LOS ANGELES – Growing up as the child of the world's foremost demonologists/ghost hunters is going to present some life challenges.
Thisunusual premise was so appealing to"Annabelle Comes Home" writer/director Gary Dauberman that he turned the film's spotlight on10-year-old Judy Warren (Mckenna Grace), the daughter of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga).
To clarify, Judy shares this spotlight with Annabelle in the evildoll's third solo movie outing. The real playthingremains secured in a prayer-protected glass case at the occult museum next to the couple'shome in Monroe, Connecticut.
"As a parent myself, I’ve thought a lot about Judy and what it must have been like to have parents like Ed and Lorraine Warren," Dauberman says. "You had people who believed in what they did, and those who didn’t."
"Annabelle Comes Home" (in theaters now)shows scenes of schoolyard taunting, a lonely birthday party for young Judy and,to put childhood troubles in perspective, Annabelle being accidentally set free to wreak havoc – allwhile the Warrens are out of town, leaving Judy inthe care of teenage babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman) and her spiritually curious BFF Daniela (Katie Sarife).
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Thesupernatural claims of Ed, who died in 2006 at age 79, and Lorraine, who diedApril 18 at 92, should be approached with a healthy dose of skepticism. These case filesare represented with even more creative liberty in horror films like "The Conjuring," which first featured scenes of a young Judy.
But true believers will be heartened to know that the actual Annabelle has never left her glass case in the Warrens' museum, which Judy, 68,has overseenwith her husband of 33 years, Tony Spera.
"She has never escaped, or acted up.But I don’t want her to get any ideas," says the low-key Judy, giggling despite herself as she sitsnext to Speraat theFour Seasons hotel.
The"real" Annabelle doll isan absurdly guilelessRaggedy Ann doll. "Conjuring" director James Wan amped up the terror in the doll's design before she made her scream-stealing debut, leading to her own horror franchise spin-off.
Opening her eyes wide for emphasis, Judy insists the original Annabelle – with her red-yarn hair and button eyes – isfar scarier than the grotesque screen version.
"It’s much easier to look at the movie Annabelle," she says. "The real one is so innocent-looking, and yet so evil."
Butin a major difference from the movie, Judy never had to grow up with the doll in her presence. Ed and Lorraine brought Annabelle home in 1971, when Judy was already an adult.
Judy says she spent most of her childhood with her grandmotherGeorgiana in nearby Bridgeport while her parents traveled on their paranormal adventures. She attended Catholic school, as seen in the movie, but says her schoolmates never knew about her parents' work.
"When I was in the sixth grade, I asked my father, 'What should I sayyou do?' " Judy recalls. "And he said, 'I’m a landscape artist. Tell them that.' When thenun heard that,she put me in charge of the class plants for the rest of the year. I don't know if they lived or died."
Judy recalls a Halloween party for which Ed created a spooky handmade witch and where children bobbed for apples.She did commiserate with the movie's depiction of Judy's friend-freebirthday party, since hers fallsin Januaryandseasonal snowstorms ruined more than one happy event.
As her parents' work became well-known,Judy would grow frustrated reading critical news accounts, as seen in "Annabelle."
"I still get discouraged reading negative articles about my parents," she says. "The only difference from the movie isthat I was an adult reading about it. And getting mad."
But she had no problem confidingto Spera, a police officer, three weeks after they met in1979."It was not something I shared with people, but I felt I could tell Tony."
She invited him to watch her parents speak at the University of Connecticut.
"I said, 'Really. Yourparents are college professors?' " Tony says. "She said, 'No they are ghost hunters.'"
He was intrigued but not deterred. When he later metEd and Lorraine at their home,he took a tour of the museum. Judy demurred.
"She told me, 'I’ve never gone into that museum,' " Tony says. "She was afraid of it and Annabelle."
Life for the Warrens got even stranger after the first "Conjuring" movie. Visitors used to drop in on Lorraine without announcing themselves, even walking through the front door. Cars wouldeerily sit outside the house, Judy says.
Tony carried on the tradition of providing group museum tours, with Annabelle serving as the focal point. But after neighbors complained about the disruption, the museum was shut down for a zoning violation.
He has installed a security system around the museum to protect Annabelle from thieves.
"The guy that installed the alarmcouldn’t wait to get out of there," Tony says. More importantly, he continues performing the "binding" prayerhe believes keeps Annabelle contained.
Dauberman says "Conjuring"filmmakers haven't decided whether the series will break out and follow Judy. However, young Judy has already met and made nice on-screen with a former school bully named Tony.
"They asked if it would it be OK to useTony as a kid bullying Judy in the movie, different last name.Butwas meant to be me," Tony says. "Maybe they have us growing up and getting married for 'Annabelle 4.' Who knows?"
