The Conjuring

The Conjuring is based on the real-life exploits of husband and wife duo, Ed and Lorraine Warren. The franchise takes creative liberties, of course, but the main movies are based on their past. The man behind the universe is none other than James Wan.

James is known for co-creating Saw and directing the DC movie Aquaman. The Conjuring franchise starts with Ed and Lorraine being roped into helping a family who believe their house is cursed.

Unfortunately, they realise the house is possessed by the evil Bathsheba. It’s also when we are introduced to a new horror icon.

Annabelle the Doll.

Since the first movie, there has been a sequel and five spin-off movies. The Conjuring 2 introduces Valak, a dangerous demon who masquerades as a Nun. Other than these two movies, Ed and Lorraine are only in Annabelle Comes Home for more than a cameo.

The spin-offs are mostly made to focus on the villains and explore their origins. So far, Annabelle has three movies while Valak only has one. The fifth spin-off is The Curse of La Llorona, which wasn’t part of the universe originally.

The only thing that connects it to the wider universe is a character from Annabelle.

Release Order

2013 / The Conjuring / James Wan

2014 / Annabelle / John R. Leonetti

2016 / The Conjuring 2 / James Wan

2017 / Annabelle: Creation / David F. Sandberg

2018 / The Nun / Corin Hardy

2019 / Annabelle Comes Home / Gary Dauberman

2019 / The Curse of La Llorona / Michael Chaves

The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It releases June 4, 2021.

Next: Insidious