Matt Rife buys Warren house and occult museum in Connecticut

Comedian Matt Rife’s recent purchase of the Connecticut home and occult museum once inhabited by Ed and Lorraine Warren has drawn renewed attention to the historical property, even as Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson – the actors who have portrayed the Warrens in The Conjuring franchise for more than a decade – prepare to close the chapter on their screen roles with The Conjuring Last Rites. The film, which centers on the Smurl family haunting and marks Farmiga and Wilson’s final performance as the paranormal investigators, arrives in theaters on September 5, offering a closing arc for a franchise that has become a staple of modern horror.

The Warrens’ house sits on a quiet street in Monroe, Connecticut, where the couple lived for decades and opened an occult museum in the basement beginning in 1952. The property has long been a focal point for paranormal history fans, though it was not open to the public in recent years after a 2019 zoning dispute that highlighted tensions between curious visitors and local residents. The museum houses some 750 artifacts, including the infamous Annabelle doll, and its guardianship recently shifted away from the public to new custodians.