In 1970’s ‘The Exorcist’ movie redefined horror genre with its brilliant direction. A girl possessed by a demonic force became the theme for several horror movies. The 2004 horror movie – Exorcist: The Beginning is a prequel to Exorcist and traces the origin of demon named ‘Pazuzu’ which had possessed the girl in first part of the movie. It is been said that ‘The Exorcist’ is inspired by real cases of exorcism. In Exorcist movie series, Father Merrin comes face to face with the demon entity twice.
Do ghosts, spirits and demonic powers exist? This question led me to read several books on supernatural elements. The recent movie: The Conjuring 2 opened my mind towards exorcism, haunted houses and demonic possessions. Based on real life cases of paranormal activity, the Conjuring movie series gives you glimpse of the darker side of nature where you confront malevolent forces that are beyond the control. Ed and Lorrain Warren: the husband-and-wife duo worked together as paranormal investigators to solve many horrifying cases which included the case of Annabelle, Amityville Horror and the Enfield Poltergist (Watch Conjuring 2).
The most horrifying of all was the ‘Amityville House’ case of 1970’s. Even till today, the Amityville house case remains unsolved. How come a man could murder his own family members so brutally? Was he possessed by a demonic force or was he a homicide killer with disturbing psychological behavior? This case baffled the whole world and was subject for several Hollywood movies. Ed and Lorrain investigated the case and found it strange and shocking. The case was not hoax. The culprit Ronald Defeo Jr was under the influence of a demonic force and the act was committed when he was possessed.
The Enfield Poltergist case was one of the most shocking cases handled by Ed and Lorrain Warren. This case was plot of Conjuring 2. It was challenge for Warrens to solve this case because the ghostly presence refused to leave the body of the girl. Was the girl really possessed? There were speculations that the girl was pretending to be possessed to gain some publicity. In the movie: Conjuring 2, Lorrain Warren confronts the demonic nun: Valak who threatens to kill Ed through premonitions and disturbing dreams. To know about the backstory of Valak, you have to watch the movie: The Nun which is interconnected to Conjuring movie series.
Even today the case of Annabelle Doll is subject of intrigue. Its story was featured in the Annabelle movie Trilogy which is part of Conjuring movie series. Was the Annabelle doll really so terrifying? I will be separately writing an article on Annabelle Doll and the mystery connected to it.
In Maharashtra, India, the case of a woman possessed by a supernatural entity became an inspiration for a Marathi play titled “Savita Damodar Paranjpe”. There are several paranormal cases in the world that are beyond science and belief. Not every paranormal case was solved by Ed and Lorrain Warren. The Conjuring movie series has compelled me to delve more into the world of supernatural and figure out whether such demonic forces do exist.