“Hon, are you feeling alright?”
Some gentle words, a kind look, a warm drink before a violent exorcism, and I was hooked. Just like me, aside from all the thrilling investigations and paranormal activities featured in The Conjuring, many fans of this horror franchise were fascinated by the love story of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Despite the overall gloomy tone, the relationship between them added a sense of tenderness throughout the movie. From appearances to thoughts and feelings, the demonologist duo fit each other perfectly: Ed’s ties always had matching colors with Lorraine’s dresses, the two reached out for each other almost unconsciously and checked upon each other as if it was their instinct. Just like Patrick once said in an interview, the love between them, whether people want to admit it or not, was a big reason why audiences kept coming back to the franchise.
The Conjuring 3 Official Trailer
In this post, though, we are not going to talk about the Warrens portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. What we are going to discuss are the real-life Warren couple and their notable works. To some, Ed and Lorraine Warren might be pioneers of paranormal research. To others, they were nothing more than con artists of the lowest sort. Who were they, really, and how did they become the inspiration for one of the most notable horror franchises of this decade?
Table of Contents
About Ed And Lorraine Warren
Born on the 7th of September 1926, Ed Warren soon became attracted to paranormal activities. Part of this was due to his past experience. From age five to twelve, Ed started to hear knocking, sounds, footsteps, shadows, and voices calling out his name. He believed that his childhood house was haunted. Meanwhile, Lorraine Warren (neé Moran) was born on the 31st of January, 1927. She recalled her first paranormal experience was around nine when she saw auras around people but assumed it was normal. Both of them harbored “psychic abilities” since young ages.
The two first met each other in 1944. Regarding this, Lorraine said that she got sixth sense: “The slender young man was standing in front of me, but I didn’t see him. I ‘psychically’ viewed Ed as a grown man. A man that I would marry.”
A year later, the couple got married. Ed went to the Paier College of Art in Hamden and their life together began under the assumption that they would make living as artists. However, the Warrens’ fascination with ghosts and spirits was still stuck in their mind. Instead of painting landscape, they decided on a stranger path.
Ed would research haunted houses in the newspapers, sketched them, then knocked on the doors and offered the homeowners the paintings. Once they got to talk with the owners, they would get the information about the property and the paranormal activities going on. That was how their career as paranormal researchers began.
The Couple Soon Became Famous In The Psychic Community.
Many high schools and colleges invited them to give talks. They founded the New England Society for Psychic Research, which their daughter Judy Vera now runs. As their fame increased, more and more people across the country started calling to talk about the hauntings in their homes.
Throughout their life, Ed and Lorraine Warren claimed to have investigated over 10,000 haunted cases. Some of the notable ones are Annabelle (you can even see a copy of her in the Children Museum’s Haunted House!), the Perron family (which was the inspiration for Ghost Adventures: Curse Of The Harrisville Farm House), Amityville, and Union cemetery. Aside from that, the two also published books about their private investigations.
Whether or not their beliefs and stories they told are true is still controversial. Until today, we may never have the real answer, but these 11 chilling Ed and Lorraine Warren books will give you a peek into the world of ghosts and spirits, of paranormalism and mysteries.
6 Haunting Ed And Lorraine Warren Books For Horror Fans
Below are 6 Ed and Lorraine Warren books that we recommend, including books written by and about this spooky duo. Please note that this list is not in any particular order – it is just impossible to decide which one is the eeriest.
| Books | Image | Originally published | Authors | Notes |
| Ghost Hunters: True Stories From the World’s Most Famous Demonologists |  | 1989 | Ed Warren, Lorraine Warren, Ed Gorman | Buy Now |
| Werewolf: A True Story Of Demonic Possession |  | 12/2014 | William Ramsey, Ed Warren, Lorraine Warren, Ed Gorman | Buy Now |
| The Ghost Tracks |  | 12/2012 | Cheryl A. Wicks, Lorraine Warren, Ed Warren | Buy Now |
| In a Dark Place |  | 1992 | Ray Garton, Lorraine Warren, Ed Warren | Buy Now |
| The Haunted: One Family’s Nightmare | | 12/1988 | Robert Curran, Lorraine Warren, Ed Warren | Buy Now |
| Satan’s Harvest |  | 12/2014 | The Warrens, Michael Lasalandra, Mark Merenda, Maurice Theriault, Nancy Theriault | Buy Now |
Ed And Lorraine Warren Books – Ghost Hunters (1989)
Ghost Hunters was co-written by Ed and Lorraine, with the help of author Robert David Chase. It chronicles some of their first encounters with otherworldly entities.
Ghost Hunters consists of 14 eerie, real-life stories in total. You will learn about the case of two teenagers who became possessed after messing with séances and Satanism, a mansion haunted by an enraged and hostile poltergeist. Most notably, horror fans’ curiosity shall be satisfied as the book reveals the true case behind The Amityville Horror. All of these tales are unsettling to the point that you will start questioning your reality.
The book received a rating of 3.82 out of 5 on Goodreads. Some Warren couple’s fans comment that even though the stories were fascinating, the fact that there are 14 short stories makes the book less enjoyable than some other works, such as The Haunted. They long for more details about the cases and more connections with the victim, which each story can hardly go deep into. Still, if you are interested in the Warren couple and the cases they explored, Ghost Hunters is a great choice, to begin with.
Werewolf: A True Story Of Demonic Possession (1991)
Originally published in 1991, Werewolf follows a man called William Ramsey. Strange and seizure incidents that occurred to him caused a panic throughout the quiet English town of South End on Sea.
The couple, folks in the town, and Ramsey himself all believed that he had been possessed by some evil entities. Werewolf recorded every detail of a bizarre exorcism that was performed in an attempt to save his soul.
Rumors suggest that Michael Chaves was inspired by this case to create The Black Shuck – a demonic hellhound that served as an antagonist in The Conjuring universe. Before passing away in 2019, Lorraine Warren also gave a copy of Werewolf to Vera Farmiga – the actress who played Lorraine in the movie. Therefore, it is a must-read for all Conjuring fans out there! If you are into supernatural movies, maybe you should check out the all-time classic, featuring Keanu Reeves, Constantine.
Ed And Lorraine Warren Books – Ghost Tracks (2004)
“Just because something is impossible doesn’t mean it isn’t true”, co-writer Cheryl A.Wicks began his book with Ed and Lorraine Warren like that. The book is a collection of authentic documents, from letters, case studies, and interviews with those who sought help from Warren. It documents their life as paranormal investigators, including why they even chose this path in the first place.
Whether you believe in their stories or not, you will be amazed by the details packed in Ghost Tracks. Just as user Justin Collins wrote, the book is well-written, informative, and entertaining. It surely deserves a rating of 4.0 out of 5 on Goodreads.
Ed And Lorraine Warren Books – In A Dark Place (1992)
In A Dark Place is another book that serves as inspiration for a blockbuster – The Haunting In Connecticut. It tells the story of the Snekeder family who just moved into their new house but was assaulted by a series of brutal incidents. They had no other choice but to acknowledge the presence of a sinister entity and reached out to Ed and Lorraine Warren for help. This has been entitled “one of the most terrifying cases of demonic possession in the United State”.
Back in the 2000s, this story was presented countless times, including on national talk shows and a show on the Discovery channel. It created some controversies since the way each member of the Snekeder family told it didn’t quite match. In A Dark Place will provide you a broader perspective of the whole case and will keep your lights on all night.
The Haunted: One Family’s Nightmare (1988)
The Haunted: One Family’s Nightmare was written with the help of journalist Robert Curran. This book uncovers one of the most mysterious hauntings that was never brought to the screen, simply because there wasn’t enough information.
In The Haunted, we familiarize ourselves with the Smurf family whose home was filled with strange noises, spooky footsteps, succubus, vicious attacks, and so on. As members of the family were exhausted both mentally and physically, this book followed Ed and Lorraine’s longest and most dangerous case.
The book was rated 3.93 out of 5 on Goodreads. If there is any problem with The Haunted, then the ending didn’t really give viewers a sense of closure. It is understandable, though, since the real event that occurred in 1986 was never solved permanently, even with the help of the Warren couple.
Satan’s Harvest: A Shocking Case Of Demonic Possession (1990)
In Satan’s Harvest, the Warrens returned to unfold the story about the shocking possession and exorcism of a farmer in Massachusetts. As Maurice Theriault noticed bizarre things kept occurring around him, the farmer did everything a normal person would do: First, he sought help from his family members, then he went to the police, and ended up coming to Ed and Lorraine Warren, the most well-known exorcists at that time.
A fun fact about Satan’s Harvest is that the real footage of this exorcism was featured in The Conjuring as part of the Warrens’ lecture. Now, you have the chance to experience the true case as it was reported by police, priesthood, and other witnesses.
You might be glad to know that Michael Lasalandra and Mark Merenda – two co-writers who assisted the Warren couple in writing Satan’s Harvest – were reporters from Boston Herald and The New York Times. Hence, they could gather every necessary piece of detail about Theriault’s background, as well as the stories before and after the exorcism took place. Cleverly, though being very comprehensive, the book was written in a novel-like style instead of a biography, making it an entertaining and enjoyable read.
Ed And Lorraine Warren Books – Final Thoughts
If you are fascinated by paranormal activities and the cryptic entities, these Ed And Lorraine Warren books will give you a glimpse of a world that most of us are hardly exposed to. Whether you believe in them or not, these tales are still an endless inspiration for Hollywood.
That way, the Warren couple will continue making their presence in our pop culture long after they passed away, just like the spirits they investigated.
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