -5
So did they really believe in demons, or were they just putting on a show for the money?
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Post by aprillynn93 on May 3, 2019 19:04:00 GMT -5
So did they really believe in demons, or were they just putting on a show for the money? I think both. They were really religious, so I think they did actually believe in demons, however, they also saw a money making scheme in demon stories. |
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Post by pat on May 4, 2019 10:01:07 GMT -5
I think both. They were really religious, so I think they did actually believe in demons, however, they also saw a money making scheme in demon stories. |
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Post by aprillynn93 on May 4, 2019 18:22:38 GMT -5
I think both. They were really religious, so I think they did actually believe in demons, however, they also saw a money making scheme in demon stories. I agree. Perhaps it's better to say they pretended to be really religious. |
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Post by Kate on Apr 23, 2021 10:26:23 GMT -5
I agree. Perhaps it's better to say they pretended to be really religious. |
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Post by aprillynn93 on Apr 23, 2021 18:11:29 GMT -5
I agree. Perhaps it's better to say they pretended to be really religious. Will do. |
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Post by chris on Apr 25, 2021 9:53:57 GMT -5
I'll probably see it at some point, but I'm not going out of my way to see it. The people on this list doubt everything so much that I've gotten to where I don't really believe in things like demonic possession or even demons anymore. Here's the trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2DIg58rHWk |
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Post by aprillynn93 on Apr 25, 2021 18:50:53 GMT -5
I'll probably see it at some point, but I'm not going out of my way to see it. The people on this list doubt everything so much that I've gotten to where I don't really believe in things like demonic possession or even demons anymore. Here's the trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2DIg58rHWkYeah I won't be going out of my way either. I certainly won't pay any extra money for it. I'll wait for it to come on Netflix or something. I don't believe in demons either, or that the devil inhabits people's bodies. I watch these types of movies simply for entertainment. |
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Post by catherine on Apr 26, 2021 4:09:00 GMT -5
Yeah I won't be going out of my way either. I certainly won't pay any extra money for it. I'll wait for it to come on Netflix or something. I don't believe in demons either, or that the devil inhabits people's bodies. I watch these types of movies simply for entertainment. |
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