Ed and Lorraine Warren: The Frauds and Grifters of Ghost Hunting

When you start hearing knocking noises and whispers in an empty house… Who will you call? Ed and Lorraine Warren!

Ed and Lorraine Warren are a well-known couple in the paranormal industry of encountering haunted houses, dark entities, and possessed items and people. They were called on by families to investigate their houses for hauntings and demonic energy. They were contacted to conduct exorcisms and seances for the demons to go away. They were the couple who helped others in the 1950s and investigated over 10,000 cases. Their well-known cases are with the Amityville Horror, Annabelle the Doll, the Enfield Poltergeist, the Arene Cheyenne Johnson case, and the Perron family.

Despite that, Ed and Lorraine Warren helped many individuals and families; they exploited them for more fame in the media and in the movie franchise, The Conjuring. The well-acclaimed actors, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, portray the Warrens as a loving power couple combating the demonic spirits. Most people know the romanticized version of Ed and Lorraine Warren played by these actors, where they’re respected and well-loved by the public.

The reality of Ed and Lorraine Warren is that they’re frauds and grifters. Ed Warren is a self-taught demonologist, while Lorraine claimed that she was both a light trance medium and a clairvoyant. Lorraine would be more sensitive to the spirits and dark entities around her.

One of their cases that Warrens made a profit from for more fame was the Amityville Horror. The Amityville Horror is a popular ‘true’ story that has been adapted into books and movies. Ronald DeFeo Jr. brutally murdered his parents and four siblings in their house in 1974. A year later, the Lutz family moved in and experienced intense paranormal activity. The hauntings would occur at 3:15 am, where the Lutz family members were levitating off their beds, smelling odd odors, and green slime oozed out of the walls.

The Warrens were called to investigate the household. Lorraine recounted that she saw the spirits of the DeFeo family. Ed felt like the house reeked of death and felt the heavy demonic energy on him. They were the only ghost investigators who experienced the paranormal activity that the Lutz family went through. However, the Warrens made the paranormal investigations in Amityville more valid due to their highly esteemed career in demonology. The Amityville Horror was pronounced as a hoax, yet it is still believed to be a terrifying haunted house from its dark history.

Another huge case the Warrens made significant profit from is their 2021 movie adaptation of “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” from the Arne Cheyenne Johnson case. This 1981 case is the first known murder case in the United States of an individual proving to be innocent through the claim of possession by a demon. Johnson brutally murdered Alan Bono, who was his landlord. However, he does not remember it all or recount doing it. Johnson believed that a demon possessed him when his girlfriend’s brother, David Glatzel, was getting a demon expelled out of him.

David was 11 years old when he supposedly got possessed by a demon. The young child would mutter in Latin, growl, recite the Bible, experience frequent convulsions, and hiss. He had mysterious bruises and scratches all over his body. Glatzels were denied by the Catholic Church for performing an exorcism on the young boy, so they called the Warrens. The Warrens were able to perform an exorcism over David, and Johnson begged for the demon to take him instead. Lorraine Warren was concerned with Johnson’s statement and felt coldness come over her, that something bad would happen. The demonic possession didn’t take over until 5 months after Arne murdered Alan Bono.

The Warrens were involved in the media for the court case of the murder and claimed that Johnson was possessed by a demon. It was believed by Arne’s lawyer that he was possessed as well, since he didn’t think a human could create deep wounds from the vicious stabbing. However, the judge declared that the possession by an entity cannot be used in court of law since there is not a lot of evidence. Arne Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to prison for 10-20 years. Johnson only did 5 years in prison for his good character and eventually married Debbie Glatzel.

Carl Glatzel, the oldest brother, doesn’t believe in this false story of the possession to murder. He doesn’t think David is connected to anything in the case. The truth was that Arne Johnson was possessive over Debbie Glatzel and easily jealous of interactions with other men. There were rumors that Debbie was having an affair with Alan Bono. It is suspected by Carl that this was the main reason why Johnson brutally murdered Bono. It takes another dark turn. Glatzel shared that he found a note from his mother’s belongings about giving their family a certain medicine. His mother would drug the children with Sominex to go to sleep, and so it was easier for them to control them. Carl thinks the reason why David was acting incredibly odd was because of the Sominex. The drug makes individuals have hallucinations, mood swings, and gain weight, which is similar to what David went through being ‘possessed’ as a child. Currently, the Glatzel family no longer talks to one another after this traumatic occurrence.

After the media craze and trial finished, Ed and Lorraine Warren hired Gerald Brittle to make a story about Arne and David’s story. The novel, “The Devil in Connecticut”, was first produced with the exaggerated details of the possession from David to Arne. It helped produce and create the The Conjuring 2021 third movie, The Devil Made Me Do It. The Glatzel family only received $4,500 for selling their story, while the Warrens received more than $81,000 for making money off the family.

Ed and Lorraine Warren have made $1.2 billion from their franchise built on false sensational paranormal cases. They were known to be wonderful storytellers and get people fascinated by the supernatural. But at what cost? They were frauds to pioneer the movement of ghost investigations, demonology, seances, and possession. It poses the questions: Did the Warrens have good intentions for their paranormal investigations? Did they mainly take the cases for the fame to be more well-known? For future paranormal investigators, should there be more ethics and boundaries to avoid exploitation of innocent families? Can there be any truth to demons and haunted houses?