Who Were The Warrens?

This week announced the death of Lorraine Warren. For those who are unfamiliar with Ed and Lorraine Warren, known for decades as “The Warrens,” they were paranormal investigators and ghost hunters whose work spanned from the 1940s until their deaths. They are internationally renowned for their work, including many cases that became Hollywood films.

But who were the Warrens? What did they believe? Was their work real, and if so, was it good?

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,* but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’

Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you.* Depart from me, you evildoers.’ -Matthew 7:21-23

This is a very hard quote from Jesus because He outright says that the presence of signs and wonders is not a measure of a man’s moral standing before God. Salvation is a gift from God, and extraordinary abilities do not mean the blessing of God. Sometimes, they may even indicate the presence of evil.

Consider the historical case of Sr. Magdalena de la Cruz from the 15th century, a nun who performed many “miracles” and even had the stigmata. However, St. Ignatius Loyola never trusted her experiences. Sure enough, it was discovered later that she was gravely possessed by demons, and which were exorcised after much effort and penance.

The Warrens, according to their obituaries (here, here), were supposedly Catholic. They have worked with Catholic priests and laymen, and have been spoken of by many people of authority. However, I never recalled them speaking about being Catholic, and after having looked extensively through their public works, could not find reference to their faith at all.

This is strange. Indeed, people who are surrounded with such evil things would naturally have an affiliation with their Catholic Faith, or even another faith. For example, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the most famous Vatican exorcist, writes extensively about the importance of the Catholic Faith and its role in both form and matter for fighting evil, and he would never write outside of it not only because he is a priest, but because the Faith is true and to do otherwise would to be ineffective. Such things have been testified to by the saints throughout the ages and shown to be true through direct experience.

So why would the Warrens seem to exclude it, save for vague and unspecific references to Christ?

Likewise, there is another man who traveled with them many times in recent years. His name is Tony Spera, the son-in-law of their only daughter.

Tony Spera is unknown for his religious beliefs, which one would think to be strange given the circles in which he has associated with for many years.

The man in the middle is Tony as a younger man

A look into Tony and his wife, Judith, who is the daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren, yields some interesting results.

First, I thoroughly attempted to find SOMETHING of Christianity associated with them in a serious way. After much difficulty, I found several photos of a baptism (not sure if it was for a friend or relative), and one alluding to reading the Bible but not with specific language here, on the Ten commandments here, God in schools here, and a photo of him near what appears to the the Sacred Heart of Jesus here. The only clearly Catholic thing was a photo of Pope Francis speaking of animals being in heaven here. However, it was not consistent, but difficult to find and buried under a morass of photos concerning things of the supernatural or occult, clearly demonstrating a favor of showing the latter as opposed to the former.

A photo of what appears to be the wedding of the two, but what I could not confirm, seems to have been done at their house.

This was interesting, but not enough evidence to say anything in a serious way.

That said, there was a very large amount of evidence showing their love of animals. It was difficult to keep track of not only the photos of animals of all types, but the direct solicitation and checks or bank transfers posted showing thousands of dollars going to help animals. This was everything from food to shelter to surgeries. A very small selection of the photos are below:

Now there is nothing wrong with loving animals or helping animals. I have had many animals for years (three cats and a dog, plus a few neighborhood “strays” that visit and I help along with chickens and bees as livestock), and there is nothing wrong with being passionate about them.

What bothers me is the CONTEXT. People who are heavily involved in the occult often find themselves having an affinity to animals, as this appears to be connected to occult beliefs and practices about animals and their interactions with human beings or uses. The fact that the Speras are affiliated closely with things of the occult in a large way and have NO serious profession of Christianity or promotion of it, yet are virtually smothered in animals and things involving animals, is a possible sign of occultism.

Then I found this post:

Note the person in the link- Donald Spera.

I looked into Donald Spera, and based on his Facebook profile and in combination with relative searches, it appears that he is related to Tony Spera, in what appears to be either a brother, cousin, or uncle:

Now it is true that a person is not necessarily a direct reflection of those related to or associated with him. However, people of similar beliefs tend to stay with each other. This includes with families as well.

Donald Spera is an open pagan and occultist. He even brags about worshiping Pan, which is directly connected in imagery and many attributes with the devil and the support of homosexuality:

This is a concerning sign, for while it does not implicate Tony Spera, the fact is there are close associations again with things of the occult and paganism to him in a way that is more than a work context.

But what about direct family connections? Are there any closer ones that we can find?

It took some digging, but we were able to positively identify Christopher McKinnell as the grandson of the Warrens. He runs the Warren Legacy Foundation for Paranormal Research.

Christopher McKinnell is an interesting person. He openly speaks of occult things on the Warren Legacy Foundation. There is nothing to indicate any affiliation with the Catholic Faith, but abhorrent and anti-Catholic things such as the “new age” use of crystals, defending the use of Ouija board, saying that the “tool is not the problem,” the Hindu concept of a “past life,” and even calling the wicked man Mohammed a “great spiritual teacher”:

Mohammed was evil. This is basic knowledge. So are Ouija boards- it is not that the “tool is not a problem,” but that the tool itself IS a problem into itself, let alone the intentions being used, as all of it is a form of witchcraft. The idea of a “past life” is directly contrary to the words of Sacred Scripture. This is not the words of a Christian man or even a man with remote sympathies to Christianity, but the words of an evil occultist.

Likewise, Chris has a daughter, Mia Chan, who refers to herself on her social media (here, here) as a “princess of hell” and is filled with occult imagery as well as anime, the latter of which often times uses occult themes. We were able to confirm that she is indeed related to McKinnell:

Note the relationships with Chris McKinnell and Judy Spera

Think about how concerning this is. The Warrens are supposedly Catholic but their entire lives are filled with images of all things preternatural and almost no mention of the supposed Catholic Faith they are linked to. Their son-in-law has an apparent relative who is an open occultist, and both their daughter and son-in-law not only have basically no expressions whatsoever tied to the Catholic Faith, but are obsessed with occult imagery as well as animals and animal welfare, something common to all pagans. Their grandson is writing on occultism, and their great-granddaughter is openly pagan and involved in all things occult.

What does that say about the Warrens? This should be a concern for everybody.

Then there is the issue of a post in which Tony Spera commemorated a deceased paranormal “investigator”:

What does it mean to say “has the answers to those many questions we all have?” What “questions” is he referring to? That is my question. If it is about faith, the fundamental answers can be found here.

This is not a question asked by a man of the Catholic Faith, but by a pagan who does not know and is dabbling into the supernatural to try to find answers to his questions and most likely, the acquisition of power, which leads me to another question about a series of constant photos, too many to count, that I found below:

And if you are wondering, yes, that is actress Demi Lovato above.

Here are the Warrens advertising, something which is a repeating theme with them, spending a “night with Annabelle,” a possessed doll where you can read the story here.

Now I am going to ask a very serious question: Why?

Put yourself in the shoes of ANY Catholic priest who is an exorcist.

You come to a case, you find there is this object which has been possessed by an evil spirit as a part of a ritual. What do you do with it?

Do you know what the Spanish did?

They burned the books and objects of magic. Do you know where the Spanish learned that from? They learned it from Sacred Scripture.

Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” When the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, tried to do this, the evil spirit said to them in reply, “Jesus I recognize, Paul I know, but who are you?” The person with the evil spirit then sprang at them and subdued them all. He so overpowered them that they fled naked and wounded from that house. When this became known to all the Jews and Greeks who lived in Ephesus, fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in great esteem. Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices.

Moreover, a large number of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in public. They calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand silver pieces. Thus did the word of the Lord continue to spread with influence and power.- Acts 19:13-20

In the Bible, St. Paul’s preaching caused the Greeks to burn their books of magic.

It is said that in the Vatican Secret Archives, there are many books of magic as well as objects. However, these are not available to the general public, but are kept under lock and key, available only by selection for scholars to research for specific purposes, and the answer should be obvious. It is the same reason why the Church had the Index for centuries, for it is not to “hide” ideas from people, but rather to keep out ideas that are objectively harmful to the soul from the general population, as it could really do spiritual damage and has done so.

Ask yourself, why on earth are the Warrens keeping a museum of demonic objects that they say have hurt people at their home, which they charge money for not just researchers, but the general public to see and be around?

Is it that  everything is a fake, and the Warrens are operating a giant scam?

Is it that everything is real and the Warrens do not care about the safety of the general public?

Is it that everything is real and the Warrens are actually secret occultists themselves trying to promote occultism?

The fact is that we do not know definitively who the Warrens really are or what their real motives were. What we can say is that the couple, in spite of their claims to fight evil using their supposed abilities, have clearly more than a working relationship with the occult, as it is a source of direct financial benefit for them as well as crosses into their own family in a major way while at the same time a curious distance from the Catholic Faith and all Christianity exists.

Likewise, it is of note to say that I have not been able to find any direct statement from the Church giving their work support at all at any time.

When one considers the example of Sr. Cruz listed above, how her “miracles” were later found to be preternatural rather than a sign of blessing from God, one must ask about the Warrens. Were their abilities real, and if so, were they truly from God, or were they something else?

Perhaps instead of passing judgement, it is better to keep to the advice of St. Ignatius Loyola regarding Sr. Cruz, which was that he did not trust it, and kept to the Catholic Faith instead. Indeed, it served him well, as he died a saint and saved many others in the process, while Sr. Cruz, although she seems to have died in the mercy of God, later had to undergo a terrible ordeal, renouncing her fame and spending the rest of her life in penance for the evil things that she had associated herself with.