the first time i saw its movie poster was early this month. soon after, everyone on my timeline was talking about it; saying how much they really wanted to watch this new horror film. when they heard it was based on a true story, it just sparked their interest further, firing up their desire to catch this movie.
this is The Conjuring. and today, people are still talking about it, posting pictures of the Annabelle Doll, movie stills, scaring each other about scenes from the movie.
i've read about the Annabelle Doll in the early month of Ramadan this year, on my trustworthy Facebook friend, a page telling tales of the bizarre, hauntings, and strange objects. among these stories was the one of the Annabelle Doll. this is what i understood of it.
a student nurse named Donna had been given a raggedy Ann doll for her birthday. back in those days, Ann/Andy dolls were of the rage and every girl wanted them. she was thrilled for this gift. she and her roommate Angie treated it like a friend.
the doll soon began developing a life of its own. it started off changing positions; it would be left laid down, only to be sitting when Donna came into the room again. eventually it began moving around on its own, and was always found in a room different from where it had been left.
the most chilling sight was when they returned to see that the doll was sitting on a chair, upright. it was impossible. the doll's legs were too flexible to support its own weight.
Donna seeked help from a priest. apparently a young girl named Annabelle had been murdered, lifeless body found when she was seven, on a field where the house now stood. its spirit had taken a liking for the Ann doll and therefore took residence in it. upon knowledge, Donna and Angie gave permission for the spirit to stay in the doll as long as it stopped doing creepy things.
everyone seemed happy at the arrangement. except for Lou, the friend that had been staying with Donna and Angie. he claimed that the doll had tried to strangle him when he was sleeping at night. notes in childish scribbles were found; "help", "help Lou", and claw-marks formed on Lou's back.
again, they called for help. they were told that spirits do not possess objects. they'd rather take on human form. Annabelle was just taking temporary residence in the Ann doll before it attempts to possess its human target; Lou.
the demonologists featured in The Conjuring; Ed and Lorraine Warren, were also called in to investigate. they had taken the Ann doll, where it remains imprisoned in a glass case. "Positively Do Not Open", a note on its window says.
and no... this doll has nothing to do with the family of five daughters from the movie. the only thing these cases have in common were demon possession and Ed and Lorraine Warren.
so the question: is The Conjuring really based on a true story?
one of the Perron sisters; Andrea, had written, quote: "On behalf of my entire family, thank you for the fine and balanced reporting in this article. For the purpose of clarification, “The Conjuring” IS based on a “true story”…our story. However, the film is not based on my trilogy “House of Darkness House of Light”. It is, instead, based upon the case files of Ed & Lorraine Warren.
They conducted an investigation of our home between 1973-74 and the movie tells our story from their perspective."
i can't say for sure because i never really watched the movie [was closing my eyes the whole time], but the film version did exaggerate here and there, beginning with the Annabelle doll. who knows if the whole story was of exaggeration too? isnt that what filmmakers are supposed to do, in order to draw an audience?
and the film is based upon the case files of investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. they are famous names in the horror world, stated to have investigated over 10,000 cases, the most mentioned being the Amityville hoax.
this story took place in another house, 112 Ocean Avenue, with the Lutz family. a family of seven, the DeFeo family, resided there about a year before they did. the eldest son, 24 at the time, had murdered his parents and his four younger siblings, aged 9, 12, 13, and 18.
he claimed to have not been aware as he was murdering his family. he casually went to work, and when he returned home to see his family drowned in blood in their beds, he called the police telling them frantically of his discovery.
it was said that he had been possessed by demons, and that he was truly innocent of these murders.
came the Lutz family. they had their share of unworldly encounters. George Lutz would wake up at 3:15 in the mornings; the estimated time that the DeFeo murders had taken place. Kathy Lutz had dreams where she found out the order of the killings and the rooms in which they occurred. the Lutz children began sleeping on their stomachs; that was how the bodies of the DeFeos were found.
there was a book written about this; The Amityville Horror. however, its author soon admitted the whole story to be a work of fiction created together with the Lutz family and a priest. the priest too admitted it to be fake. because the Warrens had done their part of investigation, they were highly associated with the hoax.
so it can't be wrong for people to think that the Conjuring is not based on a true story, because the Warrens were involved. there was also no link in the Annabelle doll and the Perrons' house haunting.
i did some research on the witch Bathsheba, featured in the horror film as well. from what i understood, her being a witch may or may not be true. an infant had died in her care, with its skull being punctured by a sewing needle. it was said that she sacrificed her child to the demon.
later on Carolyn Perron was lying on her couch when she suddenly felt a pain in her calf; it started to drip blood where the pain was felt. there were no bees that could have hurt her, and the wound looked like it had been punctured by a sewing needle. Lorraine Warren believed that the witch had taken her murder tool with her when she died.
they said that the witch had sacrificed all her children to the devil, but this was not entirely true. she had a son whom she watched becoming a farmer, a husband, and a father. her witchcraft was also known to be just folklore.
for the special 'power' that Lorraine had possessed as seen in the movie, it is true. she started seeing bright lights around other people when she was 12; she had told a nun about it, and was punished instead of being helped. her daughter Judy has also inherited this gift.
the Warrens never charged money for their services. this fact confuses me. they wouldnt take all the trouble to hold exorcisms and investigations if the hauntings are just hoaxes. on the other hand, they were probably just doing this in kindness; they just wanted to help the families that were being haunted, out of sincerity.
so how true is the story which The Conjuring is based on? and how reliable are the demontologists Ed and Lorraine Warren?
it is a Tuesday afternoon and here i sit at Jurong East library. first day of vacation, and this is how i spend it; by pretending to be a journalist. i havent even had breakfast, or lunch for that matter.
there are a dozen other articles on the net, regarding the stories behind The Conjuring. a million times better than what i just wrote. you can always do some research on your own. the above is just what i understood of it.
even as my cursor lingers above the 'publish' button, i still feel displeased at this blog post of mine. it doesnt feel satisfying. but nevermind. i'm just an amateur journalist [a wannabe, even], putting my heart and soul into my research, although i don't get satisfying results from it...
you can never watch a movie "based on a true story" without researching every single detail about this story. nope. definitely not me. and thus, i present to you this post of mine. i hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment