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Ed and Lorraine Warren have become very popular as of late. This is largely due to the success of the Conjuring franchise. These films portray the Warrens as warriors of god who swoop in to save families from demonic possession using Lorraine’s psychic abilities. However, the reality of the matter is much darker than what is portrayed on the big screen.
You can find countless articles online going over Ed and Lorraine Warren’s elaborate schemes. According to this piece from Medium.com, allegations that the Warrens were faking their psychic prowess go all the way back to the 1950s. It would seem that Steven Novella from The New England Society for Psychic Research went on record to say that the Warrens were nothing more than talented storytellers.
However, if Ed and Lorraine Warren were simply scam artists, how did they maintain such a positive reputation after all these years? Simply put, hysteria and sensationalism. The Warrens have worked on some major cases over the years. One of the most infamous of these being The Amityville Haunting.
“In other words, it was a hoax.” William Weber
For those unfamiliar with the tale, Ronald DeFeo killed his parents and four siblings on November 13th, 1974. The following year, the Lutz family moved into the home after getting it for a steep discount. However, they fled the home after 28 days, citing paranormal activity as the reason. They then wrote a book about the haunting. This tale would later be turned into The Amityville Horror.
Luckily, Ed and Lorraine Warren were more than happy to investigate the haunting. They even managed to take a photo of the infamous Amityville Ghost. However, this picture would soon come under scrutiny as it was revealed that the haunting was likely a hoax. It would seem that the Lutz family couldn’t actually afford their new house and simply took advantage of the tragedy that had occurred in the home.
At least, that is the opinion of Jay Anson, a journalist who had been approached by the Lutz family about turning their story into a book. It should be noted that the Lutz family only approached Anson after falling out with their first choice, William Weber. The Lutz family and Weber parted ways after failing to decide on how to split the book’s profits. According to Weber, he and the Lutz family orchestrated the whole story for profit.
Now, that is just one of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s famous hauntings. What about the rest? Netflix recently released a documentary about the events that inspired The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, titled The Devil on Trial. Both of these films focus on Arne Cheyenne Johnson and the Glatzel family after Arne killed his landlord in 1981.
“Every night they had the cameras ready; the microphones ready. It turned into a show.” Carl Glatzel
As the story goes, Arne becomes possessed by a demon following a visit by Ed and Lorraine Warren. They had come to the Glatzel family home and successfully removed a demon that had possessed David Glatzel. Arne was a family friend and attended the exorcism with the family. Following this event, Arne killed his landlord and attempted to use demonic possession as a legal defense. This approach did not fly in court, and the young man was found guilty of the crime.
The Devil on Trial interviews the Glatzel family and recounts their experience with Ed and Loraine Warren. According to Carl Glatzel, Ed and Lorraine Warren coached his mother into believing his brother was possessed. Even going so far as to describe what a possessed child may due in front of his brother David. It was long before David started mimicking these actions.
Following the murder, the Glatzel family was thrown into the spotlight. According to David, Ed and Lorraine Warren talked his mother into signing a book deal with them for less than $5,000. David recalls that the book’s author, Gerald Brittle, tried to keep the story factual but was shot down by Ed Warren, who stated, “Make it scary. People come to us. They buy scary.” This book would perform very well. Earning Ed and Lorraine Warren tens of thousands of dollars in sales.
“The Warrens’ real god is money.” Judith Penney
Many of the cases Ed and Lorraine Warren have “investigated” over the years have fallen into speculation. However, a non-haunting related event may have hurt their reputation more than any ghost story. In 2017, The Hollywood Reporter received information that Ed Warren may have entered into a sexually abusive relationship with a 15-year-old girl when he was in his thirties.
Judith Penney, then in her 70s, made an official report that Ed Warren engaged in a relationship with her when she was 15. She also claimed that Lorraine was aware of the relationship. According to Penney, she lived with Ed and Lorraine Warren for nearly four decades.
During this time, Penney claims to have become pregnant with Ed’s child. She states that Lorraine convinced her to make up a story and get an abortion.
“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.”
Now, it should be stated that all of this information is up for speculation. It has never been proven that Ed and Lorraine Warren are anything other than kind, helpful people. Seeing as how both Ed and Lorraine have passed away, it is unlikely that we will ever get the full story of their infamous lives.