The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren (11 page)

“Once I get certain questions answered,” Ed continues, “then I have them explain the phenomena that have occurred. Have they seen objects move or levitate? If they tell me a refrigerator has levitated, I know this is beyond the power of human PK. Have they seen things disappear? Have they seen objects move through walls? Have substances, objects, or animals manifested mysteriously? After an hour of such questioning, I'll know whether or not the people are on the level; if the activity is by chance or design; if there is an intelligence behind the phenomena, and if that intelligence is apt to be human or demonic in origin.”

When called in to investigate a typical case where bizarre events are happening, do the Warrens work alone or are others present to witness the disturbance?

“First,” says Lorraine, “there is no such thing as a ‘typical case’: every case is different and has its own peculiar dynamics. As for witnesses, most of the time other people see the activity besides Ed, myself, and the principals involved. Sometimes Ed and I do happen to be the first outsiders to arrive on the scene, but once arrangements are made for us to begin an investigation, we'll work with a number of very capable assistants. For example, Ed’s chief assistant is a knowledgeable young man named Paul Bartz, who’s been with us now for many years and has frequently been exposed to demoniacal activity. Also, we’ll usually arrive with a photographer who’ll be there to photograph the activity as it occurs, as well as any spirit forms that can be captured on film. In rare cases where communication with the entity is called for, a deep-trance medium may also come along. If inhuman spirits seem to be behind the disturbance, then Ed will often bring along a priest or acolyte who wants firsthand experience with demoniacal phenomena. Later on, if the activity
is
being caused by inhuman powers, a local clergyman and an exorcist will be present as witnesses.

“However, you should also remember that before we arrive, friends, neighbors, relatives, police, parapsychologists, psychologists, and psychic researchers may all have witnessed the activity in an attempt to help determine what’s behind the problem. Since spirits are usually the last thing people think of, Ed and I are therefore the
last
ones to be called in.”

Is there some special way these cases initially start—the bad ones, that is?

“That’s a very general question,” Lorraine replies, “but let me answer it this way. Emotions in a home will tend to trigger off phenomena. A happy home
is
therefore your best protection against invisible intruders. Ghosts don’t tend to be happy, as a rule; they’ll usually manifest to someone they can relate to emotionally. The same holds true for inhuman spirits—except in those instances, emotions would have to be
very
intense to draw in a negative demonic entity. But in a great many cases we have investigated, the phenomena were
invited
in
.
People who thought the supernatural was harmless or didn’t believe it was there at all, brought the activity into their lives
through their own free will!’’

A particularly striking aspect to demoniacal phenomena is that the demonic spirit is actually moved to violence when exposed to religious articles, the recitation of prayers, or reference to God or Jesus Christ. As Ed explains, this is why the study of the demonic is a religious, not a scientific subject.

“The subject is not religious because
I
say it’s religious, or because
I
want to believe it’s true,” declares Ed. “I say the phenomenon is religious because that’s the power that
it
—the demonic spirit—responds to. People might not believe in God, but these spirits do.”

Is there any other way to understand the inhuman demonic spirit except
in
a religious context?

“Ultimately, the answer is no. Don’t you think I’ve gone through the same course of reasoning?” Ed asks,” You can
call
this phenomenon a poltergeist, as the scientist does, but once the spirit goes into its irreligious act, that label fizzles out pretty quickly. There is simply no secular—that is, no non-religious—explanation for these spirits’ existence.”

Ed and Lorraine Warren have been speaking to the public—and professional groups concerned with spirit phenomena—for a little over a decade. In 1968 when the Warrens delivered their very first public lecture, Ed and Lorraine had already spent twenty-two years researching and studying supernatural phenomena. Yet, they had no idea everyday people were interested in hearing about their experiences. For mass audiences, Ed and Lorraine rationalized, the subject matter was too frightening. Besides, only those who had experienced the phenomena would be interested in the subject. Better leave well enough alone.

“Not so,” contended the head of a local scholarship committee. “Why not bring a dozen of your paintings of haunted houses to the town hall, and then lecture on the day of the Silver Tea Art Show? The admission money would be a real boost to the scholarship drive.”

As a community gesture, the Warrens agreed. On the appointed day, their paintings were lined up on easels across the stage. Nervously, Ed Warren, pointer in hand, unraveled the bizarre details of each case before a packed house. The talk went on for well over an hour. In the end, the Warrens generated enough money for the town to support not one, but two scholarships that seventh day of September 1968: Ed Warren’s birthday.

Although people were interested in hearing ghost stories, Ed and Lorraine Warren eventually found that they could not speak openly on
demoniacal
phenomena. The subject was unpopular: it smacked of paradox and superstition—and offended the sensibilities of the time. Not everyone was ready to accept what the Warrens had to say. Then, for some strange reason, all that suddenly changed.

“In 1970,” Ed explains, “when we first went out to speak in colleges, I became disgruntled, even disgusted with the lectures. Lorraine and I honestly assumed that educated people wanted to know the
whole
story on the subject of spirit phenomena. But back then everyone was searching for ‘the truth,’ except it had to be a certain
kind of
truth that conformed to the prejudices of the day.

“As long as we talked about haunted houses and ghosts, people were delighted. When we had to mention demonic spirits, demonology, the devil—or worse, if we brought up Christ, or priests, or religion—a swell of animosity rose up from the audience, as though someone had thrown a switch. The hostility was sometimes so overwhelming we could hardly go on. Although many were following what we were saying, others got up and walked out on us. Professors became instant experts and challenged us with half-baked arguments on how spirits didn’t exist. Some went so far as to tell us that everything we’d experienced since the 1940s never even happened at all! It got to the point I considered going back to my studio and living a nice quiet life as an artist, while working with people who really needed help in spirit matters.

“One day in the car, I said to Lorraine, That’s it. I’m not even going to mention the subject of demonology anymore. If people want to think it stops with ghosts and haunted houses, that’ll have to be it. I’m not going to put our work up for ridicule so some reporter with a grudge can get a story published, and I’m not going to let people make a farce out of the serious work the specialist clergy does in this field.’ Lorraine agreed with me.

“As I was talking, we happened to drive past a big, domed mission headquarters that’s located along the Hudson River. I’d always wanted to go into the place, so I turned the car around and parked. We walked through the front door and into a quiet, tasteful lobby. An old, stooped-over priest with a cane was looking into a showcase at vases and other ornate Chinese objects. I walked across the lobby to where he was standing. ‘Gee, Father,’ I said, ‘these things certainly did come a long way.’ He had a very serene, beautiful face. He looked up at me and said, ‘I spent many years of my life serving in China as a missionary.’ With that we got to talking. I explained my work to him, and he kept nodding in a knowing manner.

“ ‘I performed many, many exorcisms in China,’ he said, ‘but I do not tell some of the priests here what I have done. They don’t know. They don’t believe.’ Then he looked up in my eyes and said, ‘I would like you to go and see the Japanese nun in the library upstairs.’

“ ‘Why, Father?’ I asked him.

“ ‘Because she has something to tell you. Something you should know.’

“Lorraine and I went upstairs to the library and came across the nun. She was a very intelligent-looking woman, over fifty, dressed in black robes. We introduced ourselves and I then told her about my conversation with the old priest downstairs. She smiled and nodded in the same way he had.

“ ‘You are very discouraged by things that have been happening to you lately, Mr. Warren,’ she said, just like that. ‘Do not feel discouraged any longer. The work you are doing has a purpose. Things are going to change for you very soon. Sooner than you think!’

“She then went on and told us about her work as a nun, and her experiences with exorcisms all around the world. After she finished speaking, she gave me a very learned book on religious demonology and exorcism. That book became important to me later. But do you know
, from that day on,
when we went out to lecture and came to tell people about the existence of the demonic, there was no longer any ridicule. It was as though a great weight had been lifted off me. All of a sudden, people became interested in what we were saying and began asking serious questions. It was a major turnaround; and now, today, there is tremendous interest in the subject.”

V
A Conjuring Book for
Christmas

By the middle of May 1978 the daffodils were up, but spring hadn’t yet arrived in Connecticut Lorraine had planned to spend Saturday the thirteenth planting coleus in her backyard garden, but galeforce winds blew across the state, followed by five days of heavy rain. The weather was a fitting end to a week in which nothing had gone right In fact, tensions had been building for Lorraine since the beginning of the month, and she knew something would soon have to give.

With torrential rain beating on the house, the Warrens spent that wet Saturday afternoon planning the itinerary for their upcoming trip to England Because their work often takes them to the United Kingdom, they’ve developed an additional expertise in British haunting sites, and were therefore booked to lecture on board the
Queen Elizabeth II
in June. Upon arriving in England, they would spend two days in London, honoring interview commitments with the BBC, then travel to Yorkshire, Edinburgh, the Scottish highlands near Loch Ness, and Stonehenge before returning to Southampton in July to lecture on the return passage.

Having made a dent into their U.K. plans that afternoon, the Warrens went out to dinner in the evening. Arriving home just after midnight, Lorraine reviewed the calls left on the answering machine: there was a message from a friend in Los Angeles; then a call from their daughter Judy, on vacation in Virginia; after that a young man’s request for an appointment with Ed; then a bizarre series of clicks and odd whirring sounds, followed by the distraught voice of an unfamiliar woman:

“I hope you can hear me. My name is Foster, Mrs. Sandy Foster I don’t exactly know what has happened here,” she said in a barely controlled voice, “but my children have been hit and … and … and chased by something....” Hesitation, “And there is somebody or something
in
the house, upstairs, in one of the children’s bedrooms. Please call me back just as soon as you possibly can.”

Both Ed and Lorraine listened silently as the distressed woman gave her address and telephone number. Although it was 12:40 A.M., Lorraine immediately tried to return the woman’s call. “When a case is referred to us,” Ed explains, “we immediately contact the individual or family in trouble. If it seems necessary for us to enter the case, then we’ll offer to help. We tell the family that we don’t charge money for our time, but we must be reimbursed for basic expenses [such as airfare, hotel rooms, and so on]. When that’s understood, we set up an appointment as soon as possible. Usually, we’re on our way within an hour or two.”

Mrs. Foster’s phone rang continuously, then the connection was broken. Lorraine hung up and dialed again. This time it sounded as though someone had picked up the receiver, but the phone still kept ringing. The third time she tried the telephone number, Lorraine got the same frustrating response.

At a loss, Lorraine dialed the operator, who then dialed the number and met with the very same problem. In turn, the operator summoned her supervisor, who listened to Lorraine’s explanation that she was trying to return a distress call. Understanding and helpful, the supervisor ran the call through a number of electronic test procedures, but to no avail. She admitted being puzzled: “There is nothing wrong with the telephone on the receiving end; your call
should
make a connection.” Nonetheless, the Warrens were unable to get through that night.

As Ed and Lorraine know very well, what happened with the Fosters’ phone was not unusual. In fact, such electronic tricks are commonplace when a malevolent spirit is at work. Interference, obstruction, confusion—tactics which cause delay—are routine for a determined spirit with the ability to manipulate both physical and metaphysical variables.

The next morning, Sunday the fourteenth, the Warrens drove to church. On the way, a powerful, rank smell of excrement filled their car. Then, midway through the church service, the same foul psychically-projected odor assaulted the Warrens’ senses. Once again, as they were returning home in the car, they were nauseated by a disgusting stench. Ed and Lorraine, however, did not associate it with the demonic case they were about to investigate that afternoon.

When the Warrens returned from church, Lorraine immediately telephoned the Foster family. Mrs. Foster answered the phone on the second ring. Lorraine told her the difficulty that she had reaching them the night before. “The phone was in working order,” the woman replied, “but it didn’t ring after midnight. I know, because I was waiting for you to call.” The problem with the telephone upset the woman even further, and so Lorraine made an appointment to visit the family that afternoon.