Lorraine Warren, real-world inspiration for The Conjuring, dead at 92

Lorraine Warren, the famous paranormal investigator who (along with her husband, Ed) inspired The Conjuring films, passed away at the age of 92 last night. Her death was confirmed by grandson Chris McKinnell in a loving Facebook post.

"Last night my grandmother, Lorraine Warren, quietly and peacefully left us to join her beloved Ed. She was happy and laughing until the very end. She was my angel and my hero, and she will be deeply missed," McKinnell wrote. "Please join us in celebrating her life and honoring her beautiful soul. Remember to treasure those you love while you can. Thank you and God bless you all."

Ed, a demonologist, had previously passed away in 2006.

Hailing from Connecticut, Lorraine (a self-confessed light trance medium) first met Ed when they were teenagers. After Ed returned home from fighting in World War II, the couple's paranormal exploits really began in earnest as they visited "haunted houses" and spoke with the owners. In 1952, the Warrens founded the New England Society for Psychic Research, whose sole purpose was to shed more light on supernatural events like hauntings.

"The older a place is the more tragedies occur, and that leads to more ghost activity. Tragedies lead to the ghost syndrome. You get 45 murders in one area and some souls will be earthbound," Lorraine once said in a 2013 interview with Birth.Movies.Death.

Perhaps the most famous of their paranormal investigations was that of the supposedly haunted Defeo house in Amityville, New York, which served as the basis for the book and two film adaptations titled The Amityville Horror.

Horror fans may know Lorraine as portrayed by Vera Farmiga in the Conjuring Universe movies. Ed is portrayed by Patrick Wilson. Both actors are set to reprise their roles in this summer's Annabelle Comes Home. The movie (written and directed by Gary Dauberman) will feature the Warrens' famous museum of occult objects.

Farmiga mourned Lorraine's passing on Twitter when she wrote:

"My dear friend Lorraine Warren has passed. From a deep feeling of sorrow, a deep feeling of gratitude emerges. I was so blessed to have known her and am honored to portray her. She lived her life in grace and cheerfulness. She wore a helmet of salvation, she dawned her sword......compassion, and took a shield of faith. Righteousness was her breastplate, and she has touched my life so. Love you Lorraine. You're waltzing with Ed now."

(certain info via warrens.net)