28
Feb/2008

by DemonologyTodayRadio

BTW, We will be having Lorraine on our show likely in Late March or in April...

http://www.ghostvillage.com/resources/2008/features_02162008.shtml

Women in the Paranormal: Lorraine Warren

By Jeff Belanger


Over the last ten years, I've had the opportunity to meet with many
paranormal research groups, to attend quite a few conferences, and to
exchange emails and phone calls with hundreds of people regarding
paranormal research. One fact has become abundantly clear -- though
there seem to be more women than men interested in the topic (our own
membership list can attest to this), there are very few women in
leadership roles within the paranormal community. Only a handful of
groups are run by women, and for the most part, the glass ceiling has
been firmly in place in ghost research from the beginning. That's not
to say there aren't exceptions, and considering the women I've been
corresponding with over the last month, there are certainly some
long-overdue cracks showing in that glass ceiling.


In the coming month, Ghostvillage.com is going to do its part
to put some more cracks in that glass ceiling. Through a series of
articles and interviews, we're going to meet some of the women who are
in the field of paranormal research. To get things started, I wanted to
speak with a woman I've known since I was 12 years old; a woman who
played a role in inspiring me to pursue the paranormal for myself.
Considering this woman has been in the field longer than any other out
there right now, it's fitting that we start with Lorraine Warren.



Lorraine
Rita Moran was born on January 31, 1927 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to
parents James and Georgiana Moran. From a young age, Lorraine recalls
being different than other kids. By age 9, she was seeing "lights"
around people. She would later learn that these were auras. At age 16,
at a movie theater in Bridgeport, she met a slender young man named Ed
Warren. That night she wrote in her diary, "I will spend the rest of my
life with him." This may have been the first of many psychic
impressions to come for Lorraine.


Ed Warren grew up in a haunted house in Bridgeport. He saw
faces in glowing balls of light moving around his bedroom. When Ed and
Lorraine met, it was destiny that the two would spend their lives
seeking out things that go bump in the night. In 1952, they founded the
New England Society for Psychic Research, and have been venturing into
the unexplained ever since. Lorraine and Ed have explored many haunting
cases over their more than five-decade career, they've authored nine
books, and they've lectured around the world on their findings.


In August of 2006, Ed Warren passed away, but Lorraine has
continued the work the two started all those years ago. At 81 years
old, Lorraine still shows no sign of stopping. Recently, she began
appearing on episodes of A&E's Paranormal State
television show. She calls everyone "honey." When you speak with her,
she instantly transforms into your grandmother… your grandmother who
has been studying the supernatural for a very long time.



"At 81, do you think you'll ever retire from this work?" I asked.


"Well I certainly am busy, honey," Lorraine said. "There's an
awful lot going on. I'm constantly involved with cases, and I'm working
with Paranormal State doing filming."



We talked about the role women have played in the field since she and
her husband began the New England Society for Psychic Research in 1952.
"When I first started to see women in the field, they were usually
women who were into just the psychic aspect, not so much the research,"
Lorraine said. But over time, some of these women made the move from
psychic intuitive to paranormal researcher. One can lead to the other,
she said.


Lorraine has observed how many women have gotten involved with
research groups, but in recent years some have left to form their own.
She's even seen some all-female groups form, but fears that may also be
missing the point considering both men and women bring different
abilities to the research. "People can help on more than one level,"
she said.



So is there an equal footing for men and women in paranormal research?


"No, oh my God, no, honey," Lorraine said. "There's far from an
equal footing. Most of the women groups are sticking with the women.
They really are. That's not true of me. All I am doing is continuing
work that Ed and I were doing for more than 50 years. I'm going with
it."


Lorraine says she's willing to help any group that needs her
expertise. "I do find an openness in that area," she said. "Because I
have so much experience, but I'm not connected with any one group. The
only ones I have connected with is the group at State College. And this
was before the A&E program. When I got involved with Ryan Buell and
his group, I told him if I was involved he would have to do things the
way Ed and I did things, and that's to bring closure to cases. This is
what is missing with so many groups is closure.



"That's what takes time, that's what takes effort, that's what takes knowledge."


Closure is a topic that Lorraine focuses on quite a bit. She
feels that too many groups today focus on investigations and trying to
prove a location is haunted, but that doesn't necessarily help a family
in need. The closure aspect of her research is something at which she
feels women are naturally more adept.


Women's intuition and closure are one thing, but Lorraine also
emphasizes the importance of religious faith in the paranormal
research. "It doesn't require strength, only strength of spirit," she
said. "I'll tell you one thing, if women think they can go in there
with no faith... 
and think they can do this or do that, they're going to be very
short-lived in this work."


After a lifetime of doing this, Lorraine still loves the field
she's in. Her perspective is unique, and whether you agree or disagree
with her methodology or research, there's no denying her longevity.
Just a few decades ago, calling oneself a paranormal researcher was a
good way to subject yourself to ridicule at best, and prosecution at
the worst. Today, it's almost become en vogue to call yourself a ghost
hunter. That's, in part, because of the work Lorraine Warren and other
pioneers like her did all those years ago.



You can visit Lorraine Warren's Web site at: www.warrens.net.

 

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