Ghost Hunter Lorraine Warren Serves Up Scary with a Side of Sheer Terror This Halloween

By Wendy Ann Mitchell (Patch Staff)

Lorraine Warren and her late husband Ed have been investigating hauntings for decades-- from The Amityville Horror, to The Conjuring and Annabelle, the duo’s investigations have inspired some of the most frightening films.

This Halloween season Lorraine and her son-in-law Tony Spera are hosting lectures and presentations about all things supernatural. On Friday, they spoke to a standing room only crowd at Shelton High School for the school’s swim team fundraiser.

Tony began the presentation by telling listeners, “You will never die. You are a spirit, you live in a body and your spirit will live on.”

When asked who in the crowd has seen a ghost, nearly all 1,100 in attendance raised their hands.

“There is such a thing as spirits, ghosts, devils and demons. They’re real,” Tony said. A hush fell over the crowd as he began a slideshow of haunted places and ghost sightings.

Beginning with The White Lady of Union Cemetery in Easton, which Tony reminded people not to visit, he explained the difference between ghosts and demons through a series of slides.

“Ghosts need energy to manifest, they will take it from living things from plant life, to electrical wires, to you and me.”

Demons, on the other hand, are more dangerous, can move objects and make it almost impossible to move, Tony said. Lorraine knows the feeling all too well from when she visited what she calls the scariest place on earth-- Amityville.

“I wouldn’t go back there if you paid me a million dollars,” Lorraine, a devout Catholic, said. “When we were there investigating, I levitated. I tried to make the sign of the cross but I couldn’t, so I just kept praying in my mind. It was the scariest place ever; pitch black. It’s scarier than The Conjuring.”

The case is what inspired The Amityville Horror, a film based on the real-life paranormal experiences of the Lutz family. The previous owners, the DeFeo family, was murdered by Ron DeFeo Jr. When Lorraine was working on the case with her late husband Ed and said, “I hope this is as close to hell as I ever get.”

Another one of the Warrens’ cases is the basis for the movie Annabelle, a follow-up to the blockbuster The Conjuring. The story is based on one of more than 10,000 cases they have investigated. Before showing a clip of the film, Tony told listeners that Hollywood’s version of what really happened with the possessed doll was only “one percent accurate.”

“They didn’t call us to consult with them like they did for The Conjuring,” Tony explained. “All they got right was the name of the doll and that she was possessed.”

The doll is the focal point for the Warren’s Occult Museum located at their Monroe home. Legend has it that you don’t want to touch or make Anabelle mad or she will put a curse on you. Tony helps Lorraine run the museum now and visitors from all over the country come to see the supernatural relics the Warrens have collected for the last 60 years, including the famous doll named Annabelle.

After thousands of investigations, hundreds of lectures and books, Lorraine, 87, said she is not ready to retire. There’s too much work for her to do, she said. “My greatest joy is going to schools and talking to students about my experiences and bringing them hope.”

Lorraine went to al all-girls school, Laurelton Hall, and was raised by an Irish-Catholic family. She said it was hard to explain to her family and the nuns the gift of discernment she had at a young age. When she married her husband Ed at age 17, she found he was also interested in paranormal activity and the couple spent decades researching together until Ed passed away in 2006.

Tony offered advice for anyone who may encounter a ghost, “Picture yourself in your white aura, everyone has one, and pray. Say in your mind that you command the demons to go back to where they came from in the name of Jesus and they will go.”

The presentation ended with a question and answer session. The benefit was a huge success and swim team parent Adam Zuckerman said this was the biggest crowd they have ever had for the event.

To learn more about the Warrens, or to find out where Lorraine and Tony will be speaking next, visit their website.

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Photo: Lorraine Warren and Tony Spera.

Credit: Wendy Mitchell