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Earlier this year, Total Film was invited to the home and live-in museum of the real life inspiration behind The Amityville Horror, The Conjuring and many more 'based on a real life story' horror movies.
Total Film: How have you managed to do this your whole life?
Lorraine Warren: I don't know, I guess I was always inquisitive, I always wanted to know what was around the next corner.
TF: People are always interested in ghosts, why would you say that is?
LW: There's numerous reasons, about living on and things like that. There's many reasons. Everybody has a different reason. But for me, I found it very, very interesting. And then I'd compare things, like you'd work on a case, then you work another, and you compare.
TF: You have lots of 'believe' trinkets. Is that you asking people to believe?
LW: No. I think it's very important to believe. How do we go through this world without believing? I mean, there's a God, there's a Devil. Well. If people don't think that, I just think something's wrong.
TF: What do you think about skeptics?
LW: There's something wrong, honey. There's something drastically wrong. I mean, how can you say in this world that this is just all something that was just thrown here?
TF: What did you talk to Vera Farmiga about?
LW: Just general conversation really. She didn't want to go out to the museum. I couldn't blame her, some people just don't want to. It was very nice, both of them were very, very nice.
TF: How did you career and powers first emerge?
LW: Regarding my psychic abilities, that was, I don't know how to tell you, it's kind of turbulent. I was enrolled in a private catholic school for girls and I began to see lights around people. I couldn't tell my parents because they wouldn't understand, I didn't want them to be scared, you know. So I kept it to myself. Then my brother was hit by a car out on boston coast road, and that brought us to Bridgeport after being in a small town.
From there we moved to Bridgeport, ten I met my husband. I was 16 years ld when I met Ed. I went to the movies with friends and he was an usher. He came up to us after. An air raid went off and so we had a waive for the all clear. He walked backwards all the way home. Then about two weeks later he called and said, 'Would you like to go to the movies?' I said, 'I have to ask my parents', and they said they wanted to meet him before they let me go. He came in his car, my father said you're not taking her in the car, I could hear to going round corners. We walked to the movies, downtown Bridgeport and that's how we started.
Then he wanted him to go into the military. I got home from school and there he was sitting with my mother. On his 17th birthday he left for service. His ship went down and I was writing him a letter at the dining room table.
Doing the investigating and explaining it to people is really beautiful. I'm not afraid of going into a haunted house, I'm really not afraid. My psychic ability has developed so high that I've been tested by Dr Velma Lawson at UCLA and I came out high above average. I love the work. I'm doing it for Ed because I know he would want me to carry on the work that we worked so hard on for such a long, long time.
The Conjuring is in UK cinemas from 2 August 2013.
