From Warner Bros.’ 2013 starter to 2025’s ‘Last Rites,’ The Hollywood Reporter explains the real-life stories behind the four films in the horror franchise, formerly investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Ed and Lorraine Warren (left) are played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson in ‘The Conjuring.’ Russell McPhedran/Fairfax Media/Getty Images; Ben Rothstein/Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection
The world’s most famous demonologists, Ed and Lorraine Warren, have taken on cases that have helped people who have been allegedly possessed, had a haunted home or even needed exorcisms performed.
Throughout their research, they’ve collected artifacts (this includes the Annabelle doll) that they have held in their real-life Occult Museum in the basement of their home in Monroe, Connecticut. After Ed died in 2006 at the age of 79 and Lorraine passed away in 2019 at 92, the museum was run by their daughter Judy and her husband, Tony Spera. In August, comedian Matt Rife bought the home, which he plans to open, along with the artifact room, for tours and overnight stays to the public.
Their cases, many of which were highly publicized, have inspired Warner Bros.’ Conjuring franchise — starring Vera Farmiga as Lorraine and Patrick Wilson as Ed — which has grossed more than $2.3 billion and was first helmed by director James Wan and later Michael Chaves. Before Lorraine died, she was a consultant on the first two Conjuring films. The Ed and Lorraine-focused films have concluded (for now) with The Conjuring: Last Rites, released on Friday.
In this list below, we take a closer look at the inspirations behind the four Conjuring films in the horror franchise, as The Hollywood Reporter breaks down the true cases that the Warrens encountered and their Hollywood depiction onscreen (though it’s important to note things can be embellished). And head here to find out more on real-life mentions within the films, like the Annabelle doll or the Amityville Horror.
‘The Conjuring’ (2013) — The Perron Family Haunting
From left: Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Patrick Wilson (back: John Brotherton) in ‘The Conjuring.’
The first Conjuring film, which introduced audiences to Ed and Lorraine Warren, surrounded a case involving the Perron family. In 1971, Roger (played by Ron Livingston) and Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor) moved into a Rhode Island farmhouse with their five daughters, Andrea (Shanley Caswell), Nancy (Hayley McFarland), Christine (Joey King), Cindy (Mackenzie Foy) and April (Kyla Deaver). There, they experienced odd things happening, like hearing noises and smelling a strong odor.
After the Warrens heard about what was going on through other researchers, they went to their home and allegedly conducted a séance — but in the film, it’s portrayed more like an exorcism. The real Andrea told USA Today in 2013 what she claims to have witnessed. “My mother began to speak a language not of this world in a voice not her own. Her chair levitated and she was thrown across the room,” she said. The Perron family later moved out of the house in 1980.
‘The Conjuring 2’ (2016) — The Enfield Poltergeist
Madison Wolfe as Janet Hodgson in ‘The Conjuring 2.’
The sequel to the first film is based on the Enfield Poltergeist case, which involved another family that experienced alleged supernatural encounters between 1977 and 1979. In Enfield, London, Peggy Hodgson, a single mom with four kids, heard loud noises coming from her daughter’s room. She then claimed to have witnessed drawers sliding to cover a door, trapping them in their room, and a curtain wrapped around her, suffocating her. Unlike many tropes in horror films, the Hodgson family did call the cops, and the police also saw the strange things they were experiencing.
One of the Hodgson daughters, 11-year-old Janet, claims a demon possessed her. Lorraine and Ed Warren investigated the case and Lorraine has called it one of the most “terrifying” cases of her career. Janet would allegedly speak through the voice of Bill Wilkins, a man who died in their home years before this took place, according to recordings from the Warrens’ files. There is also a famous photo (see the video below) of her appearing to be levitating over her bed.
While the accuracy of what really happened is torn with people believing it or not, Janet admitted to ITV News in 1980, according to Daily Mail: “Oh yeah, once or twice (we faked phenomena), just to see if Mr Grosse and Mr Playfair would catch us. They always did.”
Unlike the film, where the incidents took place over a short period, in real life, there was no big resolution. Their home was allegedly haunted for around 18 months.
‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’ (2021) — The Trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It: Ruairi O’Connor (2021).
The third installment in The Conjuring movies is based on Arne Cheyenne Johnson’s real-life murder trial in 1981. (This excludes the witchcraft storyline, which was a fictional add-in!) In the first two Conjuring films, audiences saw the Warrens investigate haunted homes. Still, this one stepped it up a notch as Johnson claimed to be possessed when he killed his landlord, Alan Bono. Johnson was trying to save his fiancée Debbie Glatzel’s younger brother, David, who was allegedly possessed by a demon. When Ed and Lorraine Warren heard about the news, they contacted the Catholic Church to perform an exorcism on David, allegedly. While it was happening, Johnson claimed to tell the demon inside David to take him instead, which was when he became possessed and stabbed Bono.
The events transpired into being the first U.S. murder case where demonic possession was used as a legal defense. The Warrens supported his defense, claiming he wasn’t guilty by reason of demonic possession. Jonshon’s attorney, Martin Minella, told the New York Times in 1981: “The courts have dealt with the existence of God. And now they’re going to have to deal with the existence of the Devil.” Later that year, he was charged with manslaughter in the first degree and sentenced to 10-20 years in prison, but was released after five years due to good behavior.
‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ (2025) — The Smurl Family Haunting
Mia Tomlinson as Judy Warren in ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites.’ Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
The Smurl family’s case is one of the most disturbing cases the Warrens investigated, and the one that made them retire. The events started in 1973, when Jack (played by Elliot Cowan) and Janet Smurl (played by Rebecca Calder) moved with their kids and Jack’s parents into a home in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. The hauntings began with hearing odd noises and smelling a foul odor, which then led to hearing knocks in threes on the hallway, screams and seeing dark figures walking around the home. The family alleged that a spirit threw one of their children down the stairs and attacked their dog. Jack reported that he was allegedly physically and sexually assaulted many times by a demonic presence. This led the Smurls to reach out to priests to come and bless their home, but nothing changed.
Due to their case being highly publicized in the press at the time, it caught the attention of the Warrens. Ed and Lorraine conducted thorough research by staying overnight at the Smurl home, where they set up recordings and audio that captured non-human sounds, levitating objects and physical assaults. The Warrens contacted their Bishop to perform several exorcisms, which failed. The hauntings only stopped after the family moved out of the home in 1988.
This case was actually the first one that introduced the director of the first two Conjuring films, James Wan, to the Warrens because he had watched the 1991 TV movie, The Haunted, which is based on what the Smurl family endured. In the Last Rites, audiences also see more of how Ed and Lorraine Warren’s daughter, Judy, has been affected by their work.
See real footage of Lorraine Warren and the Smurl’s below.
