The Entire Conjuring Universe Story Finally Explained

Cultivating a successful film franchise isn't an easy task, especially when it comes to the horror genre, but Warner Bros. struck gold with 2013's "The Conjuring," which has since developed into the most successful horror franchise out there. James Wan's film didn't just do well with critics, it was a hit at the box office and paved the way for a seemingly endless number of profitable films. Most of these tales are based on the exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren, real-life paranormal investigators who worked during the better half of the last century. Over the course of their 50-plus-year careers, they documented numerous supposed hauntings, and their work inspired Wan to create this creepy franchise.

But as more spin-offs and sequels are added to the ever-growing Conjuring Universe, keeping track of the whos, whens, and wheres can get a little confusing. While Wan has always contended it's been his intention to build an entire world based on Ed and Lorraine Warren's many case files, the films they're based on jump around chronologically. Luckily, we've made sense of who's who in this tangled web and when everything in this terrifying franchise takes place. From freaky nuns to haunted houses, here's the entire Conjuring Universe story explained.

The Valak character in the Conjuring Universe may have taken its inspiration from a demon named Valac, which is described in Aleister Crowley's "The Lesser Key of Solomon" as a "child with angel's wings riding on a two-headed dragon." The Conjuring Universe version of Valak is clearly not a child, and it doesn't have angel's wings. Whether or not it rides a two-headed dragon is up for some debate, since who's to say that the dragon didn't get left behind when Valak crossed over from Hell. 

One very specific thing that's mentioned in both mythologies, however, is their connection to snakes. Like Crowley's Valac, who's known "to tell where serpents may be seen," the Valak of the 1950s Romanian monastery has its own tie to the biblical reptile, along with a much more impressive title: "the Defiler, the Profane, the Marquis of Snakes." As fans of the franchise know, Valak goes on to become a major recurring villain in the story of the Conjuring Universe.

"The Nun II" picks up only a few years later, as Sister Irene hides out in Italy following her battle with Valak. But, after catching wind of a mysterious series of deaths (including that of a priest in France), not to mention an eerie vision of a distressed Frenchie/Maurice, the nun gets permission to investigate these bizarre happenings. Sadly, Father Burke has passed away, but joining Irene this time around is Sister Debra, a nun who lacks faith. Of course, this all leads to Valak's triumphant return.

Upon Sister Irene's investigation, she learns that Valak is after a Catholic relic, the eyes of Saint Lucy — a Christian martyr who was supernaturally kept from burning alive, a quality her descendants share — which happen to be hidden in the French boarding school where Frenchie currently works. With the help of a young girl named Sophie, Irene uncovers the relic, which the Valak-possessed Frenchie takes for himself soon after.

At full strength, Valak attempts but fails to burn Irene alive, revealing that Irene is a descendant of St. Lucy herself (the movie also hints the same about Lorraine Warren, who likewise has strange visions). After Sisters Irene and Debra pray fervently, Valak is seemingly banished back to hell, and all seems well. Except it's not: the movie ends with a flash-forward to Ed and Lorraine Warren receiving an interesting call, likely teasing Frenchie's inevitable re-possession, or maybe something even more sinister...

Here's where we finally get our first introduction to Ed and Lorraine Warren. That nurse, whose very nice mother had given her a very hideous doll as a present, is now at the mercy of the demon spirit trapped inside the toy, and she needs the Warrens' help in exorcizing the thing. After all, this isn't the spirit of a seven-year-old girl who wants to play. There's only Annabelle, and she wants your soul. So the Warrens take the doll off the nurse's hands (it's what Father Perez was trying to do a year ago, anyway) and move on to their next case.

In 1971 in Wakefield, the Warrens are teaching a class on demonology at Massachusetts Western University. During the lecture, they play footage of a possessed man named Maurice, who Ed explains killed himself after attempting to shoot his wife. "Not even an exorcist could bring him back," he says. Maurice is a French-Canadian farmer who, by this point in time, had been possessed for nearly two decades. Does he sound familiar? He should, since Maurice is Frenchie, the nice guy who spent some time in Romania in the '50s and came home with a demon nun as a souvenir.

When Ed and Lorraine Warren are needed on an overnight investigation, they hire a girl named Mary Ellen to keep an eye on their daughter Judy. This turns out to be a terrible decision, because not only do the Warrens at this point in time have an entire room devoted to possessed objects in their home, but Mary Ellen has a friend named Daniela who really wants to speak to her dead father.

Daniela drops by the house uninvited and does what any girl in her position would do. She finds a way into the Warrens' artifact room, disturbs Annabelle, and unleashes every ghost and demon the Warrens have trapped in their basement ... sort of. It's explained in "Annabelle Comes Home" that the doll isn't actually possessed. She's a "beacon for other spirits," more or less a conduit for anything trying to get loose. Understanding that, the three girls set about trying to get the doll back in her glass prison, hoping that will stop the haunting.

The thing is, the girls have to find her first, and she isn't exactly happy about the prospect of being locked up again. The girls spend the night essentially playing hide and seek with a bunch of possessed objects (the Bride, the Samurai, the Ferryman, and a Feeley Meeley board game) before Annabelle is returned to her case once and for all. Naturally, Ed and Lorraine aren't too happy when they get home.

A few years later in "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It," the Warrens document the exorcism of a young boy named David Glatzel. Unfortunately, the evil spirit in David overpowers Ed and makes a deal with Arne Johnson, the young man dating David's older sister Debbie. Arne offers himself up in David's place, and the demon accepts. Though Ed sees this happen, he loses consciousness for over a month, giving the demon-possessed Arne just enough time to murder his landlord.

The Warrens seek to prove in court that Arne was possessed, leading to a landmark court case — just like it was in real life, the murder trial becomes the first time demonic possession has been used as a defense in America. Eventually, Ed and Lorraine learn that David was possessed only after first being cursed by an object built by Isla the Occultist. This leads them to Father Kastner, a retired priest who has previously dealt with the Disciples of the Ram. It turns out that he's also the secret father of the Occultist, who he accidentally exposed to occult practices.

To save Arne, the Warrens destroy the altar that Isla built, expelling the demon before it can do any more damage. Unfortunately for Isla, the demon returns to its former master, killing the Occultist and dragging her soul to Hell. Arne ultimately gets sentenced to five years for manslaughter,  and he marries Debbie while in prison.