The Warrens need to investigate another international case in The Conjuring 4 — assuming the popular horror series gets another installment. Although The Conjuring 3 featured a fascinating premise based on a groundbreaking legal case, it failed to repeat the success of the previous movies: the original, of course, launched a franchise, and The Conjuring 2 — which saw paranormal investigators Ed and Lorrain Warren venture to London — proved so successful that its evil antagonist Valak was spun off into her own film in 2018’s The Nun. The franchise needs a fresh angle to recapture the magic of the earlier movies, and using international cases would be a smart way to do so.
Setting The Conjuring 2 in England gave the film a unique feel that set it apart from its predecessor. Many Hollywood-produced supernatural films stick close to home when it comes to settings, but The Conjuring 2 proved that the formula works just as well outside of the United States. The move to England also had the added effect of putting Ed and Lorraine in unfamiliar settings, taking them far away from what they were used to and placing them in a different country where new rules applied.
The Conjuring 2 is, of course, based on a real international case that Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated in the late 1970s. While this incident became the duo’s most famous international investigation, it wasn’t their only one. The Warrens would return to England several more times to take on new and terrifying cases, and any of these creepy stories would make for a great entry in the Conjurverse. However, there are two real-life investigations that would be particularly effective for The Conjuring 4: a werewolf case and a haunted church.
If The Conjuring 4 or a subsequent sequel decided to return the Warrens to England, the case of the Southend Werewolf would certainly be a unique and frightening event to draw inspiration from. In 1989, Ed and Lorraine were staying in London when they noticed an unusual story playing on the news. A man named Bill Ramsey was claiming to have been cursed by an otherworldly entity to physically transform into a beast. He also claimed to possess incredible strength and was seen to act like a ravenous animal during his purported transformations. His bizarre behavior included damaging fencing and buildings, gnawing on metal mesh, and even biting animals and humans. The Warrens reached out to Ramsey to offer their help, and eventually performed an exorcism on him in an attempt to cure his lycanthropy. Using this case as the basis for a Conjuring movie would definitely bring something new and unique to the franchise: after dealing with demons, ghosts, poltergeists, and possessed objects, tackling werewolf folklore would make for a terrifying new angle.
Another England-based case that could inspire a future Conjuring movie is the infamous Borley Church Haunting. This 160-year-old church in Essex has been described as “the most haunted house in England,” and has seen its fair share of paranormal investigations over the years. The first reports of supernatural happenings at the site of Borley Church date all the way back to the 14th century, hundreds of years before the church itself was actually built. When the first substantiated reports of spooky sightings began occurring shortly after the church’s construction, the location soon built a reputation. The Warrens conducted their investigation in the 1980s, and claimed to find proof that the spirits of an executed nun and her monk lover roamed the eerie halls of the church. Although the Conjurverse already has a nun, a movie set in one of England’s most haunted locals is too good of an idea to ignore completely. Whether the Warrens end up chasing ghostly monks or cursed werewolves, there’s no doubt that a return trip to England holds great promise for the future of The Conjuring franchise.