Ed and Lorraine Warren were some of the most famous paranormal investigators of their time. Their legacy and career have now been preserved in film format with the “The Conjuring” series. While the Warrens are well known, their careers are controversial. Yes, the movies are entertaining, but are they true? Let’s take a deeper dive into the true story behind “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.”
“Based on a True Story”
Truth time: The Conjuring movies are some of my favorite horror movies. What makes them exceptionally compelling is that they’re “based on a true story.”
Why the quotation marks? Movies that are “based on a true story” are usually LOOSELY based on a true story. Producers and screenwriters often have to take artistic liberties in order to make the story more interesting.
For example, in “The Conjuring 2”, the movie was centered around how Ed and Lorraine Warren helped the Hodgson family with what is now called the Enfield Poltergeist. But Ed and Lorraine weren’t the only investigators working on the case.Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair from the Society of Psychical Research were actually the main investigators.
In fact, according to Maurice Grosse, Ed and Lorraine showed up for a very short time.Ed apparently pulled Grosse aside and said he could make a lot of money off the case, and Ed was sent away. There’s a lot more to the story, maybe I’ll tell you more in the future.
With this in mind, we should expect some things to be exaggerated with movies that are “based on a true story.” What’s the true story behind the murder trial that became known as the “Devil Made Me Do It” case? Let’s find out.
First, a disclaimer: Spoiler Alert! If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading right now. I’ll break down some of the more obvious differences between the movie and real-life, and then take a deeper dive into the actual story.
The Town of Brookfield
Before we can talk about the murder trial, we have to start at the beginning. This all started in a small town called Brookfield, Connecticut. It was a sleepy little town with not much going on. In fact, until “The Devil Made Me Do It” case, there hadn’t even been a murder. The town is located northeast of New York City, and is technically part of the New York Metropolitan area. The town was established in 1788. So, not much was going on.
David Glatzel Was 11-Years Old
One of the most notable changes I saw in the movie was that they made David Glatzel younger. Of course, it’s more disturbing to see a young child get possessed by a demon. The choice obviously made David seem more innocent and more baby-like, which is meant to tug at our heartstrings. In real life, David was 11-years old.
Arne and Debbie Lived with Arne’s Family
Arne and Debbie actually lived with Arne’s mom and siblings. At the time, Arne’s mother was gravely ill with cancer. The couple were the main providers for Arne’s family and they were looking for a larger place to live to accommodate everyone.
Debbie Was Older Than Arne
Not that age is a big deal, but it’s worth it to take a look. Debbie was 26-years old and had been previously married and had a child from that marriage. Arne was 18-years old. For the time, an older woman living with a younger guy raised some eyebrows. When the couple first met, Arne was only 12-years old, which would have made Debbie around 20-years old.
Arne and Debbie Were Already Engaged
In the movie, Arne is about to ask Debbie to marry him, and even David is asking him when he’ll pop the question. In real life, the couple were already engaged by the time David was possessed.
David Met the Demon Somewhere Else
The movie makes it look like David became possessed in the Glatzel family home when everyone moved in. What is true is that the former tenants did leave a waterbed in the house. But the house that was the site where David met the demon was a different house. In July 1980, Arne and Debbie had just acquired rental property, and they went over to start cleaning it.
David said that when they arrived on the property, there was an old man that started terrorizing him and pushing him. Initially, Arne and Debbie thought that David made up the story to avoid cleaning. But then David said that the old man promised to harm the Glatzel family if they moved into the rental. The rental itself didn’t give Arne or Debbie much concern besides hearing footsteps above them.
What is troubling is when David saw the old man again, he had beast-like features, was uttering Latin, and threatened to steal his soul. But soon after, David started having night terrors, he had unexplained scratches and bruises, and he was starting to act strange.
There Was No Curse
One important detail to note is that there was no curse involved in “The Devil Made Me Do It” case. There were no occultists, there were no Disciples of the Ram, none of that is true. This was all created for the sake of the movie. If there is anything I want readers to get out of this blog, it’s that there was no curse…at all. However, the Warrens believed that the previous tenants of the house in question were into witchcraft and opened a door to the demonic and left it there when they moved. When David came into the house, he was the first to encounter the demon from the open portal.
David’s Behavior Was More Disturbing
Whatever had tormented David at the rental property followed him home. The Glatzel family decided to call a Catholic priest to bless the house. I know…it’s the 80s…mental health care back then isn’t what it is today. Anyway, the priest came to bless the house, but it didn’t work. The family told Debbie and Arne that their rental home was evil.
But the old man, now known as the Beast, followed them. David’s visions and odd behavior started happening in the day time as well. According to the Glatzels, David was being choked and beaten by unseen forces.
David started hissing, growling, and reciting passages from the Bible and John Milton’s Paradise Lost. He was also speaking in other voices. Members of the family had to start taking shifts during the night to watch David because he would have spasms and convulsions. Debbie and Arne moved in with the family to help them with David.
About 12 days after the original incident, the family or a man named Father Dennis called Ed and Lorraine Warren to investigate. So the Warrens came into the scene, and learned the Glatzels story, they concluded that he was possessed by multiple demons. Ed concluded that about 63 demons had possessed David.
David Predicted the Murder
According to my research, David went through three exorcisms. Lorraine said that David levitated in the air, and even demonstrated precognition abilities and predicted the murder that Arne Johnson would commit.
During one of David’s exorcisms, Arne apparently coerced one of the demons to possess him. He told the demon to “Leave his little buddy alone.” At this point too, Arne was working all day and staying with the Glatzels and helping them with David.
When the story was covered by the show, “A Haunting”, Arne said that one of the demons attacked him by taking control of his car and running it into a tree.This happened a few days after Arne coerced the demon to possess him.
After the car accident, Arne went back to the old rental property and examined the well that supposedly housed the demon. Arne made eye contact with the demon in the well, and apparently became full on possessed. This was also Arne’s last completely lucid moment before the murder.
The Warrens were not happy with this and apparently even warned Arne to not make eye contact with the demon. In the midst of all this, David wasn’t getting better. In October of 1980, the Warrens contacted the Brookfield police and told them the situation was getting dangerous.
Bruno Salls’ is Alan Bono in Real Life
Arne and Debbie decided it was time to move out of her mother’s house and into their own place. Debbie got a job at a dog groomer, which was owned by Alan Bono. He would also be Arne and Debbie’s landlord. Debbie and Arne got an apartment above her work. It didn’t take long for Debbie to notice that Arne was showing the same behavior as David.
Arne would also growl and hiss, go into a trance-like state, and then have no memory of it. So Debbie is thinking, “Crap, my man is possessed too.”
Multiple People Witnessed the Murder
On February 16, 1981, Arne called out sick from work. He was having stomach issues and not feeling well. He joined Debbie at the dog groomer, the kennel, with his sister Wanda and Debbie’s 9-year old cousin.
Alan Bono took the group to lunch, and he started drinking quite heavily. He insisted that Arne and Debbie drink too. After lunch, the group went to a pet shop to get supplies, and then went back to the kennel. Arne went up to the apartment to lay down.
Judy Glatzel, David’s and Debbie’s mom, called Debbie and told her something was wrong and to get to her house immediately.
Alan Bono was at the kennel and was still drinking. Debbie couldn’t leave work right away but assured she would take everyone over for dinner. But Bono wanted the group to stay for dinner.
Here’s where details get fuzzy. So Debbie took Mary and Wanda to get pizza, but she said she would be back quickly. It seemed that Debbie was sensing that something wasn’t right. When the girls got back from pizza, Bono was completely drunk and intoxicated at this point. Debbie wanted Bono to pass out in his apartment, so they set up the pizza in his kitchen.
The Murder Happened Outside
As Arne, Debbie, and the rest of the crew were getting ready to eat, Bono had become belligerent. The group was trying to leave and Bono wouldn’t let them leave. Debbie told everyone to leave the room.
But Bono was able to grab Mary and wouldn’t let her go. Arne ran into the room and told Bono to let Mary go. Mary gets away and runs to the car. At this point, this debacle had made its way outside of the kennel.
It was reported that Arne had two voices coming out of him, and at this point, he was no longer Arne. Wanda is trying to pull Arne away from Bono as Debbie is standing in the middle to try to mitigate the situation.
Arne gets out a 5-inch pocket knife and stabs Alan Bono in the chest. Bono died a few hours later in the hospital. Arne managed to get away and was found about two miles away. Supposedly, Debbie and Wanda didn’t actually see Arne stab Bono.
Lorraine Contacted the Police the Day After the Murder
This was the first murder to happen in Brookfield, Connecticut. So, the day after the murder, Lorraine Warren contacts the police and tells them that this isn’t Arne’s fault.
She said that Arne was possessed at the time he committed the murder. The Warrens also fueled the media frenzy that surrounded this case. Even the agents for the Warrens promised movie deals, books, and interviews would soon follow. Basically, it became a media circus, thanks to the Warrens.
Arne’s Lawyer Wasn’t Allowed to Use the Demon Defense
The trial started October 28, 1981. Arne’s lawyer, Martin Minnella, decided to run with this possession idea. Minnella was getting calls from all over the world about this case.
He even went to England to talk to two lawyers who had similar cases, even though they didn’t go to trial. He also wanted to fly in exorcism specialists and even subpoena the priests who oversaw David’s exorcism. Arne entered a plea of not guilty by reason of demonic possession.
The judge, Robert Callaham, rejected Arne’s plea and defense, so his possession could not even be a factor in this trial. Callahan said that there’s no way that this defense could even be used because there’s no way to scientifically prove it and there was no evidence to support it. So, Minnella decided to say that Arne acted in self-defense.
The jury deliberated over three days for 15 hours, and Arne was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter on November 24, 1981. He was sentenced to 10-20 years in prison. Arne got himself out of prison thanks to his good behavior and being a model prisoner. He got his GED, took college classes, and he took the time to get his life together. Arne married Debbie in 1984, and they remained married until her recent death from cancer.
But he only served five years. So, what happened to the demon that was possessing Arne?
The Demon Continued to Haunt Arne & David After
In Gerald Brittle’s book, “The Devil in Connecticut” he said that the Diocese in Canada intervened and did a proper exorcism on Arne. I guess the priests that oversaw David’s exorcism didn’t do a thorough job. According to Brittle, the demon still haunted David and Arne. He alleges that the demon haunted Arne while he was in prison.
There Was a Lawsuit Years Later
When “The Devil in Connecticut” was republished in 2006, David Glatzel and his brother Carl, Jr. sued Brittle and the publishers for invasion of privacy, libel, and “intentional afflictions of emotional distress.”
Carl claims that David was mentally ill at the time. Also, David’s father, Carl, Sr. claimed that he never said his son was possessed. Psychiatrists looking at David’s case at the time also said he wasn’t possessed, but instead, had a learning disability.
He also said that Ed and Lorraine Warren made up the story to exploit his family and profit from their pain and suffering. Here’s what’s really messed up, if it’s true. Carl also claims that the Warrens told the family that if they went along with this, they would make a ton of money.
Lorraine stuck to her story and said that she, Ed, and six other priests agree that David was possessed. However, while the Diocese of Connecticut confirmed they were helping David through a difficult time, they did not confirm any exorcisms or anything about possession.
Carl said that the media circus, the books, the made-for-TV movie forced him to drop out of school, he lost friends and business opportunities. The book, “The Devil in Connecticut” also made him look like the bad guy. Gerald Brittle claims that he wrote the book because the family wanted the story told and was based on claims made by the Warrens. To this day, Carl claims the whole thing was a hoax.
Moving Forward
According to a few different sources, Debbie Glatzel was involved with the filming of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It before her recent death. Arne and Debbie had other media opportunities after the court case. A made-for-TV movie called, “The Demon Murder Case”, starred Kevin Bacon as Arne. As mentioned earlier, the couple was also featured on an episode of “A Haunting” in the episode, “Where Demons Dwell.”
To put it bluntly, this is an incredible story with lots of layers.
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/25/nyregion/the-region-man-is-convicted-in-friend-s-death.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/23/nyregion/defendant-in-a-murder-puts-the-devil-on-trial.html
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-250-arne-johnson-20140412-story.html
https://apnews.com/article/c758c33ba4756f757e1dfec4f0abd39e
https://books.google.com/books?id=VsmvAAAACAAJ
https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a36529802/conjuring-3-true-story-arne-johnson-now/