History Film / TheConjuring

* TheSeventies: Most of the film takes place in 1971, while the opening scene with Annabelle is set in 1968. Later retcon moved it to 1971, though.
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: Carolyn and Lorraine's conversation about the former's family's vacation to the beach is very calm compared to the rest of the film. [[spoiler: This scene is recalled by Lorraine to force [[IKnowYoureInTheSomewhereFight Carolyn out of the possession]].]]
* AdultFear: All over the place. The movie really want you to finish your popcorn, exit the theatre, and give your family a big hug.
** The ghost, Bathsheba, overwhelmingly targets the Perron children, down to [[spoiler:possessing Carolyn and trying to use her hands to kill April and Christine during the climax.]] It repeats her actions in life, when she ''killed her seven-day-old son'' in a HumanSacrifice. The amount of times the girls are screaming, inches away from their parents, but incredibly difficult to get to, will chill anybody's bones.
** Additionally, the ghost latches onto the Warrens because they're trying to help. [[spoiler: She goes after their daughter, who's alone in the house save for her sleeping grandma, and does her level best to kill her.]]

* CrosscastRole: Bathsheba is played by the film's composer Joseph Bishara (who would also go on to play [[spoiler: Valak's true form]] in the sequel and the demon using Annabelle as a conduit in [[{{Film/Annabelle}} both prequels]] [[Film/AnnabelleCreation centred around the doll]]).

* EvilDetectingDog: The Perron's dog refuses to enter the house, sensing malevolent forces within. [[spoiler: For its trouble, it becomes the film's only casualty.]]
* GhostlyGoals: [[spoiler:Bathsheba possesses mothers and forces them to kill her children]], as well as [[spoiler: killing the dog {{for the evulz}}]]. Most definitely Type B.

* HauntedHouse: [[spoiler:It soon becomes a haunted ''family'' as the spirits latch onto the Perrons to the point that leaving the house doesn't help them.]]

* KillItWithFire: Discussed and averted. When asked point blank why he doesn't burn his possessed artifacts, Ed says that it's sometimes better to keep the genie in its bottle. Burning them might just let the spirits run rampant.
* LivingProp: Two of them. One is Georgiana, Lorraine's mother, who is simply in the movie to have someone to watch over Judy while Ed and Lorraine help the Perrons. The second and more blatant example, is at the beginning of the movie, where we learn about Annabelle. Debbie and Camilla are telling everything to the Warrens, but there is a man with the girls, whose name is never mentioned, nor his relation to either of the girls, and he doesn't even speak a word.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Oh Drew. When one of the younger daughters goes missing, Drew decides to find her himself while the rest of the adults are dealing with the ensuing craziness. Upon finding her, he announces to everyone in the house, very loudly and in precise detail, EXACTLY where she is located. [[spoiler:Bathsheba, while possessing Carolyn, has just broken free of her captors. Yes, she hears Drew, and yes, she heads straight towards the daughter.]]
* NoodleIncident: Ed is reluctant to continue with any paranormal investigations due to an incident where Lorraine had a vision of ''"something"'' during an exorcism. We never find out what that something was, but it was enough to send Lorraine into a serious HeroicBSOD for several days. This becomes a plot point in the second film, where we find out that it was [[spoiler: a vision of Ed's death.]]

* SalemIsWitchCountry: [[spoiler: When she was alive, [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Bathsheba]] was a satanic witch descended from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Eastey Mary Eastey]], one of the women hanged at the trials.]]

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:After depositing the music box in the museum]], Ed comments that they've been asked to investigate something on Long Island, a reference to the ''Literature/TheAmityvilleHorror'', though it would not occur for several years.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: A lot of details were changed (in real life Carolyn Perron was already 'possessed' by the time the Warrens were called, the Perrons later dismissed the Warrens for not being of any help, the Perrons actually endured hauntings for ten years before moving out rather than the short time depicted in the film, etc.), but the real people involved don't seem to mind. Additionally, the RealLife version of "Annabelle" doll is actually a Literature/RaggedyAnn doll instead of creepy porcelain doll like in the film. The film's backstory about Annabelle is also a bit different than the real-life version. You can also see the comparison between the film and the real-life version [[http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/the-conjuring-true-story/ here]].

''The Conjuring'' is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by Creator/JamesWan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the first film in ''Franchise/TheConjuringUniverse''.

''The Conjuring'' (2013) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Creator/JamesWan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the first film in Franchise/TheConjuringUniverse.

It was followed by ''The Conjuring 2'' in 2016. Starring Wilson and Farmiga again as the Warrens, the film presents the 1977 Enfield Poltergeist, in which a working-class family of five living in the London Borough of Enfield become haunted by a spirit who seems to take an interest in the youngest daughter.

[[folder:In both movies]]
* TheSeventies: The time period of both films.
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: Or rather, Horror Film, Quiet Drama Scene. Both films feature scenes where the Warrens bond with the families they are facing. The first film has Carolyn reminiscing about her past happy times with her family to Lorraine, while the second has Lorraine comforting Janet over her psychic ability, not to mention Ed's guitar showoff.
* {{Adorkable}}: Ed can be so sweet and awkward at times. In the sequel, when he plays guitar and sings an Elvis song?
* AdultFear: All over the place. These movies really want you to finish your popcorn, exit the theatre, and give your family a big hug.

** In the second film, we have some adult fear entirely separate from the paranormal torment. The focus of the film is a single mother of four in the late 70s. It's not shied away from that there's more endangering her family than just ghosts.
* BaitAndSwitch: The first movie teases an adaptation of the infamous Amityville case as a SequelHook to serve as the basis for the entire next movie, only for the actual sequel to treat it as something of a footnote to the main plot.
* BasedOnAGreatBigLie:
** Despite the film claiming to be based on real life, you have to actually believe that there are such things as ghosts and demons. Ed did claim to be a "demonologist" and Lorraine claims to have psychic abilities, but there's no scientific proof that they were ever telling the truth about what they encountered throughout their career. After all, up until the [=1970s=] they simply claimed to be run of the mill "ghost hunters", but that changed when ''Literature/TheExorcist'' became a best selling novel. The Warrens had to one-up this, started calling everything they encountered "demons", and that's how we got ''Literature/TheAmityvilleHorror''. Most of the families supposedly affected by demons and ghosts had members severely affected by alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness. The Enfield Poltergeist, which the Warrens were never actually as involved in investigating as ''The Conjruing 2'' claims they were (they were even refused entry into the house by the family), was debunked as being the actions of the two bored teenage girls who wanted attention.
** This is even lampshaded in the films when asked what the Warrens do. Ed says they are "Demonologists, ghost hunters," and Lorraine adds, "Kooks."
* BasedOnATrueStory: Unlike most horror movies, this isn't used as a marketing ploy. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_and_Lorraine_Warren Ed and Lorraine Warren]] were real life paranormal investigators and the film is based on one of their many cases and the Perron family are in fact real. This is to the point that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFDXlIKPHFo a trailer]] was released with segments from the real Lorraine Warren and Perron family talking about the events that transpired.
* BattleCouple: Ed and Lorraine are happily married and fight the forces of darkness as a team.
* BigBad:
** In the first film [[spoiler:Bathsheba, a satanist who sacrificed her baby and hanged herself after being discovered who wants to possess living mothers to sacrifice their children too.]]
** In the second film, Bill Wilkins, the Enfield Poltergeist, is introduced as the mastermind behind the horror. [[spoiler: But it's actually the demon Valak who's really behind everything.]]
* BreakoutVillain:
** Annabelle from ''The Conjuring'' only appears a few times and has little relevance to the plot, but is one of the best-remembered parts of the movie. So far, she has gotten two spin-off films of her own, plus an upcoming one.
** Unlike Annabelle, Valak ''is'' the main antagonist of ''The Conjuring 2'', but her appearances are scant (since her being the main villain is a big reveal). Nevertheless, she is possibly the thing that gives the audience the most nightmares after watching the film. What's funny is that [[https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3394988/next-conjuring-spinoff-will-nun/ she was originally not part of the script]]! Wan created her as a last-minute addition, so all her scenes were shot during post-production. Like Annabelle, she has a solo film of her own.
* ChristianityIsCatholic:
** The Warrens are authorized by the Vatican to perform an exorcist against a [[SalemIsWitchCountry witch of Salem]], even though the Catholic church wasn’t behind the Salem Witch trials.
** Even more noticeable in the sequel, were the Catholic Church sends the Warrens to investigate a case in London, England affecting a family that gives no indication at all of being Catholic.
* CreepyBasement: Many of the series' events take place in unlit, creepy cellars.
* CreepyChild:
** Rory from the first film, on the few occasions you get a good look at him. [[spoiler:However, creepy is as bad as he gets, as he's actually a benevolent ghost due to being a victim of Bathsheba's curse.]]
** In the second, [[spoiler:Janet becomes this whenever she becomes possessed by the ghosts/demons.]]
* CreepyDoll: Annabelle might just be the modern Trope Codifier.
* DemonicPossession: In the first film, [[spoiler:Carolyn Perron, the mother of the Perron family, gets possessed by the witch Bathsheba]]. In the second, [[spoiler:Janet Hodgson gets possessed by Bill Wilkins ''and'' Valak]].
* DraggedOffToHell: [[spoiler:Both films end with the main villain being banished back to the pits of Hell.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Both films end on a happy note, although the Warrens and the families they face need to go through hell before they can gain it.]]
* EverybodyLives: [[spoiler:With the exception of the EvilDetectingDog, none of the characters die in the first movie. This is repeated again in the second, despite every indication that Ed wouldn't survive, except that the aforementioned (different) evil-detecting dog also gets to live.]]
* EverythingsBetterWithSamurai: Or worse. One of haunted objects in Warrens' museum is a samurai armor. You can tell that there's an [[NoodleIncident amazing story behind it]] for a samurai armor to be in there.
* EvilDetectingDog: Both movies feature one.
** In the first, the Perron's dog refuses to enter the house, sensing malevolent forces within. [[spoiler: For its trouble, it becomes the film's only casualty.]]
** In the second, the dog of the Hodgson's neighbors, the Nottinghams, seems to shape up as one as it becomes restless once the Hodgsons move in, [[spoiler:but it turns out that Valak only uses its image to create the Crooked Man, making it a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], as the dog doesn't figure much afterward.]]
* FantasticCatholicism: True to the real Warrens, who invoked the trope in their writings.
* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Bathsheba is a Satanist, which means that the forces of Darkness aka Satan itself is really behind all this]]. This gets neatly touched upon in the second, too, as [[spoiler: the film's true BigBad is Valak, the Great President of Hell and thus Satan's underling according to traditional demonology. Valak is also highly implied to be what Lorraine saw in the first film's flashback that sent her into a long HeroicBSOD.]]
* HappilyMarried: The Warrens, as well as the Perrons from the first film.
* HauntedHouse:
** In the first film, [[spoiler:it soon becomes a haunted ''family'' as the spirits latch onto the Perrons to the point that leaving the house doesn't help them.]]
** The second film features the ghost of an elderly man who wants to return to his family in the Hodgsons' house, which once belonged to his, only to realize that all of them have long gone. While it is implied at first that he haunts the house because he doesn't want anyone to claim it, [[spoiler:it is revealed later on that the old man ''wants'' to move on, but is prevented from doing so by Valak.]]
* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[spoiler:Maurice, the exorcism patient who gave Lorraine the vision of Ed's death, is one of the main characters of ''The Nun'' spin-off film.]]
* HistoricalBeautyUpdate:
** Inverted with Annabelle. The real Annabelle doll is a Raggedy Ann, not the more human-looking and terrifying thing that appears here.
** Played straight with Ed and Lorraine Warren who, in real life, weren't anywhere near as good-looking as Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.
* JumpScare: Many of the scares. [[TropesAreNotBad Some of these are actually kind of effective.]]
* MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual: The Warrens' have turned a room in their house into a collection of cursed objects that people are allowed to tour on the condition that you do not touch ''anything'', ''especially'' not Annabelle. This aspect is TruthInTelevision: You really can take tours of this room in the Warren home, complete with the [[Literature/RaggedyAnn "real" Annabelle]].
* NothingIsScarier:
** A lot of the horror in these movies rely on these as opposed to {{Jump Scare}}s. To put it in context, the first film was slapped with an R rating despite lacking enough violence or language that usually warrants the rating. James Wan was told by the MPAA that the film got an R rating simply because ''the atmosphere was too frightening for a PG-13'' and there was nothing he could trim to lower it. And then, with the sequel, it happened all over again.
** Both movies feature scenes after the climax where the camera focuses on a particularly sinister object, leaving viewers anxious for an upcoming JumpScare... and nothing happens.
* OccultDetective: The Warrens, natch.
* OminousMusicBoxTune: The circus music box. It appears in the trailers for the sequel, as well.
* OneSteveLimit: If including the spin-off films, utterly averted.
** Series-wide, there is Carolyn Perron from ''The Conjuring'' and Charlotte and Carol both from ''Annabelle: Creation''.
** The Perrons' second daughter, Nancy, shares her name with one of the orphans in ''Annabelle: Creation''.
** Janet Hodgson from ''The Conjuring 2'' and Janice from ''Annabelle: Creation''. They are the main character of their respective films. Also, Jane(t) are the feminine equivalent of John. John Form is the protagonist's husband from ''Annabelle'', while Johnny Hodgson is Janet's younger brother. ''The Nun'' introduces Oana, whose name is the Romanian equivalent of Johanna.
** Maurice Theriault (one of the Warrens' exorcism patients from ''The Conjuring'', although his role is minor) and Maurice Grosse (a psychologist who assists the Warrens in ''The Conjuring 2''). [[spoiler: The former Maurice's role is elevated as of ''The Nun'', however.]]
** The second film alone has ''three'' incidents of shared names.
*** There are no less than three characters named Margaret: Margaret "Peggy" Hodgson, the matriarch of the Hodgson family; ''another'' Margaret Hodgson, a daughter of the former Margaret; and Margaret "Peggy" Nottingham, a neighbor of the former two. And yes, the two Peggys are always called by that, even to each other.
*** Also, one of children is named Billy while the ghost that haunts the family is named Bill.
*** In real life, Janet shares her name with Maurice Grosse's deceased daughter. Said daughter is only mentioned indirectly, but that doesn't exclude the possibility that she is also named Janet.
* PerversePuppet: Annabelle. The first thing we see in the film is this extraordinarily horrible doll from an earlier case, and we learn right away from the Warrens that she's pure evil. She even joins in the Perron haunting for a bit when the spirits breach the Warrens' home. Thankfully, she becomes a mere prop at the second, though still looking ominously on the Warren's haunted object collection room.
* ReligiousHorror: Featuring haunting, FantasticCatholicism, HollywoodSatanism, DemonicPossession (by a ghost, but still), and HollywoodExorcism. The second adds [[spoiler:[[DemonLordsAndArchdevils an actual demon]]]] into the mix.
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere:
** Ed asks the Perrons why they didn't just leave, but all their money's tied down to the house, and they know of nobody who'd willingly take in a whole family of seven in their home. [[spoiler:Eventually, Ed realizes that the spirit has latched itself to the family, so it would just follow them wherever they went. He is proven correct when the family finally goes to a motel.]]
** In the second, this happens to constables summoned to the Hodgsons' house. Once they see right from their own eyes that a chair moves on its own, they leave the case immediately and instead report it to someone more knowledgeable.
* SealedEvilInACan: Technically, all of the artifacts in the Warren basement count as this, [[spoiler:including the music box]], but Annabelle is a much straighter example, locked in a glass box. It even has a sign saying "Warning, Positively DO NOT Open".
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory:
** In the first movie a lot of details were changed (in real life Carolyn Perron was already 'possessed' by the time the Warrens were called, the Perrons later dismissed the Warrens for not being of any help, the Perrons actually endured hauntings for ten years before moving out rather than the short time depicted in the film, etc.), but the real people involved don't seem to mind. Additionally, the RealLife version of "Annabelle" doll is actually a Literature/RaggedyAnn doll instead of creepy porcelain doll like in the film. The film's backstory about Annabelle is also a bit different than the real-life version. You can also see the comparison between the film and the real-life version [[http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/the-conjuring-true-story/ here]].
** The second movie implies that the Warrens' investigation of the Amityville house took place just before the Enfield poltergeist began manifesting. In reality, the Warrens visited Amityville in early March 1976 while the events at Enfield started happening in August of 1977 and the Warrens themselves didn't visit Enfield until 1978.
* VillainOfAnotherStory: The demon who possesses Annabelle has terrorized [[Film/{{Annabelle}} two other]] [[Film/AnnabelleCreation films]] as the main villain before being relegated into a footnote in their parent series.
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[[caption-width-right:350:''[[TagLine Evil loves innocence.]]'']]

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* AbusiveParents: Ed's father may have been this, judging from what little Ed tells us about him.
* AgentMulder: Maurice Grosse, who immediately believes the Hodgsons' case even when others, including the Warrens, are skeptical. He also gives the much-needed IronicEcho comment to the Warrens near the end before the case is (apparently) dropped.
* AgentScully: Psychologist Anita Gregory doesn't believe the Hodgsons' haunting ([[TruthInTelevision as she did in real life]]), thinking that the children are lying for publicity. She even [[spoiler:shows evidence that Janet is faking the whole thing about throwing the furniture, which in truth is ''really'' faked, because Janet doesn't want the Warrens to get involved further. However, this causes the film's DarkestHour (see below).]]
* AstralProjection: Lorraine is revealed to possess this, thanks to her psychic powers. It allows her to access recollections of memories.
* BrickJoke: Early on, the washing machine in the basement breaks suddenly and violently, which seemingly has no influence on the rest of the plot aside from showing that spooky things are about to go down. Much later into the movie, we see the entire area has been completely flooded.
* BritishTeeth: Averted, surprisingly. While real Janet ''did'' have considerably large teeth at the time and Madison Wolffe wore fake teeth to depict a more convincing portrayal, her teeth in the film still looks fairly realistic instead of looking exaggeratedly big.
* ChekhovsGun: Lorraine's Bible. [[spoiler: She wrote Valak's name on it during her NightmareSequence earlier in the film.]]
* ChristmasSongs: The film teaches you that should you ever hear "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", ''run like hell''. [[spoiler:Because, otherwise, Valak will come and get you.]]
* CombatClairvoyance: Lorraine's visions of the future are what allow the BigBad to be defeated, [[spoiler:by revealing to her its TrueName, which she then uses to banish it to Hell]].
* ComingOfAgeStory: Played with. In real life, Janet just got her first period around the time of the hauntings and many theorists believe it has something to do with the hauntings. While the film doesn't reference any of this, it does feature scenes that indicate Janet's maturing such as when she's talking about a boy with her friend and her slight interest in smoking.
* ContinuityNod
** One of Ed's paintings is a sketch of the Perrons' house from the first film, complete with the tree and the noose where Bathsheba hanged herself. In fact, it's the exact same as the page image as shown here, except hand drawn.
** The Warrens' basement collection also features the music box which formerly belonged to the Perrons, and of course [[CreepyDoll Annabelle]].
** The vision Lorraine had which caused her to shut herself in her room for eight days, mentioned but never revealed in the first film, is not only mentioned but also revealed here, and it is [[spoiler: Ed being killed by Valak]].
* CoolBigSis: Margaret is shown to be nurturing to all of her younger siblings. Janet is also seen particularly close with Billy, such as when she carries him on her back when they came home from school, when she teaches him to sing the nursery "The Crooked Man", and when she hugs him after Janet is reunited with the rest of her siblings.
* DarkestHour: [[spoiler: Just when you think that Janet's haunting couldn't get any worse, Professor Gregory arrives to show the Warrens evidence that Janet is faking the haunting. When the Warrens tell Peggy about this and the fact that the Vatican would shut the case down should they receive the video, Peggy angrily shoos them away. The haunting promptly becomes worse when Janet physically injures Margaret and then barricades the house from the others. Thankfully, the Warrens quickly realize that the haunting is indeed real and, if believed, is even worse than they thought.]]
* DeadlyDistantFinale: [[spoiler:It's mentioned that, forty years after the incident, Peggy dies in the same chair that Bill passed on in.]]
* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: [[spoiler: The BigBad is Valak, the President of Hell according to ''Literature/ArsGoetia''.]]
* DemotedToExtra: Drew Thomas, Warrens' assistant, only appears in the opening scene during Amityville case and is absent for the rest of the movie.
* DisappearedDad: Peggy Hodgson's husband abandoned the family to start another life with a woman from around the corner, with whom he already has twins. On top of that he is a deadbeat who is not providing child support and never shows up even as his children are being put through hell.
* TheDragon: [[spoiler: Bill Wilkins is revealed to be an unwilling one to Valak.]]
* EurekaMoment: Each of the Warrens has one of these that contributes to saving the day:
** When Ed drops some of the tapes of the recordings they made in the house [[spoiler:he realizes that each of the recordings has a part of the message from Bill Wilkins about what is really going on]].
** Lorraine has one when [[spoiler: she realizes that she has in fact written Valak's name in her Bible ever since her encounter with her earlier.]]
* EvilOldFolks: Bill Wilkins [[spoiler:...isn't. As it turns out, he is merely commanded by Valak to haunt Janet. Bill himself just wants to pass on to the afterlife after seeing that all of his family had gone away.]]
* FalseFriend: As revealed in a deleted scene only, Camilla revealed herself as this towards Janet all along.
* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:Bill Wilkins' spirit can't move on to the Afterlife and is ForcedIntoEvil by Valak.]]
* FightingAShadow: [[spoiler:Valak can't truly be killed; it can only be banished to where it comes from: Hell.]]
* ForcedIntoEvil: [[spoiler:Bill Wilkins]] bears no ill will against the Hodgsons, but [[spoiler:is forced to torment them, and Janet in particular, by the powerful demon Valak]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Unlike his interview with Maurice and the TV crews where he's pretty much a LargeHam, Bill Wilkins often pauses and even sounds hesitating in his interview with Ed. [[spoiler:It's possible that he was contemplating to tell Ed the truth, but was prevented in doing so by Valak.]]
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Inverted. [[spoiler: Valak assumes the form of a nun specifically as a mockery of the Warrens' Catholic faith]] because it knows it will make them uncomfortable.
-->'''Lorraine:''' [[spoiler:It took a blasphemous form to attack my faith!]]
* ForTheEvulz: [[spoiler:While Valak may have grudges towards the Warrens for banishing evil spirits, it has none towards the Hodgsons. Maybe just like what it said through Bill Wilkins' mouth, it simply likes to hear them scream.]]
* FreezeFrameBonus[=/=]{{Foreshadowing}}: The identity of the BigBad can actually be spotted in the Warrens' house long before Lorraine herself realizes it much later. Pay attention to the bookcase when Lorraine is sleeping on the couch and the bracelets that Judy made on the floor. Then also take note of the papers placed near the window in Ed's work room. [[spoiler:All of them spell out "VALAK".]]
* GenderFlip: [[spoiler: Valak is usually depicted as a male in demonology. However, he is known as the "Demon Nun" in the credits, and is played by Bonnie Aarons, who is a female. Although, see AFormYouAreComfortableWith.]]
* GilliganCut:
-->'''Ed:''' (''referring to fixing the broken pipe in the basement'') That's all right. [[TemptingFate I mean, how bad can it be?]]
-->(''cut to the basement, which gets flooded up to knee-length'')
-->'''Ed:''' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Bloody hell]].
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Apparently, smoking is bad if you are a teenager who doesn't know much, but good if you are a single mother who has the stress of four children rested upon you.
* HolyBurnsEvil: Bill Wilkins can't resist crosses. [[spoiler:Valak, on the other hand, is not only resistant, but also can flip them upside down just to mess with the protagonists.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: [[spoiler: Valak manifests into the form of a Nun with chalk-white skin and BlackEyesOfEvil.]]
* IKnowYourTrueName: [[spoiler: Knowing the name of a demon will automatically make them weaker than you. Once Lorraine finds out that the demon who haunts her and Janet is called "Valak", she pronounces the name as part of her banishment, which works successfully.]]
* IllGirl: Janet becomes sickly once the haunting starts taking a toll on her body.
* IronicNurseryTune: The film somehow distorts "This Old Man" (and the similar rhyme "The Crooked Man") into a thing for everyone to dread at.
* ItIsDehumanizing: An inhuman example. [[spoiler:Despite appearing in the form of a nun, Valak is never referred with feminine pronoun.]] This is to emphasize how inhuman its nature really is. Also notable in this case since in the previous movie, the witch ghost Bathsheba is still referred with feminine pronoun.
-->'''Bill Wilkins:''' [[spoiler:It wants [Janet] so badly. It almost has her.]]
-->'''Lorraine:''' [[spoiler:The demon's name gives us power over it.]]
* {{Jerkass}}:
** Peggy's ex-husband. To wit, he abandons his family, starts a new one with a woman who lived around the corner, hasn't paid child support for his 4 kids in ''months'', doesn't lift a finger to help when his children start being brutalized by a poltergeist, and [[spoiler:he [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking took the families record collection with him when he left]].]]
** Anita Gregory comes across as this pretty often, especially since there are hints of [[ObstructiveBureaucrat classism in her arguments against the Hodgsons (namely that the haunting is a ploy to get better housing from the government)]].
* KidsAreCruel: A boy named Peter in the school insults Billy's SpeechImpediment and calls Janet lesbo for some reason.
* LiteralMetaphor: When Peggy tells Ed Warren that her ex-husband took the music from their lives when he left, she is not using a figure of speech, [[spoiler:the guy took the record collection with him]].
* TheMeanBrit: Quite several, including Anita Gregory, Peggy's ex-husband, Peter and in a deleted scene only, Camilla, the rest of the class and a school SadistTeacher.
* MediumBlending: Subverted. Many presumed that the Crooked Man was made possible by means of stop-motion animation, but the character was actually played by a real actor.
* NeverMyFault: Camilla was the one who gave Janet the spirit board which seemingly led to her family being haunted, but in a deleted scene only after the Hodgsons' haunting becomes publicly known, she publicly shamed Janet for being a witch who cursed her own family and splashed red paint on her, never thinking about that she is the one who gave the board to her in the first place that led to her ex-friend's family's haunting.
* NoodlePeople: The Crooked Man[[spoiler:, which turns out to be one of Valak's forms]]. [[BodyHorror Holy hell]].
* NoSell: [[spoiler:Valak is resistant against HolyBurnsEvil. It's also able to block Lorraine's ability to psychically detect its presence (at first).]]
* NunsAreSpooky: Dear goodness, [[spoiler:Valak.]]
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Valak has one when Lorraine reveals she knows its name and can thus banish it back to Hell.]]
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Maurice mentions to Lorraine that he lost his daughter one year prior. This is TruthInTelevision, and guess what his daughter's name is? [[NamesTheSame Janet]].
* RealityIsUnrealistic: A large number of viewers commented on the "StopMotion" used for the portrayal of the Crooked Man, unaware that the character was actually played by a ''real actor'' named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Botet Javier Botet]], who specializes in this kind of horror movie work. That [[MarionetteMotion unsettlingly jerky]], stop-motion like movement? All done live on camera by Mr. Botet.
* TheReveal:
** [[spoiler:It isn't the ghost of Bill Wilkins who haunts the Hodgsons. It isn't even a ghost at all. It's a demon, and its name is Valak.]]
** The vision during an exorcism that caused Lorraine's HeroicBSOD, as mentioned in the first film, is revealed to have been [[spoiler:Valak tormenting her with a vision of Ed's death.]]
* RiddleForTheAges: Were the murders at the Amityville house supernatural? The Warrens never do find out because Lorraine's vision of the event is interrupted midway by a premonition [[spoiler:of their future confrontation with Valak]].
* SavedByCanon: Or, rather, by real life. [[spoiler:Lorraine has been having visions of Ed's death at the hands of Valak for years, and, during the climax, the demon very nearly succeeds. Given that the real Ed Warren lived until 2006, it's safe to say that he's going to survive the film.]]
* SequelEscalation: Previous film had the Warrens confronting an evil ghost, [[spoiler:now they're facing a demon hellbent on getting someone, ''anyone'', killed]].
* SequelGoesForeign: The Warrens travel from America to England in this sequel.
* SirSwearsALot: Peggy swears pretty often throughout the film. "Bloody" appears to be her favourite curse word.
* SpeechImpediment: Billy has a stutter, which [[KidsAreCruel his schoolmates bully him for]].
* SpiritWorld: While not one per se, Lorraine is capable of entering a memory of a place, which she uses to reenact the murders of the [=DeFeo=] family/the Amityville case. Unfortunately, she also experiences darker personal visions on it, such as [[spoiler: seeing a vision of Ed being killed.]] Much later in the film, [[spoiler: she enters it again to speak with Bill Wilkins and learn the true culprit of the Enfield haunting.]]
* SpookyPainting: Ed paints impressions of the spirits that he saw in his dreams, which are then hung on around his house. The latest one is a creepy nun, [[spoiler: which turns out to be the demon who haunts the Hodgsons, Valak.]]
* ThatOneCase: The film opens with the Warrens' case of the Amityville house, which they never manage to solve due to Lorraine freaking out over seeing an apparition [[spoiler:of Valak killing Ed.]]
* TonightSomeoneDies: The advertising for the film, particularly the first trailer and [[http://www.impawards.com/2016/conjuring_two.html this poster]], seem to imply that Lorraine may not survive. In the film proper, [[spoiler:it's Ed who gets this treatment via Lorraine's vision of his death.]]
* TraumaSwing: Janette is sitting alone on a swing when Lorraine met her for the first time.
* TwistedChristmas: The haunting takes place around Christmastime.
* UndyingLoyalty: Vic and Peggy Nottingham,the Hodgsons' neighbors who never falter in their support and help of the troubled family, even when the poltergeist attacks their own house and almost kills them with a thrown chimney front cover.
* WhamLine:
--> '''Bill''': [[spoiler:[[TragicMonster Help me!]] [[FaceMonsterTurn It won't let me go!]]]]
* WhamShot: A shot showing the outside. Camera pans back inside a building, showing the two distinct windows of the famous haunted Amityville house.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never find out what happened [[spoiler:to the spirit of Bill Wilkins]]. Presumably after [[spoiler:Valak was defeated he may have been free to move unto the afterlife]], but there is no confirmation either way.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Lorraine says this to Janet to counter her claim that being different makes her inferior to others.
* YourMom: One of the bullies in the school insults Janet by calling her lesbo (lesbian) out of nowhere, only for her friend to defend her by responding him, "What, you're talking about your mom?"
[[/folder]]

It was followed by ''Film/TheConjuring2'', which came out in 2016. Starring Wilson and Farmiga again as the Warrens, the film presents the 1977 Enfield Poltergeist, in which a working-class family of five living in the London Borough of Enfield become haunted by a spirit who seems to take an interest in the youngest daughter.

It was followed by ''Film/TheConjuring2'', which came out in 2016.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/81nwnejw27l_sy679.jpg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

''The Conjuring'' (2013) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Creator/JamesWan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes.

Watch the main trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k10ETZ41q5o here.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theconjuring.png]]

''The Conjuring'' is a series of horror films purportedly based on the cases of real-life paranormal investigators [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_and_Lorraine_Warren Ed and Lorraine Warren]]. Launched with a 2013 film directed by Creator/JamesWan (of ''Film/SawI'' and ''Film/{{Insidious}}'' fame), the film's box office and critical successes prompt a branch into a franchise of interrelated horror films, with the additions of three SpinOff exploring the villains of the main series.

Five films have been released so far, with three more being in development:
* ''The Conjuring'' (2013): Starring Creator/PatrickWilson and Creator/VeraFarmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren respectively, with Ron Livingston and Creator/LiliTaylor in the supporting cast, the film presents the case of the Perron family, who lived in rural Harrisville, Rhode Island in the year 1971 as they become haunted just after their arrival in their new home. Watch the main trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k10ETZ41q5o here.]]
* ''Film/{{Annabelle}}'' (2014): The series' first SpinOff, starring Annabelle Wallis and Creator/AlfreWoodard, it explores the titular [[BreakoutVillain Annabelle]], a OneSceneWonder porcelain doll in the first film, as it haunts a couple and their newborn baby in 1970 Pasadena, California.
* ''The Conjuring 2'' (2016): Starring Wilson and Farmiga again as the Warrens, the film presents the 1977 Enfield Poltergeist, in which a working-class family of five living in the London Borough of Enfield become haunted by a spirit who seems to take an interest in the youngest daughter.
* ''[[Film/AnnabelleCreation Annabelle: Creation]]'' (2017): Starring Talitha Bateman, Stephanie Sigman, Anthony [=LaPaglia=], and Creator/MirandaOtto. It is a prequel to ''Annabelle'', taking place in 1955 and focusing on the doll at a time when it was in the possession of a dollmaker and his wife as the two are opening an orphanage.
* ''Film/TheNun'' (2018): The second SpinOff, starring Creator/DemianBichir and Creator/TaissaFarmiga, it explores the origins of Valak the Demon Nun, the main antagonist of ''The Conjuring 2''. It is the earliest film chronologically, with the setting being 1952 in the Romanian People's Republic.
* A third, as-yet untitled ''Annabelle'' movie (2019): Sequel to the previous ''Annabelle'' films, it picks up some time after the Warrens confiscated the doll and brought it to their museum, as shown in the prologue of ''The Conjuring''. The demon controlling it then activates other haunted artifacts in the room to haunt the Warrens' young daughter, Judy.
* ''The Crooked Man'' (TBA): A third SpinOff based around another character from the second movie, the Crooked Man.
* ''The Conjuring 3'' (TBA): Confirmed in June 2017 to be in early stages of development.

There is also a short fan film that has been declared canonical to ''The Conjuring'' universe. It was selected as the winner of the ''My Annabelle Creation'' competition.
* ''The Nurse'' (2017): Directed by Julian Terry. A young girl is hospitalized with bandages wrapped around her eyes. Then someone decides to haunt her...Watch it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA9H2NDAJ4A here]].

!! The main series contain examples of:

Four films have been released so far, with three more being in development:

** Unlike Annabelle, Valak ''is'' the main antagonist of ''The Conjuring 2'', but her appearances are scant (since her being the main villain is a big reveal). Nevertheless, she is possibly the thing that gives the audience the most nightmares after watching the film. What's funny is that [[https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3394988/next-conjuring-spinoff-will-nun/ she was originally not part of the script]]! Wan created her as a last-minute addition, so all her scenes were shot during post-production. Like Annabelle, she has an upcoming solo film of her own.

* OneSteveLimit: Utterly averted.
** There are no less than three characters named Margaret in the film: Margaret "Peggy" Hodgson, the matriarch of the Hodgson family; ''another'' Margaret Hodgson, a daughter of the former Margaret; and Margaret "Peggy" Nottingham, a neighbor of the former two. And yes, the two Peggys are always called by that, even to each other.
** Also, one of children is named Billy while the ghost that haunts the family is named Bill.
** As mentioned below, Janet shares her name with Maurice Grosse's deceased daughter, although the latter is only indirectly mentioned.

* ''Film/TheNun'' (2018): The second SpinOff, starring Creator/DemianBichir and Creator/TaissaFarmiga (yes, she is Vera's sister), it explores the origins of Valak the Demon Nun, the main antagonist of ''The Conjuring 2''. It is the earliest film chronologically, with the setting being 1952 in the Romanian People's Republic.

* ''Film/{{Annabelle}}'' (2014): The series' first SpinOff, starring Annabelle Wallis and Creator/AlfreWoodard, it explores the titular [[BreakoutVillain Annabelle]], a OneSceneWonder porcelain doll in the first film, as it haunts a couple and their newborn baby in 1967 Pasadena, California.

* ''Film/{{Annabelle}}'' (2014): The series' first SpinOff, starring Annabelle Wallis and Creator/AlfreWoodard, it explores the titular [[BreakoutVillain Annabelle]], a OneSceneWonder porcelain doll in the first film, as it haunts a couple and their newborn baby in 1969 Pasadena, California.

* ''[[Film/AnnabelleCreation Annabelle: Creation]]'' (2017): Starring Talitha Bateman, Stephanie Sigman, Anthony [=LaPaglia=], and Creator/MirandaOtto. It is a prequel to ''Annabelle'', taking place in 1957 and focusing on the doll at a time when it was in the possession of a dollmaker and his wife as the two are opening an orphanage.

* ''The Conjuring'' (2013): Starring Creator/PatrickWilson and Creator/VeraFarmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren respectively, with Ron Livingston and Creator/LiliTaylor in the supporting cast, the film presents the case of the Perron family, who lived in rural Harrisville, Rhode Island in the year 1971 as they become haunted just after their arrival to their new home. Watch the main trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k10ETZ41q5o here.]]
* ''Film/{{Annabelle}}'' (2014): The series' first SpinOff, starring Annabelle Wallis and Creator/AlfreWoodard, it explores about the titular [[BreakoutVillain Annabelle]], a porcelain doll making OneSceneWonder in the first film, as it haunts a couple and their newborn baby in 1969 Pasadena, California.

* ''[[Film/AnnabelleCreation Annabelle: Creation]]'' (2017): Starring Talitha Bateman, Stephanie Sigman, Anthony [=LaPaglia=], and Creator/MirandaOtto. It is a prequel of ''Annabelle'', taking place in 1957 and focusing on the doll at a time when it was in the possession of a dollmaker and his wife as the two are opening an orphanage.
* ''Film/TheNun'' (2018): The second SpinOff, starring Creator/DemianBichir and Creator/TaissaFarmiga (yes, she is Vera's sister), it explores the origins of Valak the Demon Nun, the main antagonist of ''The Conjuring 2''. It is the earliest film chronologically, with the setting in 1952 Romanian People's Republic.

* ''The Nun'' (2018): The second SpinOff, starring Creator/DemianBichir and Creator/TaissaFarmiga (yes, she is Vera's sister), it explores the origins of Valak the Demon Nun, the main antagonist of ''The Conjuring 2''. It is the earliest film chronologically, with the setting in 1952 Romanian People's Republic.

* ''The Conjuring 2'' (2016): Starring Wilson and Farmiga again as the Warrens, the film presents the Enfield Poltergeist, in which a working-class family of five living in the London Borough of Enfield become haunted by a spirit who seems to take an interest in the youngest daughter.
* ''[[Film/AnnabelleCreation Annabelle: Creation]]'' (2017): Prequel to ''Annabelle'' and starring Talitha Bateman, Stephanie Sigman, Anthony [=LaPaglia=], and Creator/MirandaOtto, it focuses on the doll at a time when it was in the possession of a dollmaker and his wife as the two are opening an orphanage.
* ''The Nun'' (2018): The second SpinOff, starring Creator/DemianBichir and Creator/TaissaFarmiga (yes, she's Vera's sister), it will explore the origins of Valak the Demon Nun, the main antagonist of ''The Conjuring 2''.
* A third, as-yet untitled ''Annabelle'' movie (2019)

* ''The Conjuring'' (2013): Starring Creator/PatrickWilson and Creator/VeraFarmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren respectively, with Ron Livingston and Creator/LiliTaylor in the supporting cast, the film presents the case of the Perron family, who lived in rural Harrisville, Rhode Island, 1971 as they become haunted just after their arrival to their new home. Watch the main trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k10ETZ41q5o here.]]

* BasedOnATrueStory: Unlike most horror movies, this isn't used as a marketing ploy. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_and_Lorraine_Warren Ed and Lorraine Warren]] were real life paranormal investigators and the film is based on one of their many cases and the Perron family are in fact real. This is to the point that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFDXlIKPHFo a trailer]] was released with segments from the real Lorraine Warren and Perron family talking about the events that transpired. But on the other hand...
** BasedOnAGreatBigLie: You have to actually believe that there are such things as ghosts and demons. Ed did claim to be a "demonologist" and Lorraine claims to have psychic abilities, but there's no scientific proof that they were ever telling the truth about what they encountered throughout their career. After all, up until the [=1970s=] they simply claimed to be run of the mill "ghost hunters", but that changed when ''Literature/TheExorcist'' became a best selling novel. The Warrens had to one-up this, started calling everything they encountered "demons", and that's how we got ''Literature/TheAmityvilleHorror''. Most of the families supposedly affected by demons and ghosts had members severely affected by alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness. The Enfield Poltergeist, which the Warrens were never actually as involved in investigating as ''The Conjruing 2'' claims they were (they were even refused entry into the house by the family), was debunked as being the actions of the two bored teenage girls who wanted attention.
*** This is even lampshaded in the films when asked what they do. Ed says they are "Demonologists, ghost hunters," and Lorraine adds, "Kooks."

* CreepyChild: Rory from the first film, on the few occasions you get a good look at him. [[spoiler:However, creepy is as bad as he gets, as he's actually a benevolent ghost due to being a victim of Bathsheba's curse.]]

* EverybodyLives: [[spoiler:With the exception of the EvilDetectingDog, none of the characters die in this movie. This is repeated again in the second, despite every indication that Ed wouldn't survive, except that the aforementioned (different) evil-detecting dog also gets to live.]]

* HauntedHouse: In the first film, [[spoiler:it soon becomes a haunted ''family'' as the spirits latch onto the Perrons to the point that leaving the house doesn't help them.]]
** The second film [[spoiler: features the ghost of an elderly man who wants to return to his family in the Hodgsons' house, which once belonged to his, only to realize that all of them have long gone. While it is implied at first that he haunts the house because he doesn't want anyone to claim it, it is revealed later on that the old man ''wants'' to move on, but is prevented from doing so by Valak.]]
* HistoricalBeautyUpdate: Inverted with Annabelle. The real Annabelle doll is a Raggedy Ann, not the more human-looking and terrifying thing that appears here.

* OminousMusicBoxTune: The circus music box, natch. It appears in the trailers for the sequel, as well.
* PerversePuppet: Annabelle. The first thing we see in the film is this extraordinarily horrible doll from an earlier case, and we learn right away from the Warrens that she's pure evil. [[spoiler:She even joins in the Perron haunting for a bit when the spirits breach the Warrens' home.]] Thankfully, she becomes a mere prop at the second, though still looking ominously on the Warren's haunted object collection room.

* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Ed asks the Perrons why they didn't just leave, but all their money's tied down to the house, and they know of nobody who'd willingly take in a whole family of seven in their home. [[spoiler:Eventually, Ed realizes that the spirit has latched itself to the family, so it would just follow them wherever they went. He is proven correct when the family finally goes to a motel.]]
** In the second, this happens to constables summoned to the Hodgsons' house. Once they see right from their own eyes that [[spoiler:a chair moves on its own]], they leave the case immediately and instead report it to someone more knowledgeable : the authorities.

** In the first movie a lot of details were changed ([[spoiler:in real life Carolyn Perron was already 'possessed' by the time the Warrens were called, the Perrons later dismissed the Warrens for not being of any help, the Perrons actually endured hauntings for ten years before moving out rather than the short time depicted in the film, etc.]]), but the real people involved don't seem to mind. Additionally, the RealLife version of "Annabelle" doll is actually a Literature/RaggedyAnn doll instead of creepy porcelain doll like in the film. The film's backstory about Annabelle is also a bit different than the real-life version. You can also see the comparison between the film and the real-life version [[http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/the-conjuring-true-story/ here]].

* AnkleDrag: This happens to [[spoiler:Christine Perron]] and [[spoiler:Judy Warren]] in two separate occassions.

* ArcWords: "Look what she made me do..."

* CrosscastRole: Bathsheba is played by the film's composer Joseph Bishara (who would also go on to play [[spoiler: Valak's true form]] in the sequel and the demon using Annabelle as a conduit in [[{{Film/Annabelle}} both prequels]] [[Film/AnnabelleCreation centred around the doll]].

* NoodleIncident: Ed is reluctant to continue with any paranormal investigations due to an incident where Lorraine had a vision of ''"something"'' during an exorcism. We never find out what that something was, but it was enough to send Lorraine into a serious HeroicBSOD for several days.
** This becomes a plot point in the second film, where we find out that it was [[spoiler: a vision of Ed's death.]]

* AgentMulder: Maurice Grosse, who immediately believes the Hodgsons' case even when others, including the Warrens, are skeptical. [[spoiler:He even gives the much-needed IronicEcho comment to the Warrens near the end before the case is (apparently) dropped.]]

** One of Ed's paintings is a sketch of the Perrons' house from the first film, complete with the tree and the noose [[spoiler: where Bathsheba hung herself]]. In fact, it's the exact same as the page image as shown here, except hand drawn.

* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: [[spoiler: The BigBad is Valak, the President of Hell according to Literature/ArsGoetia.]]

* ForTheEvulz: [[spoiler:While Valak may have grudges towards the Warrens for banishing evil spirits, it has none towards the Hodgsons. Maybe just like what it said through Bill Wilkins' mouth, it simply likes to hear them scream.]]

* FreezeFrameBonus[=/=]{{Foreshadowing}}: The identity of the BigBad can actually be spotted in the Warrens' house long before Lorraine herself realizes it much later. Pay attention to the bookcase when Lorraine is sleeping on the couch and the bracelets that Judy made on the floor. Then also take note of the shiny balls hanging near the window in Ed's work room. [[spoiler:All of them spell out "VALAK".]]

* HolyBurnsEvil: [[spoiler: Bill Wilkins can't resist crosses. Valak, on the other hand, is not only resistant, but also can flip them upside down just to mess with the protagonists.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: Peggy's ex-husband. To wit, he abandons his family, starts a new one with a woman who lived around the corner, hasn't paid child support for his 4 kids in ''months'', doesn't lift a finger to help when his children start being brutalized by a poltergeist, and [[spoiler:he [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking took the families record collection with him when he left]].]]

* NoodlePeople: [[spoiler:Valak's Crooked Man form]], [[BodyHorror holy hell]].

* OneSteveLimit: Utterly averted. There are no less than three characters named Margaret in the film: Margaret "Peggy" Hodgson, the matriarch of the Hodgson family; ''another'' Margaret Hodgson, a daughter of the former Margaret; and Margaret "Peggy" Nottingham, a neighbor of the former two. And yes, the two Peggys are always called by that, even to each other. Also, one of children is named Billy while the ghost that haunts the family is named Bill.

* TheReveal: [[spoiler:It isn't the ghost of Bill Wilkins who haunts the Hodgsons. It isn't even a ghost at all. It's a demon, and its name is Valak.]]
** The vision during an exorcism that caused Lorraine's HeroicBSOD, as mentioned in the first film, is revealed to have been [[spoiler:Valak tormenting her with a vision of Ed's death.]]

* RiddleForTheAges: Were the murders at the Amityville house supernatural? [[spoiler:The Warrens never do find out because Lorraine's vision of the event is interrupted midway by a premonition of their future confrontation with Valak]].

* ThatOneCase: The film opens with the Warrens' case of the Amityville house, which they never manage to solve due to Lorraine freaking out [[spoiler: over seeing an apparition of Valak killing Ed.]]

* UndyingLoyalty: Vic and Peggy Nottingham,the Hodgsons' neighbors who never falter in their support and help of the troubled family, [[spoiler:even when the poltergeist attacks their own house and almost kills them with a thrown chimney front cover.]]

* OneSteveLimit: Utterly averted. There are no less than three characters named Margaret in the film: Margaret "Peggy" Hodgson, the matriarch of the Hodgson family; ''another'' Margaret Hodgson, a daughter of the former Margaret; and Margaret "Peggy" Nottingham, a neighbor of the former two. And yes, the two Peggys are always called by that, even to each other. Played straight given one of children is named Billy while the ghost that haunts the family is named Bill.

* OneSteveLimit: Utterly averted. There are no less than three characters named Margaret in the film: Margaret "Peggy" Hodgson, the matriarch of the Hodgson family; ''another'' Margaret Hodgson, a daughter of the former Margaret; and Margaret "Peggy" Nottingham, a neighbor of the former two. And yes, the two Peggys are always called by that, even to each other.

** Anita Gregory comes across as this pretty often, especially since there are hints of classism in her arguments against the Hodgsons (namely that the haunting is a ploy to get better housing from the government).

* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Ed [[GenreSavvy savvily asks the Perrons why they didn't just leave,]] but all their money's tied down to the house, and they know of nobody who'd willingly take in a whole family of seven in their home. [[spoiler:Eventually, Ed realizes that the spirit has latched itself to the family, so it would just follow them wherever they went. He is proven correct when the family finally goes to a motel.]]

* ''[[Film/AnnabelleCreation Annabelle: Creation]]'' (2017): Prequel to ''Annabelle'' and starring Talitha Bateman, Stephanie Sigman, Anthony [=LaPaglia=], and Creator/MirandaOtto, it will focus on the doll at a time when it was in the possession of a dollmaker and his wife as the two are opening an orphanage.

[[folder: In both movies]]

** The ghost, Bathsheba, overwhelmingly targets the Perron children, down to [[spoiler: possessing Carolyn and trying to use her hands to kill April and Christine during the climax.]] It repeats her actions in life, when she ''killed her seven-day-old son'' in a HumanSacrifice. The amount of times the girls are screaming, inches away from their parents, but incredibly difficult to get to, will chill anybody's bones.

** In the second, [[spoiler: Janet becomes this whenever she becomes possessed by the ghosts/demons.]]

* DemonicPossession: In the first film, [[spoiler:Carolyn Perron, the mother of the Perron family, gets possessed by the witch Bathsheba]]. In the second, [[spoiler: Janet Hodgson gets possessed by Bill Wilkins ''and'' Valak]].

** In the second, the dog of the Hodgson's neighbors, the Nottinghams, seems to shape up as one as it becomes restless once the Hodgsons move in, [[spoiler: but it turns out that Valak only uses its image to create the Crooked Man, making it a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]], as the dog doesn't figure much afterward.]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler: Bathsheba is a Satanist, which means that the forces of Darkness aka Satan itself is really behind all this]]. This gets neatly touched upon in the second, too, as [[spoiler: the film's true BigBad is Valak, the Great President of Hell and thus Satan's underling according to traditional demonology. Valak is also highly implied to be what Lorraine saw in the first film's flashback that sent her into a long HeroicBSOD.]]

* ReligiousHorror: Featuring haunting, FantasticCatholicism, HollywoodSatanism, DemonicPossession (by a ghost, but still), and HollywoodExorcism. The second adds [[spoiler: [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils an actual demon]]]] into the mix.

** In the second, this happens to constables summoned to the Hodgsons' house. Once they see right from their own eyes that [[spoiler: a chair moves on its own]], they leave the case immediately and instead report it to someone more knowledgeable : the authorities.

[[folder: ''The Conjuring'']]

* HollywoodSatanism: [[spoiler: Something that involves killing your own baby, hanging yourself, and making others do the same.]]

* AgentMulder: Maurice Grosse, who immediately believes the Hodgsons' case even when others, including the Warrens, are skeptical. [[spoiler: He even gives the much-needed IronicEcho comment to the Warrens near the end before the case is (apparently) dropped.]]
* AgentScully: Psychologist Anita Gregory doesn't believe the Hodgsons' haunting ([[TruthInTelevision as she did in real life]]), thinking that the children are lying for publicity. She even [[spoiler: shows evidence that Janet is faking the whole thing about throwing the furniture, which in truth is ''really'' faked, because Janet doesn't want the Warrens to get involved further. However, this causes the film's DarkestHour (see below).]]

* ChristmasSongs: The film teaches you that should you ever hear "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", ''run like hell''. [[spoiler: Because, otherwise, Valak will come and get you.]]

** BasedOnAGreatBigLie: You have to actually believe that there are such things as ghosts and demons. Ed did claim to be a "demonologist" and Lorraine claims to have psychic abilities, but there's no scientific proof that they were ever telling the truth about what they encountered throughout their career. After all, up until the [=1970s=] they simply claimed to be run of the mill "ghost hunters", but that changed when ''Literature/TheExorcist'' became a best selling novel. The Warrens had to one-up this and that's how we got ''Literature/TheAmityvilleHorror''. Most of the families supposedly affected by demons and ghosts had members severely affected by alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness. The Enfield Poltergeist, which the Warrens were never actually as involved in investigating as ''The Conjruing 2'' claims they were (they were even refused entry into the house by the family), was debunked as being the actions of the two bored teenage girls who wanted attention.

** BasedOnAGreatBigLie: You have to actually believe that there are such things as ghosts and demons. Ed did claim to be a "demonologist" and Lorraine claims to have psychic abilities, but there's no scientific proof that they were ever telling the truth about what they encountered throughout their career. After all, up until the [=1970s=] they simply claimed to be run of the mill "ghost hunters", but that changed when ''Literature/TheExorcist'' became a best selling novel. The Warrens had to one-up this and that's how we got ''Literature/TheAmityvilleHorror''.

*** The Warrens were only very tangentially connected to the "Enfield Poltergeist" case, and didn't play the prominent role the second movie attributes them.