The Conjuring: How the terrifying universe is connected (2024)

From The Nun to The Warrens, The Crooked Man to Annabelle, The Conjuring universe is a scary place.

If you're a horror fan like me, it's far more exciting than any world occupied by superheroes.

And just like the Marvel and DC franchises, The Conjuring has been quietly and creepily building up its own cinematic universe.

The newest film in the franchise, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, is out now and sees the return of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

So how are these hideous demons and possessed dolls connected?

Well, get under the covers if you need to and start reading.

Obviously, there are a tonne of spoilers coming. You have been warned.

Director and writer James Wan is the thread that ties these films together.

He's made some of the most successful horror films of the past 20 years, including Saw and Insidious.

So who better to be able to create a dark franchise to rival that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Wan wrote and directed the first movie, The Conjuring. It was a huge success both critically and at the box office, paving the way for more.

Chronologically that is not the first film but it is the first one we saw and it introduced us to this terrifying world.

We meet Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are based on real life paranormal investigators and their investigations.

They are helping the Perron family deal with a pretty nasty witch who haunted their house years ago.

But what is most significant in terms of the universe is that we meet Annabelle.

She is so creepy looking, she was crying out for a spin-off from the moment she hit the screen.

The doll is first spotted in the Warren's artefact room, the place where they keep all the scary stuff from different jobs.

They got Annabelle from two student nurses - which is worth remembering.

Then we get the first of the three Annabelle films, Annabelle.

A husband gives his wife this rare, porcelain doll as a gift and she loves it - which is perhaps the most unbelievable part of the plot.

One night their neighbours get murdered by their daughter, Annabelle, and her boyfriend, who are part of a cult.

When Annabelle dies, she is holding the doll. Lots of bad things happen but the doll survives and ends up in an antique shop.

Until a woman buys the doll for her daughter who is a student nurse.

The worst gift ever.

So where did this demon-possessed doll come from?

That's where spin-off sequel (keep up), Annabelle Creation, comes in.

Annabelle was actually just an innocent doll made by the loving hands of a father for his daughter called Annabelle.

The poor girl dies and her parents are desperate to see her again so pray to any entity to help them.

Be careful what you wish for.

An evil entity enters the doll. They suspect the doll is not ok and stick her in a locked cabinet.

At this point, the couple have welcomed orphan girls to stay at their home, of course, one of them, called Janice, opens the cabinet.

Once again chaos ensues, Janice escapes to another orphanage, changes her name to Annabelle and eventually gets adopted by The Higgins family.

See how it is connecting?

We now get a break from Annabelle to welcome my favourite Nun, Valak in The Conjuring 2.

I am being sarcastic, she is terrifying, possibly the worst of all the characters.

She appears very briefly in Annabelle Creation but we meet her properly when we get back to the Warrens as they take on another real life case of the Enfield Haunting.

They think they are being haunted by an old man but it's actually Valak - which is much worse.

We also meet the Crooked Man in this film. He's not nice either and therefore deserving of a spin-off - which is in production.

So we need a back story for The Nun. Surely she was a nice lady once who was hard done by?

Not at all. The spirit came through a rift in an underground cemetery at a Romanian convent. A nun, a priest and a villager called Frenchie, battle to banish her.

They think they have, but guess what? They haven't.

We are then taken back to the first film, The Conjuring, and the Warrens giving a talk on exorcism. The patient is the villager.

Fun fact here: The non-horrific nun in The Nun is played by Taissa Farmiga, the real-life sister of Vera Farmiga who plays Lorraine Warren.

This has led to some fan speculation that the nun is maybe Lorraine.

Then back to the worst doll on the planet and third Annabelle movie, Annabelle Comes Home.

In this one, we see the Warren's daughter and her babysitter release Annabelle from her cage in the artefact room and a whole host of other characters.

You have the Bride, the Ferryman and the Black Shuck, so we may see those characters in future films.

The same year, the Curse of La Llorona was released. It doesn't feel hugely part of the universe but the priest in this film was in Annabelle.

Plus there is a mention of the Warrens which ties it all in.

Which brings us to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Great excuse.

This one is based on a real-life story about Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who claimed he was possessed when he killed someone.

We will have to wait and see if any old favourites apart from the Warrens pop up this time around.

There are still more films in the pipeline.

The Crooked Man from The Conjuring 2 is getting a spin off and promises to be dark twisted fairy tale, as the character is based on a nursery rhyme.

And Valak the nun is not done wreaking havoc either.

Here is how to watch the films in chronological order, but they all work as standalone films too.

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