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Ed & Lorraine Warren

Swifty

doesn't negotiate with terriers
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Sep 15, 2013
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As far as I know, we don't have a thread specifically discussing this famous (infamous?) paranormal investigative couple's escapades so I thought I'd start one with this video .. I'm aware that the couple's work receive the same kind of scepticism as the equally not shy of media publicity Uri Geller but here we go anyway ..

Ed and Lorraine Warren: What To Do When You See A Ghost


 
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I believe in ghosts and have experienced a number of them in highly different situations over the years. However, when it comes to the Warrens, I'm of two minds.
Having read a number of their books and being familiar with them and their cases well before the 'Conjuring' movies thrust them into the limelight again, I do believe that deep down their intentions to help at first were genuine. I do though feel that a taste of fame (and possibly fortune) may have skewed their original vision. Also being looked upon as the resident ghost/haunting ''experts'' on the talk show circuit for years also lead to an arrogance that meant their word was gospel and couldn't be questioned.
Another aspect of their outlook that I do object to was their almost instantaneous labeling of all hauntings as demonic. After Ed's passing and with Lorraine still flying the flag, this behaviour was shown time after time on the series Paranormal State.
All of this aside, I would have loved to have toured their haunted museum (viewable on Youtube).
 
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Yes. It's *always* demons with The Warrens. Sooner or later, one way or another, it's demons. Not spirits. Not entities. They will always link what they discover in some oblique tangential fashion to Demons being responsible.

Maybe it's because Christian doctrine was what they *knew*. But it always comes back to a battle of God vs the Devil somewhere. I do feel that this somewhat leads interpretation in a very distinct direction in much of what they worked on. I do feel that it may have placed some limitations on what they investigated.
 
Yes. It's *always* demons with The Warrens. Sooner or later, one way or another, it's demons. Not spirits. Not entities. They will always link what they discover in some oblique tangential fashion to Demons being responsible.

Maybe it's because Christian doctrine was what they *knew*. But it always comes back to a battle of God vs the Devil somewhere. I do feel that this somewhat leads interpretation in a very distinct direction in much of what they worked on. I do feel that it may have placed some limitations on what they investigated.
You've summed it up perfectly. Far better than I could. I think that when exploring/investigating the paranormal, you need to do so with a completely open mind. Being blinkered in any way, shape or form simply has to be detrimental to the task at hand.
 
You've summed it up perfectly. Far better than I could. I think that when exploring/investigating the paranormal, you need to do so with a completely open mind. Being blinkered in any way, shape or form simply has to be detrimental to the task at hand.


Yes. It's the danger that if you don't, you can end up leading the investigation down a path purely of your own devising. Whether it be purposeful of purely by accident.

It is far from implausible that there could have been some element of truth in the cases which they investigated, or strayed upon. But the tendency to leap to the conclusion of Demons (even in a 'Werewolf' investigation it was a Demon, in their assessment) doubtless led to things being overlooked at best and barking up wrong tree entirely in others.
 
All of this aside, I would have loved to have toured their haunted museum (viewable on Youtube).

There's a few youtube versions of tours of their museum from different decades, I haven't watched this one yet ..

 
Yes. It's *always* demons with The Warrens. Sooner or later, one way or another, it's demons. Not spirits. Not entities. They will always link what they discover in some oblique tangential fashion to Demons being responsible.

Maybe it's because Christian doctrine was what they *knew*. But it always comes back to a battle of God vs the Devil somewhere. I do feel that this somewhat leads interpretation in a very distinct direction in much of what they worked on. I do feel that it may have placed some limitations on what they investigated.

I've mentioned it on here before but I find there are always far more hauntings attributed to demonic activity in America than in the UK. Other people haven't noticed this but I do listen to a great deal of listener-submitted ghost stories via podcasts., (way too many), and this really stands out.

I think the main reason for this is the strong influence of both Protestant Evangelicalism and Catholicism from the mid-west down to the southern states, south west and Florida.

The Warrens were essentially a self-promotion outfit and stretched a bit of knowledge a long way to influence vulnerable people. Their ability to pronounce that a place was infested with a demon gave them status and power.

Even our most famous and active hauntings in the UK, Enfield and Black Monk, were attributed to poltergeists rather than demons, (unless Ed and Lorraine rock up of course). Even Highgate was a shy vampire rather than a demon.

I rarely hear of British ghosts being demonic and if I do and I can't actually think of a story off the top of my head, then it's more to do with the rise of youtube, creepypasta and tabloids needing to flog sensational bullshit. Also the Catholic church comes out now and again to warn about the evils of possession but that's only to try and stay relevant, (you've got to keep the brand going after all).
 
OK, I'll say it: they both made a lot of money - a LOT of money - terrifying people into giving them their cash by pretending to be on a mission from the most fundamentalist God imaginable. If God is love, He/she will not be amused by their antics.
 
Yes. It's *always* demons with The Warrens. Sooner or later, one way or another, it's demons. Not spirits. Not entities. They will always link what they discover in some oblique tangential fashion to Demons being responsible.

Maybe it's because Christian doctrine was what they *knew*. But it always comes back to a battle of God vs the Devil somewhere. I do feel that this somewhat leads interpretation in a very distinct direction in much of what they worked on. I do feel that it may have placed some limitations on what they investigated.

I wonder if they labelled everything as 'demonic' because they could provide a solution to this via prayer, holy water, exorcism etc? I don't really know much about the Warrens (although I'm now minded to find out), but reading this thread made me think.

People these days seem to want 'instant results' and to be able to blame something or someone for any predicament in which they find themselves. Being able to blame something demonic, then pray and bring religion to bear on the case in order to 'solve' it would seem to be a very modern take on things. So maybe the Warrens put everything down to demons in order to make the sufferer believe that their case was something that could be dealt with and ended. Almost a placebo, if you will? Rather than a more nebulous 'spirit', which might not be so easily banished...
 
I wonder if they labelled everything as 'demonic' because they could provide a solution to this via prayer, holy water, exorcism etc? I don't really know much about the Warrens (although I'm now minded to find out), but reading this thread made me think.


I'm currently listening to as many of the warren audiobooks as I can manage.

They have just described at length a situation they swear blind is "real" but that Catholic intervention, the "prayerfulness and goodness" of the family and all the tradition bells, whistles etc can't get rid of.

Did they paint themselves into a corner by recognising this as real and then discover that their medical kit doesn't work, then being unable to break out of sticking to the same medical kit?
 
I'm currently listening to as many of the warren audiobooks as I can manage.

They have just described at length a situation they swear blind is "real" but that Catholic intervention, the "prayerfulness and goodness" of the family and all the tradition bells, whistles etc can't get rid of.

Did they paint themselves into a corner by recognising this as real and then discover that their medical kit doesn't work, then being unable to break out of sticking to the same medical kit?
Hilary Evans wrote that it may be the idea of a ghost that's being exorcised, so yes, it could be if it doesn't work the ghost is "real" (whatever that means)
 
OK, I'll say it: they both made a lot of money - a LOT of money - terrifying people into giving them their cash by pretending to be on a mission from the most fundamentalist God imaginable. If God is love, He/she will not be amused by their antics.

I listened to a podcast interview with the late great Guy Lyon Playfair who was quite scathing of the Warrens and stated that Ed Warren offered to make him a lot of money through the Enfield case. Playfair turned him down.
 
I listened to a podcast interview with the late great Guy Lyon Playfair who was quite scathing of the Warrens and stated that Ed Warren offered to make him a lot of money through the Enfield case. Playfair turned him down.

Yes, they were basically on the level of the worst of the worst televangelists.
 
I'm currently listening to as many of the warren audiobooks as I can manage.

Wow, more power to you. I couldn't manage any of them, I'm sure.

My view is they had a "real" faith (as real as it made them feel special and probably believed it). Ed saw that it worked out to his advantage. It was a neat gimmick. Quote from https://theness.com/index.php/hunting-the-ghost-hunters/

Born in 1926, Ed Warren has been involved with the ghostly world since the age of five when he saw the apparition of a recently deceased landlady. Ed’s father was a Connecticut State Trooper who went to mass everyday. His grandfather was also very pious, and bequeathed the bulk of his estate to the Catholic church for the purchase of a stained glass window. It is not difficult to see the basis of Ed’s belief structure, being reared in such a devout environment. The Catholic church does hold that supernatural entities can and do interact with the physical world. Ed also refers to NESPR as a theological institute, and states that his investigations are intimately associated with his religious convictions. In fact, one of his first questions to us, just as with other skeptics he has confronted in the past, is whether or not we believe in god, for without faith we could not understand his research.

I don't believe Lorraine was all that sharp except to know how to follow her way along to celebrity. Recall that they appeared in a number of shows of the new wave of ghost TV in the early 2000s - Lorraine notably so via the college-age oriented Paranormal State show where she made guest appearances. That show was also unique among the ghost reality shows at the time in that it went directly and unapologetically to DEMONS. That either started the trend or was the major vehicle of it in American paranormal media in the 21st century. Otherwise, I think the Warrens might have been forgotten. John Zaffis, their nephew, capitalized on this new wave as well by expanding on the idea of haunted objects.

There is little written by third parties on the Warrens. The one book about them The Demonologist, by G. Brittle, seems fraught with controversy. Now that both are gone, and more "dirt" has been unearthed about their schemes to fictionalize claims and make money off them, among other unsavory claims, I wonder if there will be more. Probably not.
 
I gave up about 20 minutes into the werewolf one. My brain refused to process an more non sequiters, partial reasoning and downright misapprehensions about english culture!!
 
I gave up about 20 minutes into the werewolf one. My brain refused to process an more non sequiters, partial reasoning and downright misapprehensions about english culture!!


I'm going to assume they stated Demons were involved...

To their mind, anyway. :)
 
To be honest, I can't remember. It was definitely Satanic though :rolleyes:
 
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