The Conjuring 4 is on its way, тιтled The Conjuring: Last Rites, and the slightly vague тιтle has fans wondering which Warren case this ninth film in the franchise could be about. The Conjuring: Last Rites is set for release in theaters on September 5, 2025, and that’s good and bad news for fans. It’s good because it’s the ninth addition to the fantastic Conjuring franchise, but it’s bad news because it will be the last film in the mainline Conjuring series, which began with The Conjuring in 2013. So this is goodbye to Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.

The Conjuring movies have introduced many people to Ed (Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Farmiga). Even horror buffs may not know that the Amityville franchise is based on the paranormal investigations performed by the self-professed demonologists in the 1970s. Whatever you think of the veracity of their claims, the Warrens’ writings have influenced the horror genre for decades. Now with The Conjuring 4, director Michael Chaves is set to depict another, as yet unrevealed, Warren case. Here are the likely options for a film set after The Devil Made Me Do It, which took place in 1981.

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The Snedeker House

1986

The Snedeker House case, which is featured in the 1993 book by the Warrens, In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting, took place in 1986 in a former funeral home known as the Snedeker House (via AllThatsInteresting). The Snedeker family moved into the house in 1986, desperate for somewhere because their son, Philip, needed to receive treatment at the nearby UConn hospital. The family quickly discovered that their basement, which was blocked by renovators during the original tour, was filled with old embalming equipment.

Soon, everyone in the family was experiencing paranormal activity, with much of it targeted at Philip. While everyone felt physically oppressed, Philip’s personality began to change. The nice young boy became cruel and irritable. The Warrens and a priest were called in, and an exorcism was performed two years later, but by then, the Snedekers had moved out. This is a case right in line with the usual The Conjuring plotlines, and The Conjuring 4 could easily focus on a case like this.

While there was no evidence of religious or occult rites in the Snedeker’s home, that would be an easy enough addition to the story. It’s not as if The Conjuring adhered strictly to the facts on everything. The Conjuring 4 could add its own flourishes.

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The Smurl Family

1986

The Smurl family case took place in Pittston, Pennsylvania, and strange events began soon after they moved to the house in 1974 (via FrightFind). The first signs of paranormal activity came when the Smurls claimed to hear banging in the walls. Soon, foul smells emanated from some unknown location and, allegedly, the family watched as their dog was picked up by an unseen force and thrown across the living room. After their mother suffered a heart attack and their daughter was nearly crushed by a falling chandelier, the Smurls decided they needed help.

They managed to get in touch with the Warrens who came in 1986. They determined there were four enтιтies in the house: two women, one man, and a demonic enтιтy which was forcing the spirits to terrorize the family. A number of exorcisms were performed and, in 1987, the family left their home, but said the demonic enтιтy pursued them to their new house. The Catholic Church ᴀssisted in a fourth exorcism which allegedly drove the demon out for good.

Considering how involved the Catholic and Episcopal Churches were in this case, and how difficult and dangerous it allegedly was, this could very well be the case in The Conjuring 4. There were certainly rites involved, either in the initial summoning of the demon, or perhaps in its banishment. Having three “good” spirits tormented by a demon to do its bidding would also present a very interesting new angle for The Last Rite. The Warrens’ 1988 book on the case, The Haunted: One Family’s Nightmare, could serve as a source text.

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The Southend Werewolf

1989

The Southend Werewolf is one of Ed and Lorraine Warren’s most famous cases. It involves a man named Bill Ramsey (via TonySpera). An Englishman from EsSєx, Bill began having intense episodes when he was 9. These episodes manifested in him exhibiting strange, wolf-like behaviors such as growling, gnawing on wire fences, and attacking those who approached him. Over the next 30 years, Ramsey would have dreams of terrorizing his wife, and would occasionally awaken to the sound of himself panting like a dog.

He even once attacked his drinking buddies while out on the town after being overcome with feral feelings. Clashes in hospitals and with police were recorded by The Sun, and Ramsey was said to attack people while on all fours, like a wolf. Ramsey came to believe that he had been possessed by the spirit of a Werewolf. On their visit to London, the Warrens saw a TV special about Ramsey, and invited him to Connecticut, which he agreed to do, arriving in 1989.

According to the Warren’s 1991 book, Werewolf: A True Story of Demonic Possession, they performed an exorcism on him at which point his hands formed claws and his face contorted into a monstrous visage. The demon was apparently banished, however, because Ramsey stopped experiencing transformations. The Last Rite could see the Warrens taking on this new case. Movies in The Conjuring universe have investigated other folklore tales. This could be the opportunity to bring a werewolf into the story.

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Union Cemetery

1990

The Union Cemetery case, featured in their 1992 book Graveyard: True Hauntings from an Old New England Cemetery, is a smaller one than the previous Ed and Lorraine Warren cases, but it’s the last significant case of their career. Easton Union Cemetery in Connecticut has had several reports of what locals call, “The White Lady” (via CTInsider). This urban legend says that if you go to the haunted cemetery on certain nights, you will see a frightening enтιтy of a ghostly woman in white.

The Warrens investigated the graveyard in 1990 and Lorraine even referred to it as, “…one of the most haunted places around.” The pair claimed to have seen two red glowing eyes while they were there. They said the eyes belonged to Earle Kellog, a man who was set on fire across the street in 1935. People who have seen the enтιтy have claimed to feel an intense feeling of sadness and sympathy for the ghost.

This may not be a big or scary enough case for The Conjuring 4, but it could serve as a good way to end the film. As it’s Ed and Lorraine’s last go around in the franchise, perhaps it makes sense that their final case is one that’s a little more melancholy in nature. Maybe for once in a Conjuring movie, the pair can meet a spirit that isn’t malevolent. It would be a suitable reward for all their effort and the pain they’ve experienced over the course of the franchise.