You’ve seen the movies. The creaky floorboards, the terrifying Raggedy Ann doll locked in a glass case, and the brave couple fighting off demons with nothing but a crucifix and a tape recorder. In the The Conjuring universe, the Warrens are the ultimate ghost-hunting power couple. But while Hollywood focuses on the jump scares, there is a very real, very human side to this story that often gets buried under the special effects.
Honestly, the question everyone asks is: what was it like being Ed and Lorraine Warren children?
The short answer is that there wasn't a house full of kids. There was just one. Judy Spera (née Warren). And her childhood was nothing like the cinematic version where a young girl is constantly dodging possessed furniture or fighting off the Bathsheba spirit in her pajamas.
Growing Up in the Shadow of the Occult
Judy was born in 1946. By the time she was a toddler, her parents were already deep into the world of the "unexplained." But here’s the thing—Judy didn't actually grow up in that famous house in Monroe, Connecticut. At least, not for most of it.
Because Ed and Lorraine were constantly on the road—lecturing at colleges, investigating the Amityville house, or flying across the ocean to look into the Enfield Poltergeist—Judy spent a huge chunk of her childhood living with her grandparents in Bridgeport.
It wasn't because her parents didn't love her. They were just... busy. Imagine having parents whose "9 to 5" involved exorcisms and demonic possession. It doesn't exactly leave a lot of time for PTA meetings or soccer practice.
When she did stay with her parents, she was terrified. You’d be too. She has gone on record saying she couldn't sleep in a room by herself. She was scared of the house. She was scared of the artifacts. And she was especially scared of the "Annabelle" doll, which she didn't even learn the full history of until she was well into her 20s.
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The Schoolyard Struggles
Kids can be mean, but they’re especially mean when your parents are the local "ghost hunters." Judy has mentioned in interviews that she kept her parents' profession a secret for as long as possible.
In a 2020 interview with Den of Geek, she admitted she didn't want anyone to know. She just wanted to be normal. She didn't want to be the "witch's daughter" or the girl whose dad talked to demons.
What the Movies Get Wrong About the Warren Family
If you’ve watched Annabelle Comes Home, you see a young Judy (played by Mckenna Grace) battling a house full of escaped spirits. It makes for great cinema, but it’s basically 100% fiction.
- The Timeline: In the movies, Judy is a young child during the height of the hauntings. In reality, by the time the Warrens became household names in the 1970s, Judy was already an adult and married.
- The "Gifts": The films suggest Judy inherited her mother’s clairvoyance. While Judy has mentioned having "strange dreams" or "warnings" from her late father, she has never claimed to be a professional medium. In fact, she spent most of her life running away from the paranormal.
- The Involvement: Real-life Judy didn't go on "cases." She stayed home. She lived her life. She grew up, got a job, and stayed as far away from the Occult Museum as humanly possible.
The Next Generation: Tony Spera and the Grandchildren
Even if Judy wanted to stay away, the paranormal world has a way of pulling people back in. Enter Tony Spera.
Tony met Judy in the late 1970s while he was working as a police officer. It’s a pretty classic "boy meets girl" story—except the girl’s father is a demonologist. Ed Warren reportedly put Tony through the wringer before letting him date Judy.
Eventually, Tony didn't just join the family; he joined the business. While Judy stayed in the background, Tony became Ed’s protégé. Today, Tony is the one you see in the documentaries. He's the one who took over the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) after Ed passed in 2006 and Lorraine in 2019.
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The Grandkids' Perspective
Judy and Tony have children of their own, making them the grandchildren of Ed and Lorraine. One of them, Chris McKinnell, has been quite vocal about the family legacy.
Chris actually worked with his grandparents on real cases. He’s seen the "real" side of the business—the parts that aren't glamorous or scary, just long hours and a lot of prayer. He even runs the Warren Legacy Foundation for Paranormal Research.
However, Chris is also the first to point out that the movies are "absolute fantasies." He recently made headlines for criticizing The Conjuring: Last Rites, stating that the films have drifted so far from reality that they're basically just superhero movies with ghosts.
Protecting the Legacy vs. Facing the Critics
Being part of the Warren family isn't all Hollywood premieres and museum tours. It’s also dealing with a massive amount of skepticism and criticism.
For decades, skeptics like Joe Nickell and organizations like the New England Skeptical Society have called the Warrens frauds. They claim the couple exploited vulnerable families for fame and money.
Judy has admitted that these articles hurt. She’s fiercely protective of her parents' reputation. To her, they weren't "paranormal superstars." They were just her mom and dad. She remembers her mother sitting up until 3:00 AM talking to strangers on the phone who were terrified of things they couldn't explain. She saw her father's health decline after years of stress and heart issues.
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Whether or not the hauntings were "real" in a scientific sense, they were very real to the family that lived through the fallout.
Where Is Judy Spera Now?
Today, Judy lives a relatively quiet life in Connecticut. She and Tony still oversee the family's estate. The famous Occult Museum is currently closed due to zoning issues, but the artifacts—including Annabelle—are still under their care.
She doesn't do a lot of interviews. She isn't looking for the spotlight. When she does speak, it's usually to remind people that Ed and Lorraine were human beings, not just characters played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
How to Explore the Real Warren History
If you're interested in the actual history of the family rather than the Hollywood version, there are a few things you can do to get the facts straight.
- Watch "Devil's Road: The True Story of Ed and Lorraine Warren": This is a 2020 documentary that features extensive interviews with Judy. It’s probably the most honest look at her childhood you’ll find.
- Check out the NESPR Website: This is the organization founded by the Warrens and currently managed by the family. It contains archival photos and case files that haven't been "Hollywood-ized."
- Read the Early Books: Before the movies, there were books like The Demonologist by Gerald Brittle. While still dramatic, they offer a closer look at the "day job" of the Warrens than the 120-minute films do.
- Follow Chris McKinnell: If you want the perspective of a family member who actually does the work today, his foundation's updates provide a grounded look at modern paranormal research.
Ultimately, the story of the ed and lorraine warren children is a reminder that behind every "based on a true story" horror flick, there’s a real person who had to grow up with a possessed doll in the basement and a dad who fought demons for a living. It wasn't always a movie. Sometimes, it was just home.