Merry meet all,
I watched The Conjuring 3 last night. Right from the beginning of the movie, the terror (at least for me) never let up. I mean wow the acting was amazing. I felt so bad for David Glatzel and Arnie Johnson. The possessions looked so real and believable. Wow what an amazing and terrifying movie.
Ed and Lorraine Warren are in the midst of an exorcism for David Glatzel. The poor kid contorts, growls and screams. The older boy who is somehow related to the family dares the demon to possess him instead to spare the younger boy. That is where the movie and the story- and trouble really start. What chilled me was how normal the possessed victims could seem at times, as if the demon was temporarily subdued. The lawyers all refuse to accept demonic possession as a reason for the murder Arnie commits on his landlord as a motive for murder. This was supposed to be the first case and first time that demonic possession was used as a reason for why Arnie killed his landlord.
“The Glatzel Family
The title of the movie comes directly from the nickname of the real Arne Johnson case – known as the “The Devil Made Me Do It” case.
The Glatzels were a real family who called in help from Ed and Lorraine Warren after 11-year-old David Glatzel began exhibiting increasingly strange behavior, claiming he saw visions of an old man who appeared as a beast, talking in otherworldly voices, and displaying scratches and bruises on his body. The Warrens diagnosed him as being possessed and several exorcisms were carried out, where the family claims David levitated.
The contortions David goes through in the movie are artistic license – though it’s worth noting they’re performed by a real person, a little girl, with Julian Hilliard’s face CG-ed on top.
At the end of the movie, during the credits, you can hear the real recording of what happened.
Ed’s Heart Attack
We could find nothing to suggest that Ed had a heart attack immediately following David Glatzel’s exorcism, although Ed would eventually die of a heart attack in 2006.
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Arne Johnson
Arne was a real person and as in the movie, he was dating, and later married Debbie Glatzel, David’s sister. During one of David’s exorcisms, Johnson supposedly challenged one of the many demons allegedly possessing David and invited the demon to leave David and possess him instead. Following this incident Johnson apparently began to display odd behavior similar to David’s.
As in the movie, Debbie worked at a dog kennel and her employer was also her landlord. Unlike in the movie, where he’s called Bruce (played by Ronnie Gene Blevins), in real life his name was Alan Bono. On the day the murder was committed, Arne and Debbie were with Arne’s sister Wanda and Debbie’s 9-year-old cousin, Mary. They had been out for lunch with Bono who had been drinking. Later on an altercation took place where Bono grabbed Mary, and Arne ordered him to release her. Debbie apparently tried to deescalate the situation but Arne started growling like an animal then pulled out a knife and stabbed Bono to death. As in the movie, Debbie was a witness.
The Disciples of the Ram
The Disciples of the Ram aren’t real but they might be loosely inspired by real cults such as the Manson family – this lot appeared first in the movie Annabellewhich is a fictionalized backstory of the doll (which is a real doll that was kept in the Warren’s artifact room).
Katie and Jessica
The murder of Katie by Jessica and Jessica’s apparent suicide afterward never happened, and the film doesn’t give a massive amount of backstory about these two. However, DC Comics has launched a new book titled DC Horror Presents: The Conjuring: The Lover #1, which specifically focuses on Jessica and how her possession comes about. It works as a direct prequel to the movie.
Kastner and the Occultist
Certainly no mention of these elements of The Conjuring:The Devil Made Me Do It were ever brought up in the real case. These parts of the film lean into the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, implying that David Glatzel was deliberately cursed by a devil worshipper looking to gain great power. It’s a fun bit of horror, which nods to other genre films and allows the Warrens to have an adventure with an actual antagonist rather than making the film a courtroom drama.
The Court Case
It is true that Johnson’s lawyer – a man named Martin Minnella – did try to present possession as a defense but the judge wouldn’t permit it. Instead Arne’s lawyers went for a self-defense plea. He got convicted of first degree man-slaughter, was sentenced to 10-20 years in prison and served five.
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Michael Taylor
In the movie Ed Warren mentions to the lawyer that there had been a British case in the past where demonic possession had been considered a factor. The name Ed mentions is Michael Taylor. Taylor was part of a religious group in Ossett in the UK, who in 1974 began behaving weirdly. After a time, a decision was made that Taylor must be under the influence of a demonic presence and an exorcism was carried out. Vicars said he was possessed by 40 demons, and over an eight-hour exorcism they managed to rid him of most them, though they apparently didn’t manage to get those pesky last few – leaving those representing insanity, anger, and murder behind.
Sent home to rest before the exorcism would be completed, Taylor went to his house and brutally murdered his wife. Though details of the exorcism were discussed in court, Taylor was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and rather than arguing he was actually possessed, the defense placed a level of blame at the feet of the religious group.
Carl Glatzel Jr.
Not mentioned in the film is the fact that some years later, David and his older brother Carl filed a lawsuit against Lorraine Warren and writer Gerald Brittle who co-authored a book about the case, titled The Devil in Connecticut, after it was reprinted in 2006. Carl claimed that the possession was a hoax, that his brother was mentally ill, and that the Warrens had concocted the story for financial gain, convincing the Glatzels that it would make them wealthy and help get Debbie’s boyfriend out of jail.
Lorraine Warren and Brittle stood by their work, with Warren pointing out that six priests had agreed David was possessed. Debbie and Arne supported the Warrens’ version of events
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is out now in cinemas.
Written by
Rosie Fletcher”
Credit given to https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-conjuring-the-devil-made-me-do-it-true-story/
I enjoyed the movie The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made me Do it. I hope you all have a chance to watch the film too. I had to see it alone. That was not easy. I mean I wasn’t alone in the theatre. I just went to the movie alone. I wish I could have snuggled up next to my date – not that I have one. I would have felt tons better. The terror never lets up. I found parts of it even funny, like when Ed Warren transforms into a version of Jack Torrance, chasing Lorraine Warren down dark tunnel. Patrick Wilson is not only damn hot but a wicked actor who deserves an Oscar for his acting in this movie.
The Conjuring 3 had a new director. I think that more horror movies should be made by that director. He knows what he is doing. I am sure that the movie would have been far less terrifying if it was directed by Wan. Grab some popcorn, and see this movie. It will make you leave the lights on all night.
Blessings, Spiderwitch
The Paranormal Quill 