First of all, please let me establish that this is not about assaulting people's metaphysical beliefs or practices (though it will undoubtedly come off as such when we get into the meat of the subject), nor is it some scavenging attempt to gnaw over the bones of the dead (ironic, given that such vulture-like practice is precisely what I intend to remonstrate against).
This is a sincere and earnest plea for those reading this to research before they react: read the accounts that are discussed below, read the testimonies of those involved and do so without intention, without agenda, without the obfuscation of loyalty or sentiment or the filtering that derives from personal belief. Do not take my word for any of this, but, more importantly, do not take those of the individuals we're about to discuss, either.
It can't have escaped many horror fan's notice that, in recent days, Lorraine Warren, self-proclaimed medium and co-founder of the “New England Society for Psychic Research,” passed away at the age of 92. Warren and her husband have become iconic figures in the field of paranormal research for their (alleged) involvement in high profile cases such as The Amityville Horror, The Enfield Poltergeist etc. Many of their exploits have been dramatised in the forms of novels, films etc that have become iconic within the horror genre.
Most recently, the pair's exploits have been heavily mythologised in the forms of the Conjuring series of films and their various spin-offs.
Lorraine Warren herself proclaimed to be a psychic medium who could sense the histories and natures of houses, locations etc as well as commune directly with the dead and various supernatural entities, whilst her husband, Ed, claimed to be an inveterate “demonologist,” well acquainted with various supernatural phenomena, other-worldly entities and so on and so forth. Both proclaimed a non-standard form of Christian faith which separated the metaphysical world into very clear-cut “good” and “evil” domains, with Heavenly forces such as angels and good spirits occurring in direct opposition to demons, devils and unclean spirits, many of which the Warrens claim to have encountered and dealt with during their tenure.
Throughout their careers, the Warrens “investigated” numerous instances of purported paranormal phenomena, accruing a collection of occult and associated paraphernalia that they put on display in their homegrown “museum,” which visitors can still attend for a nominal fee (the eponymous doll of the Annabelle series of films can be found here).
Arguably the key case for the Warrens is one with which most will be at least passingly familiar: the events that have come to be known as “The Amityville Horror,” in which the Lutz family proclaimed to experience a number of strange phenomena in their newly purchased home, which had previously been the site of a tragedy involving an abused, disturbed boy and his murder of his entire family.
The case became something of a press sensation in the US and the wider world, eventually resulting in the iconic 1970s film, alongside numerous sequels, prequels and spin-offs (the veracity of George Lutz's claims have since come under heavy criticism, especially considering that few involved can seem to keep their accounts consistent. Even individuals directly involved have claimed that the entire event was contrived as a kind of media and money-making stunt).
The Warrens themselves were barely involved, yet their loose association with the house and the subsequent media frenzy around the event catapulted them to a degree of fame and attention that has sustained down the decades, leading to numerous other high-profile cases and even instances in which the Warrens have been called as “expert” witnesses in court.
Their status amongst spiritual, occult, religious, paranormal and even horror circles was and remains significant, such that Lorraine's recent passing resulted in outpourings of grief from those and more besides, the woman becoming almost lionised in death in the manner of a saint or prophet.
The vast majority of the Warren's [sic] physical evidence is photographs. They have hundreds of ghost shots, taken by them and those who work for them... The bulk of these photos are simply blobs of light on a piece of film. There are dozens of ways to get such light artifacts onto film, but most fit into one of three categories: flashback, light defraction, or camera cords. Rare double or multiple exposures create more interesting, but still artifactual, photographs.
And they were total frauds. Categorically exposed on various occassions, most notably from those they worked with during their most high profile cases, the Warrens have been various described as cynical con-artists, money-grubbing vultures, scavengers of human misery and obscene manipulators of family trauma, personal turmoil and mental illness.
If she told me the sun would come up tomorrow morning, I'd get a second opinion.
Allow me to reiterate: if those reading this have some similar or overlapping beliefs as those the Warren's proclaimed, this is not an assault upon those beliefs: this is a criticism of individuals who evidently pretended those beliefs in order to facilitate their own myths, to build a brand and to make money in the process. In that regard, they were and remain insults to those who genuinely believe in such matters; cynical and cruel decievers who realised what songs to sing, what parts to play, in order to garner attention, to make their places amongst certain circles and rise to the top like some sentient species of pond-scum. They believed nothing, at least beyond swelling their own status and influence, accruing as much in the way of very temporal power and material gain as they could.
Individuals who worked with the Warren's on high profile cases have categorically stated that the eventual narratives that spun from said events were largely contrived and orchestrated by the Warrens, to the point that the pair were even quite happy to prey upon and foster the troubles that families and individuals were having in order to further their own agendas (the Warrens were, at one point, sued by the brother of David Glatzel, who had committed brutal and violent murder whilst purportedly under the influence of demonic possession, which the Warrens had attempted to convince him of, rather than urging him to seek psychiatric help).
The family involved, which was going through some serious problems like alcoholism and drug addiction, could not keep their story straight, and I became very frustrated; it's hard writing a non-fiction book when all the people involved are telling you different stories.
It therefore came as something of a shock to me following Lorraine's recent death to discover outpourings of grief and lionising proclamations from members of the horror community. From my perspective as an ardent skeptic and as someone who has no interest in being manipulated by frauds and con-merchants, even when they do sing the right songs or proclaim sympathetic beliefs, I find it difficult to fathom how anyone can come to the Warrens and their various cases with a half way critical eye and not come away with at least some measure of doubt. Of their most high profile cases, there is surprisingly little beyond the fiction that they have spawned: only vague claims and assertions that themselves have been routinely criticised by investigators for factual and historical inaccuracy, negligence that borders on the criminal in certain instances and outright deception. There is next to nothing beyond the stories.
First of all, please let me establish that this is not about assaulting people's metaphysical beliefs or practices (though it will undoubtedly come off as such when we get into the meat of the subject), nor is it some scavenging attempt to gnaw over the bones of the dead (ironic, given that such vulture-like practice is precisely what I intend to remonstrate against).
This is a sincere and earnest plea for those reading this to research before they react: read the accounts that are discussed below, read the testimonies of those involved and do so without intention, without agenda, without the obfuscation of loyalty or sentiment or the filtering that derives from personal belief. Do not take my word for any of this, but, more importantly, do not take those of the individuals we're about to discuss, either.
It can't have escaped many horror fan's notice that, in recent days, Lorraine Warren, self-proclaimed medium and co-founder of the “New England Society for Psychic Research,” passed away at the age of 92. Warren and her husband have become iconic figures in the field of paranormal research for their (alleged) involvement in high profile cases such as The Amityville Horror, The Enfield Poltergeist etc. Many of their exploits have been dramatised in the forms of novels, films etc that have become iconic within the horror genre.
Most recently, the pair's exploits have been heavily mythologised in the forms of the Conjuring series of films and their various spin-offs.
Lorraine Warren herself proclaimed to be a psychic medium who could sense the histories and natures of houses, locations etc as well as commune directly with the dead and various supernatural entities, whilst her husband, Ed, claimed to be an inveterate “demonologist,” well acquainted with various supernatural phenomena, other-worldly entities and so on and so forth. Both proclaimed a non-standard form of Christian faith which separated the metaphysical world into very clear-cut “good” and “evil” domains, with Heavenly forces such as angels and good spirits occurring in direct opposition to demons, devils and unclean spirits, many of which the Warrens claim to have encountered and dealt with during their tenure.
Throughout their careers, the Warrens “investigated” numerous instances of purported paranormal phenomena, accruing a collection of occult and associated paraphernalia that they put on display in their homegrown “museum,” which visitors can still attend for a nominal fee (the eponymous doll of the Annabelle series of films can be found here).
Arguably the key case for the Warrens is one with which most will be at least passingly familiar: the events that have come to be known as “The Amityville Horror,” in which the Lutz family proclaimed to experience a number of strange phenomena in their newly purchased home, which had previously been the site of a tragedy involving an abused, disturbed boy and his murder of his entire family.
The case became something of a press sensation in the US and the wider world, eventually resulting in the iconic 1970s film, alongside numerous sequels, prequels and spin-offs (the veracity of George Lutz's claims have since come under heavy criticism, especially considering that few involved can seem to keep their accounts consistent. Even individuals directly involved have claimed that the entire event was contrived as a kind of media and money-making stunt).
The Warrens themselves were barely involved, yet their loose association with the house and the subsequent media frenzy around the event catapulted them to a degree of fame and attention that has sustained down the decades, leading to numerous other high-profile cases and even instances in which the Warrens have been called as “expert” witnesses in court.
Their status amongst spiritual, occult, religious, paranormal and even horror circles was and remains significant, such that Lorraine's recent passing resulted in outpourings of grief from those and more besides, the woman becoming almost lionised in death in the manner of a saint or prophet.
The vast majority of the Warren's [sic] physical evidence is photographs. They have hundreds of ghost shots, taken by them and those who work for them... The bulk of these photos are simply blobs of light on a piece of film. There are dozens of ways to get such light artifacts onto film, but most fit into one of three categories: flashback, light defraction, or camera cords. Rare double or multiple exposures create more interesting, but still artifactual, photographs.
- Steve Novella, writing for Hunting the Ghost Hunters.
And they were total frauds. Categorically exposed on various occassions, most notably from those they worked with during their most high profile cases, the Warrens have been various described as cynical con-artists, money-grubbing vultures, scavengers of human misery and obscene manipulators of family trauma, personal turmoil and mental illness.
If she told me the sun would come up tomorrow morning, I'd get a second opinion.
- Writer Ray Garton concerning Lorraine Warren.
Allow me to reiterate: if those reading this have some similar or overlapping beliefs as those the Warren's proclaimed, this is not an assault upon those beliefs: this is a criticism of individuals who evidently pretended those beliefs in order to facilitate their own myths, to build a brand and to make money in the process. In that regard, they were and remain insults to those who genuinely believe in such matters; cynical and cruel decievers who realised what songs to sing, what parts to play, in order to garner attention, to make their places amongst certain circles and rise to the top like some sentient species of pond-scum. They believed nothing, at least beyond swelling their own status and influence, accruing as much in the way of very temporal power and material gain as they could.
Individuals who worked with the Warren's on high profile cases have categorically stated that the eventual narratives that spun from said events were largely contrived and orchestrated by the Warrens, to the point that the pair were even quite happy to prey upon and foster the troubles that families and individuals were having in order to further their own agendas (the Warrens were, at one point, sued by the brother of David Glatzel, who had committed brutal and violent murder whilst purportedly under the influence of demonic possession, which the Warrens had attempted to convince him of, rather than urging him to seek psychiatric help).
The family involved, which was going through some serious problems like alcoholism and drug addiction, could not keep their story straight, and I became very frustrated; it's hard writing a non-fiction book when all the people involved are telling you different stories.
- Ray Garton on his involvement with the Warrens during the Snedeker House case.
It therefore came as something of a shock to me following Lorraine's recent death to discover outpourings of grief and lionising proclamations from members of the horror community. From my perspective as an ardent skeptic and as someone who has no interest in being manipulated by frauds and con-merchants, even when they do sing the right songs or proclaim sympathetic beliefs, I find it difficult to fathom how anyone can come to the Warrens and their various cases with a half way critical eye and not come away with at least some measure of doubt. Of their most high profile cases, there is surprisingly little beyond the fiction that they have spawned: only vague claims and assertions that themselves have been routinely criticised by investigators for factual and historical inaccuracy, negligence that borders on the criminal in certain instances and outright deception. There is next to nothing beyond the stories.
Don't get me wrong: I love a good ghost story as much as anyone, but it does seem as though those that the Warrens were involved with have either been overblown, exaggerated or so distorted by fiction, any attempt to determine veracity is doomed to failure.
At best, as tellers of meaningless ghost stories, and at worst, dangerous frauds.
Furthermore, the Warrens themselves have done everything in their power to promulgate those and other myths. These people knew their brand, knew their audience and knew exactly who to target, what to say, what to do in order to elicit emotional reaction.
Don't get me wrong: I love a good ghost story as much as anyone, but it does seem as though those that the Warrens were involved with have either been overblown, exaggerated or so distorted by fiction, any attempt to determine veracity is doomed to failure.
At best, as tellers of meaningless ghost stories, and at worst, dangerous frauds.
- Steve Novella and Perry De-Angelis for the New England Skeptical Society, 1997.
Furthermore, the Warrens themselves have done everything in their power to promulgate those and other myths. These people knew their brand, knew their audience and knew exactly who to target, what to say, what to do in order to elicit emotional reaction.
I do not entirely understand how people who are immersed in horror fiction, who know the beats and rhythms of these stories off by heart (such to the point that many create their own work within those traditions) cannot see when those stories are being spun as testimony, as documentary account. I furthermore find it difficult to accept how willingly people sell themselves to these callous and cynical narcissists, these predators and parasites who seek nothing other than manipulation of others, material gain and temporal power. My guess is that the high profile of certain cases the Warrens were involved with in the canon of horror cinema and fiction has a great deal to do with it: the likes of The Amityville Horror and The Conjuring (which elevates the Warrens to the status of priestly super-heroes) are so prevalent and pervasive, it seems to have created a strange association in which the fiction and the reality interbleeds; a phenomena the Warrens were very apt in cultivating.
This is precisely the same kind of tribal credulity, of selling ourselves to entirely unworthy icons, that leads to the likes of Trump in the US or Nigel Farage here in the UK, not to mention the various cults and demagogues and false prophets that litter human history and civilisation, in all of their manipulative monstrosity. We are lionising monsters who are willing to utilise people's tragedy and illness and most heartfelt beliefs in order to facilitate their own status. Even if you do happen to be a believer of some stripe or description, the Warrens are not a cart to hitch your horse to.
My sympathies will always lie with the victims of these fraudsters (and yes, I do believe that Ed and Lorraine Warren were conscious charlatans); those who did not get the medical treatment or psychiatric help they could have, who were convinced that they were haunted by spirits of the dead or demonically possessed when they were simply ill or depressed or suffering some sort of neurological condition.
And yes, I know; speaking ill of the dead. So what? Insofar as I can see, the Warrens made a living out of doing just that; of trampling over people's sincerest and most heartfelt beliefs, of manipulating them in their sickness and their trauma and their darkest moments. Whatever obligation to respect I or anyone might have had for them was out the window the moment they started telling children that they or their dolls were demonically possessed.
As an aside, just put yourself in that position for a moment, try to imagine it: being scared and uncertain and confused, not knowing what was going on, only to be told that there's some infernal, unseen force in your life and genuinely believing it. Can you even begin to imagine what that must've been like, even for the adults, let alone the children?
Never, ever, ever dare proclaim to me that I have any obligation of respect for people who would do this, because I do not. It is abusive, it is cruel and it is inhumane.
We have only been able to view this tape in the Warren's [sic] home because Ed refused to give it to us for analysis, a common theme in our investigation. The tape shows an apparent white human figure moving behind some tomb stones. Like videos of UFO's [sic], Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness monster, however, the figure is at that perfect distance and resolution so that a provocative shape can be seen, but no details which would aid definitive identification. Ed Warren has not investigated the video with any scientific rigor, and refuses to allow others to do so. Despite Ed's insistence that he was engaged in scientific research, he continued to jealously horde his alleged evidence, rather than allow it to be critically analyzed, as is necessary in genuine scientific endeavors.
And that is what they were: not prophets, not saints, not messiahs; not mediums or mentors or sages, but vultures; gnawers of old bones and human misery, which they sought out in the manner of carrion seeking corpses.
We need to be better; less tribal, less credulous, less attached to our own beloved and sacrosanct internal narratives. That is the only way to divorce ourselves from the factors that allows for the likes of Ed and Lorraine Warren to be elevated to saintly status when they should be spat upon from on high, when their names should be by-words for charlatanry and metaphysical abuse.
Somehow, fiction and media have co-mingled with truth in a perverse alchemy to spawn a pervasive, lionised myth of the Warrens, but it is essential that we claw our way through the murk and mire, that we ignore what we ardently desire in order to see the truth, however unpalatable we might find it.
Everybody who comes to us is crazy. Otherwise why would they come to us? You’ve got some of the story – just use what works and make the rest up. And make it scary. You write scary books, right? That’s why we hired you. So just make it up and make it scary.
This is precisely the same kind of tribal credulity, of selling ourselves to entirely unworthy icons, that leads to the likes of Trump in the US or Nigel Farage here in the UK, not to mention the various cults and demagogues and false prophets that litter human history and civilisation, in all of their manipulative monstrosity. We are lionising monsters who are willing to utilise people's tragedy and illness and most heartfelt beliefs in order to facilitate their own status. Even if you do happen to be a believer of some stripe or description, the Warrens are not a cart to hitch your horse to.
My sympathies will always lie with the victims of these fraudsters (and yes, I do believe that Ed and Lorraine Warren were conscious charlatans); those who did not get the medical treatment or psychiatric help they could have, who were convinced that they were haunted by spirits of the dead or demonically possessed when they were simply ill or depressed or suffering some sort of neurological condition.
And yes, I know; speaking ill of the dead. So what? Insofar as I can see, the Warrens made a living out of doing just that; of trampling over people's sincerest and most heartfelt beliefs, of manipulating them in their sickness and their trauma and their darkest moments. Whatever obligation to respect I or anyone might have had for them was out the window the moment they started telling children that they or their dolls were demonically possessed.
As an aside, just put yourself in that position for a moment, try to imagine it: being scared and uncertain and confused, not knowing what was going on, only to be told that there's some infernal, unseen force in your life and genuinely believing it. Can you even begin to imagine what that must've been like, even for the adults, let alone the children?
Never, ever, ever dare proclaim to me that I have any obligation of respect for people who would do this, because I do not. It is abusive, it is cruel and it is inhumane.
We have only been able to view this tape in the Warren's [sic] home because Ed refused to give it to us for analysis, a common theme in our investigation. The tape shows an apparent white human figure moving behind some tomb stones. Like videos of UFO's [sic], Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness monster, however, the figure is at that perfect distance and resolution so that a provocative shape can be seen, but no details which would aid definitive identification. Ed Warren has not investigated the video with any scientific rigor, and refuses to allow others to do so. Despite Ed's insistence that he was engaged in scientific research, he continued to jealously horde his alleged evidence, rather than allow it to be critically analyzed, as is necessary in genuine scientific endeavors.
- Steve Novella, Hunting the Ghosthunters.
And that is what they were: not prophets, not saints, not messiahs; not mediums or mentors or sages, but vultures; gnawers of old bones and human misery, which they sought out in the manner of carrion seeking corpses.
We need to be better; less tribal, less credulous, less attached to our own beloved and sacrosanct internal narratives. That is the only way to divorce ourselves from the factors that allows for the likes of Ed and Lorraine Warren to be elevated to saintly status when they should be spat upon from on high, when their names should be by-words for charlatanry and metaphysical abuse.
Somehow, fiction and media have co-mingled with truth in a perverse alchemy to spawn a pervasive, lionised myth of the Warrens, but it is essential that we claw our way through the murk and mire, that we ignore what we ardently desire in order to see the truth, however unpalatable we might find it.
Everybody who comes to us is crazy. Otherwise why would they come to us? You’ve got some of the story – just use what works and make the rest up. And make it scary. You write scary books, right? That’s why we hired you. So just make it up and make it scary.
- Ed Warren, purportedly in conversation with writer Ray Garton.-
