Ed Warren (1) (1926–2006)

Right off the bat, let me say that I'm not sure If I believe everything Ed and Lorraine Warren say they have experienced over the years. For those of us that keep up on these things, I am not the only skeptic. They are of course one of the oldest and most famous teams of parapsychology researchers, having been involved in the Amityville Horror case, and they claim to have investigated (up until Mr. Warren's death in 2006) over 10,000 cases. Their research methods have been called show more "unscientific," and they have a distinctly Catholic bias (not a bad thing necessarily). Mrs. Warren is currently involved in litigation regarding the reprint of "The Devil in Connecticut," in which an involved party alleges that the tale of demon possession was a hoax. The same has been said regarding Amityville, and that the Warren's were just out to make a quick sensationalist buck.

Without knowing them personally or having intimate details of their history, I can only say that I do not believe they are manufacturing a majority of what they say they have experienced. There is a difference between an outright lie, and literary creativity, which is one of the things that makes this one of the most entertaining and interesting books in the field.

Mr. Warren begins with a brief history of odd occurrences in the state of Connecticut, then specifically to the sightings of the "White Lady" of Union Cemetery in Monroe. Notable cases include the body of a murdered man that rises from a sinkhole despite having his pockets weighted with lead, A talk-show host who receives a call from a local cemetery inviting him to a rendezvou with his long dead son, and a former U.S. Senator who receives a call from the murdered daughter of his dead aunt on a phone that has long been disconnected. All of these stories are well-written and related with brilliant creative flourish, most retold from stories related to the Warren's by their clients over the years. Mr. Warren also relates the tale of meeting a long dead friend and member of their New England Society for Psychical Research in a cemetery in broad daylight.

Perhaps Mr. And Mrs Warren were too quick to attribute either supernatural or demonic influences to many of the cases they have worked on over the years. Will the litigation "prove" it to me? No. Did they engage in shoddy methods that might give more scientifically skeptical researchers a bad name? Perhaps. Was the book highly entertaining and fascinating. Absolutely.

5 out of 5 skulls. show less

I would have liked some references or evidence that some of these things happened, in particular the last one. If the guy died, how do you know this story is what happened? Interesting stories though.

Also trigger warning on animal abuse (last chapter), rape in a few chapters.

I tend to think the scariest sort of horror books are the ones purportedly true. Ed and Lorraine Warren were long-time paranormal investigators and have included case studies of their investigations along with their theories about what was happening and why. They have handy exorcists on hand to bless and chase away bad spirits, and some of the cases described here would certainly chase one out of one's home. If you read as a skeptic, you probably won't get too far into the book. If you read show more with an open mind and will to be scared witless, continue on. show less

Brief true tales of ghost hauntings at cemeteries across New England. My favorite part was the commentary by Ed and Lorraine Warren after each tale. Fun for spooky season and not too scary.