Lorraine Warren

by NAPS Team Leader Mike Chapman

She has the presence of a saint, and her eyes sparkle with light, life, and love. She is warm, personable, and talkative. She was also delighted when I gave her a small gift – a little statuette of Padre Pio, whom she is very devoted to. I am speaking of Lorraine Warren of Monroe, Connecticut, a pioneer in the field of demonology. Last October (2011), Case Manager Kim Frith and I were fortunate enough to be in a group that was in her home to learn more about "the work" that we also are involved in, and about Lorraine's experiences over the years. Lorraine’s husband Ed Warren passed away in 2006 but Lorraine continues to be actively involved in cases.

That night in October will always be a memorable one for me. I will remember it most for the time I had speaking with her about Padre Pio, whom I had learned about by reading and listening to Lorraine’s story over the years. I had even gone so far as to purchase a couple of books about the famous Padre, and had read about his amazing life and ministry. I had developed my own love and adoration for this Capuchin Monk, and often beseech him on my behalf when I am praying. When I gave Lorraine her little gift, her eyes lit up and she seemed a bit amazed. She immediately asked, “Oh! You know about Padre Pio?! Thank you so much!” She was genuinely surprised and proceeded to tell me about her desire and past plans to go to Italy to his shrine, but that time after time she has been thwarted in her efforts to go. We got lost in conversation and finally Tony Spera, her son-in-law, had to break up our private party and get the events of the evening underway!

We spent the evening with Lorraine and Tony, and watched a video of an actual exorcism of a farmer by Bishop Robert McKenna. This was one of Ed and Lorraine’s worst cases. Seeing that video was extremely sobering – to see the power of Satan possess a grown man and the physical manifestations of that evil…tears and spittle turning into human blood right before your eyes…eyes that went unblinking for several minutes – impossible for the human eye to do naturally…and speaking Latin in reverse, when all he had was a third grade education. It was also reassuring to see the power of God in the Catholic Rite of solemn exorcism. The unspeakable act that led to this man becoming eventually possessed (an unusual case of “complete” possession) began when as a boy; he went into a barn and walked in on his father committing an act of bestiality with an animal. That led to his father forcing him to do the same and then a downward spiral to his eventual entanglement with occult practices.

We also had the great privilege of going through the Warren’s Occult Museum. I had underestimated this part of the visit, as I didn’t think there would be much to this. Was I ever wrong! This “room” consisted of hundreds of items collected over fifty years of cases involving evil or demonic spirits. I could spend another couple of hours in that room. Everyone was warned strictly not to touch any of the items, and we also had to be out by 9:00pm, the beginning of the witching hours. It would take forever to describe all the objects I saw there…many Ouija boards, voodoo dolls, possessed objects, crystal balls, satanic books and spells and so forth.

We gathered in Lorraine’s living room and were given plenty of time to ask her questions. This was another very encouraging moment. I had assumed that members of the visiting group would all be paranormal investigators and/or demonologists like me. Again, I was completely wrong. To my knowledge, Kim and I were the only ones who fit that category. All the others were people having demonic or paranormal activity of their own, or were there to ask questions on behalf of a friend or loved one. It was if I was a fly on the wall, listening to people who climbed the mountain to speak to the holy woman about the secrets of life (in this case paranormal or demonic activity) and got to listen to her responses to them! Time after time, Lorraine referred to God, the Church, and a priest as the remedy for peoples’ problems in this area. One girl kept asking about saging, or spreading sea-salt, and Lorraine kept telling her, “Get a priest in the home to bless her and the home.” This girl couldn’t get it through her thick head that many of these so-called remedies that are being tried by people are useless.  Someone brought up the fact that they had reached out to Chip Coffey, and Lorraine flatly responded, “Oh honey, Chip Coffey can’t help you, get a priest in the home to bless it!” She also brought up, several times, the importance of baptism, especially in the case of a child. She also gave people answers the probably didn’t want to hear, or that are not politically correct, or maybe difficult for people used to nice bow-tied endings to stories. She stated that sometimes children are trapped between this life and the next because they are unbaptised, and that’s why we need to pray for the dead. I really appreciated the strong Christian stance she took on behalf of the truth. I came away from the evening with an even greater love and respect for this amazing woman and her gift of spiritual discernment (how she puts it and I agree) and how she has helped thousands of people. The sobering thing for me in listening to the questions of the group was to realize just how ignorant the average American has become regarding basic spiritual truths. We have truly lost our way. One girl asked Lorraine, “Tell me again why baptism is so important?” Wow. Her question or comment was typical.

We ended the evening by going to the Cemetery and paying our respects to Ed Warren at his gravesite.  Then, we went to a nice Italian restaurant and shared a meal together. We took photos with Lorraine and Tony, and spoke to her a few moments and said our goodbyes. I have a feeling it won’t be the last time I see her.

God bless you Lorraine and thank you for a memorable evening. Like your beloved Padre Pio, you too are truly an inspiration.