Masuk Free Press

Have you ever seen the Conjuring movies? The ones about the famous house in Rhode Island that is supposedly inhabited by demons, or the apartment in Britain that a terrifying nun overcame? Would you believe me if I told you they were based on real events? Believe it or not, those movies were based on true cases and actual people, and though they were not entirely accurate, the histories behind these stories are more than enough to creep people out. 

The craziest thing about these movies is not the sound effects or scary beings that try to kill everyone, but that the two main characters, Ed and Lorraine Warren, actually used to live in Monroe.

It’s kind of wild to me that these two people who traveled the world, worked for the Vatican and became the center of some of the most famous horror movies ever lived in our little Connecticut town.

Their house is actually just two minutes from mine, and I had no idea that they lived on a road that I’ve passed countless times in my 16 years of living here. The house is where they stored many of their famous possessions such as the Annabelle doll and a satanic idol. I personally don’t feel great when I think about how those things are within such a close range of me. The Warrens turned their house into a museum but it is now permanently closed.

“I actually went fishing by the lake across the street from there. I had like a weird fog going on my face, it really sucked. I actually think I got cursed because for the next year, I caught nothing but Crappies,” said sophomore Ari Ashe.

My idea for writing this story came when two of my favorite YouTubers, Sam and Colby, who are also amateur paranormal investigators, said that they might go to the Warren Museum. Sam and Colby are well known for staying at the Conjuring House and for their yearly “Hell Week” adventures. During Hell Week, which is the week of Halloween the two of them post several videos that have taken months to produce, they explore and investigate places all over. I’m not completely sure if they would be able to get in, but with their reputation and subscriber count, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. I think anyone else would also be excited if one of their favorite YouTubers announced that they might be coming to their hometown, too.

The Warrens are very well known for their work as demonologists and paranormal investigators. They worked on cases such as the Amityville haunting, the Conjuring House and other famous cases. They worked closely with the Catholic Church during their investigations into the paranormal, and their faith played a large role in their work. 

“I first learned they were in our town through my dad, he talked about his coworker who lived across the street from the house too, was like, one day they heard like a werewolf or something coming from the house,” said Ashe.

I have lived in Monroe for a long time, and yet it was not until the Conjuring movie came out that I realized that the Warrens lived here, which I learned after I did my own research. I had not heard of them, seen them or been spoken to of them before, which is kind of wild considering who they were.

 “I did know that they lived in Monroe, but I only learned that when I started working here, and… I saw that there were books about it on the shelf and I was like ‘what is this?’” said Meghan Letko, a librarian here at Masuk.

When they were both still alive, the Warrens came to Masuk and surrounding schools to give presentations, along with running their museum. 

“It’s interesting to think that these two historically spooky and creepy families or individuals are from this town and have roots here. I wonder if there is some connection between ..like all of the objects, the land, the space… Is it like an ancient Indian burial ground, or, like, is there some connection there?” said Allyson Femia, a teacher at Masuk.

There are other famous ghost legends based not only in Connecticut but in Monroe.

“There were a lot of interesting things in this area. I wonder if that is unique to Monroe, or just a kind of folklore and myth in small towns,” said Letko.

Such legends include the White Lady Ghost (a creative name) and the Melonheads. The Melonheads were said to be small non-humans that had large heads and lived in the woods on Velvet Street.

Whether you believe in ghosts, demons or the work of the Warrens, you’ve got to admit that it is pretty cool to have had world-famous individuals live in your not-so-famous small town.