The Ed and Lorraine Warren era has come to a close as news has come out that Lorraine Warren, 92, has passed away. Her son-in-law Tony Spera announced on Facebook Friday morning that she died peacefully in her sleep at home. She now joins her late husband Ed, who passed away in 2006, on their final adventure together.
The Warrens have fascinated countless audiences with their stories of ghosts, demons, poltergeists, and hauntings. Their stories have been the subject of several movies including The Amityville Horror and the Conjuring universe.
For a deeper dive into the Warrens’s story, you can check out their bio on their website, but I wanted to share some of the highlights.
Ed and Lorraine’s romance began when they were both 16. Ed worked as an usher at a local theater that Lorraine and her mother attended every Wednesday night. Ed walked her home one night and asked her on a date. Later, after Ed had enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17 and was on survivor’s leave after his ship sank, Ed and Lorraine committed to a marriage that would later be strengthened in ways not many others have.
Ed was a painter, and the couple decided to buy a cheap car and drive around New England, so Ed could paint the old, Victorian scenes and sell them to people on the sidewalk. They remember these days with much fondness. This is also how their paranormal investigations got started. They heard rumors of a haunted house in the area, so Ed would set up shop, paint the house, and then Lorraine would approach the homeowners “with her Irish personality” and show them the painting and ask to come inside.
As their investigations started to increase, they decided to start the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR). They gathered a team of skeptics, scientists, priests, doctors, and more to assist in their investigations to help people put an end to the paranormal phenomena affecting their lives. Lorraine claimed to be a trance medium and was said to “clairvisually” and “claiaudioally” interact with the spirit world.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The Warrens strongly believed that their Catholic faith gave them a better understanding of the fight between God and demonic forces and helped them in their investigations and exorcisms. As their website states:
Diabolical forces are formidable. These forces are eternal, and they exist today. In a world that scoffs at ghosts and laughs at the unusual, the Warrens deliver a contrary message. That message is this: The fairy tale is true. The devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges upon which one we elect to follow.
After 70 years of paranormal research, Lorraine retired in July 2017. Her son-in-law Tony Spera now oversees NESPR to continue on with their legacy.
While skeptics doubt the truth of the stories the Warrens told, nobody doubts the kindness and generosity the couple showed. Regardless of whether or not you believe them, one fact of their life is for sure: they loved each other and supported each other even as demonic forces sought to tear them apart.
After 13 years, Lorraine and Ed are back together again, and we genuinely hope they are in a better place together for eternity.
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