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Ed and Lorraine Warren, a dynamic husband-and-wife duo, rose to international fame as paranormal investigators after delving into notorious cases such as The Amityville Horror, the Annabelle doll, and eerie incidents that inspired the Conjuring films.
In 1952, the Warrens established New England's oldest ghost-hunting organization. They authored several books on their supernatural explorations and gained profound insights into thousands of paranormal cases over their careers. Lorraine Warren passed away peacefully in her sleep on April 18, 2019, at the age of 92, while Ed Warren had died earlier in 2006 at 79.
Here are their most terrifying cases, rooted in uncovering the dark forces hidden within people's homes.
10. The Perron Family Haunting
In 1970, the Perron family relocated to a historic farmhouse in Rhode Island. Their dream home quickly turned into a living nightmare. Carolyn, Roger, and their five children encountered a tall woman in a gray dress wandering the property. Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated and identified the woman as Bathsheba, a 19th-century witch who had sacrificed her child to the Devil before taking her own life by hanging from a tree in the backyard.
Bathsheba remained a persistent and invasive force in the house, battling Carolyn for control. Andrea, Carolyn’s daughter, remembers, “[Bathsheba] despised my mother and was obsessed with my father. My mother was never able to reclaim her role as the lady of the house.”
Andrea also noted, “It sought to dominate, and we resisted it for years. I suppose we know who prevailed, as [we] moved out, and [the ghost] remains there.”
9. Annabelle
The Occult Museum of Ed and Lorraine Warren houses the infamous Annabelle doll, securely displayed in a protective glass case. In 1970, this Raggedy Ann doll was gifted to Donna, a 28-year-old woman, who soon discovered that the doll was moving independently around her apartment. Mysterious notes written on parchment also appeared, pleading, “Help Us.”
Initially, Donna and her roommate dismissed these occurrences as a joke. However, as the situation escalated, they consulted a medium. During the séance, they communicated with a spirit named Annabelle, a young girl who had passed away at the age of seven.
Upon learning of this, Ed and Lorraine Warren warned the women that a demonic entity was using the doll as a vessel to seek a human host. After witnessing Annabelle levitate, the Warrens took the doll away and secured it in a glass case at their museum. In 2020, rumors spread on social media claiming Annabelle had escaped, but these were debunked as a hoax stemming from a mistranslated Chinese story.
8. Snedeker House
In 1986, the Snedeker family relocated from New York to Connecticut to be near the hospital where their eldest son was receiving cancer treatment. Unbeknownst to them, the house they bought on Meriden Avenue in Southington had previously served as a funeral home, a fact they discovered only after moving in.
Once renovations were finished, Carmen Snedeker ventured into the basement and stumbled upon embalming tools and identification tags bearing the names of the deceased.
The family soon realized the house was plagued by demonic forces. Carmen described how the water in her mop bucket turned a deep, unsettling red. She said, “The mop water was blood red—so dark it sent shivers down my spine.” Her middle son added, “The lights flickered on and off, even though there were no bulbs in the sockets.”
Ed and Lorraine Warren conducted an exorcism on the property, bringing peace to the family. No further supernatural incidents have been reported since. The Snedekers stayed in the house for two more years before moving to Tennessee. The home remains a private residence, though curious onlookers occasionally visit to observe it from afar.
7. Enfield Poltergeist
The Enfield Poltergeist haunted a modest home in the Enfield suburb of London. From 1977 to 1979, Peggy Hodgson, a single mother, and her two daughters—Margaret, 13, and Janet, 11—endured terrifying events, including furniture being tossed, objects flying across rooms, and picture frames falling off walls. The girls even experienced levitation, with these occurrences witnessed by neighbors, journalists, and police officers.
Janet, the younger daughter, began speaking in a deep, masculine voice, thought to belong to the spirit of an elderly man. The family faced significant media scrutiny, with accusations that the girls were fabricating the events for attention.
Ed and Lorraine Warren concluded the case was one of “demonic possession.” Janet later revealed she had used a Ouija board before the disturbances began and was unaware of her trances until shown photographs. Despite skepticism and claims of a money-making scheme, the family stayed in the house. Peggy Hodgson passed away in 2003, and Janet maintains her belief in the authenticity of the possession.
6. The Donovan Family
In the early 1970s, Ed and Lorraine Warren were called to the Donovan family’s home, where they encountered terrifying phenomena. Upon arrival, they heard loud banging from within the walls, saw wallpaper peeling off, witnessed water turning blood red, and heard animalistic growls echoing through the house.
The Warrens questioned the Donovans about any unusual secondhand purchases or recent family deaths. No leads emerged until the youngest daughter, Patty, confessed. She had used a Ouija board to contact a “teenage boy” who had died in the area a decade earlier. The spirit never identified itself, leading the Warrens to suspect it was a demonic entity masquerading as the boy.
The Warrens promptly arranged for a priest to perform an exorcism. Afterward, the Donovan household gradually returned to normal. Ted Donovan’s brother, who witnessed the possession and exorcism, later wrote, “Neither I nor anyone in my family had ever experienced anything so bizarre and horrifying.”
5. Smurl Family
In 1974, the Smurl family endured their own version of hell after relocating to West Pittston, Pennsylvania. Janet and Jack Smurl, along with their young daughters and Jack’s parents, lived together in the house, facing 13 years of relentless terror.
The supernatural disturbances began when their home renovations were inexplicably ruined. Newly hung wallpaper peeled off, freshly painted windows cracked, foul odors permeated every room, and eerie voices echoed through the house. Janet even recounted being assaulted in her sleep by a malevolent entity.
Frightened and desperate, the Smurls reached out to Ed and Lorraine Warren for assistance. Lorraine identified four spirits haunting the home: a benign elderly woman, a deceased old man, a violent young girl, and a demon controlling the others, turning them against the family.
The paranormal activity ceased by October 1986, and the family moved back to Wilkes-Barre in 1988. A church-approved exorcism reportedly took place, and the property has been free of supernatural occurrences ever since.
4. Demon Murder Trial
In 1981, 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson brutally stabbed his landlord, 40-year-old Alan Bono, over 20 times with a pocketknife. This marked the first murder in Brookline, Connecticut, in 193 years.
Before the killing, Johnson had moved in with his girlfriend and her brother David, who claimed to be haunted by a demon. The family sought help from Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The Warrens conducted an exorcism on David, driving out 42 demons from his body. During the ritual, Johnson challenged the demons to possess him instead. A month later, with no prior violent tendencies, he murdered Bono in cold blood.
In court, Johnson argued he was not guilty due to demonic possession. Despite this, he was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years, serving only five for good behavior.
3. The Amityville Horror
On November 13, 1974, at 3:15 AM, Ronald “Butch” DeFeo Jr. murdered his parents and siblings with a .35-caliber rifle as they slept. Butch later confessed to the police, “Once I began, I couldn’t stop. It all happened so quickly.”
A year later, the Lutz family moved into the Ocean Drive home in Amityville. A priest blessed the house and cautioned them, “Do not use the upstairs room as a bedroom, and do not let anyone sleep there.”
Almost immediately, strange occurrences began. Their young daughter befriended an imaginary red-eyed pig, foul smells permeated the house, furniture floated, and loud banging echoed at night. Terrified, the family eventually fled the property.
During their investigation, Ed and Lorraine Warren uncovered that the property had once been used by a black magician. He had asked to be buried on the land, and his remains are still there today.
Kathy Lutz remarked, “Events like these occur often, but families usually keep quiet about them. Unless people speak openly, these phenomena will never be understood.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsX9HMzWg_E” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>
2. The Demonic Werewolf in London
Bill Ramsey was seen as “living evidence” that werewolves exist. Born in Southend-on-Sea, England, Ramsey recalled a childhood incident where he felt “odd” before an overwhelming rage allowed him to tear out an entire fence. As an adult, he claimed to witness his face morphing into a wolf’s and his hands turning into claws.
Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in after London police officers reported being attacked by a werewolf. Ed stated:
This was our first encounter with lycanthropy. I spoke to the officers who were attacked by this man. He stands around [170 centimeters (5’7″)] and weighs about [68 kilograms (150 lb)], yet he threw officers over [183 centimeters (6’0″)] tall as if they were mere sticks.
In 1989, the Warrens persuaded Ramsey to visit their church in Connecticut for an exorcism. During the ritual, Ramsey’s face twisted, and he lunged at the exorcist. Afterward, calm returned, and the exorcism succeeded. No further incidents have been reported since.
1. Union Cemetery
Numerous eyewitnesses have reported sightings of the “White Lady” haunting Union Cemetery in Easton, Connecticut. This cemetery is widely regarded as one of the most haunted in the United States.
The White Lady has also been spotted walking in front of cars on Route 59 late at night. Startled drivers, thinking they had hit someone, stopped to check but found no one there. The name “White Lady” comes from witnesses describing her attire as either a white gown or what looked like a wedding dress.
In 1990, Ed and Lorraine Warren set up cameras in the cemetery to document their investigation. Just after 2:40 AM, they heard a woman crying and saw a female figure moving toward them. As Ed approached, the figure suddenly disappeared.
Today, the cemetery is closed to visitors after sunset.
