Werewolf: A True Story of Demonic Possession Series: Ed & Lorraine Warren #5 Published by Graymalkin Media on October 4, 2014
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Nonfiction, Religion / Christian Living
Pages: 238
Where to buy: Affiliate Link
The legend of the werewolf is as old as man himself. From Ed and Lorraine Warren, the world’s most famous demonologists, comes perhaps their most incredible and horrifying case: the true story of William Ramsey, whose bizarre seizures terrified the English town of Southend-on-Sea. Believing Ramsey to be a victim of demonic possession, the Warrens arranged for the rite of exorcism to be performed. Not since the exorcist shocked the nation has there been such a such a horrifying account of a supernatural battle between good and evil within the soul of one human. Don’t miss the Warrens' blockbuster films The Conjuring and Annabelle (in theaters October, 2014.)
Werewolf by Robert David Chase is the fifth installment in the Ed and Lorraine Warren series. It’s the third book I’ve read so far, and honestly? At this point, every story involving them somehow circles back to extremely mentally ill people being turned into paranormal spectacles. Werewolf is no different. While it’s credited to the Warrens, the Ramseys, and coauthor Robert David Chase, no matter how many people were involved, the narrative still ends up in the same place: “this guy must be possessed.”
William Ramsey reads way more like someone dealing with early psychosis than someone turning into a demon wolf-man. According to the book, he just randomly snaps one day as a kid while standing in his yard: no rituals, no messing with the occult, no triggering event. Just—poof—sudden wolf identity, and boom, they’re calling it demonic. It makes zero sense.
And honestly, I keep thinking about how Ed and Lorraine would handle TikTok if they were around today. If they saw half the “I identify as a wolf/cat/dragon/whatever” content people post, they’d be sprinting around with holy water like it’s a limited-time drop. They’d try to exorcise the For You Page. But that rant is for another day.
One thing that stood out was the subtle racism in the writing. While the book reflects its time, physical descriptions are largely reserved for characters who are not white. Suddenly, those characters receive full details, as if their existence needs to be emphasized. It’s weird, uncomfortable, and unnecessary.
And even with multiple names attached, the writing quality… oof. It’s clunky, has typos, focuses on all the wrong things (such as skin color), and barely touches on anything that would actually substantiate the claims being made. It feels like the story is built on assumptions that they just expect the reader to nod along with. And we all know what happens when you assume…
Also, if I have to hear “metal music is the devil’s music” one more time, I may spontaneously combust. I get it, that was the era, but it gets old so fast. The same applies to pearl-clutching over horror movies. Absolutely hilarious considering The Conjuring movies exist now and literally profit off horror.
And I have one more tiny, petty gripe: why are all the nurses beautiful? Every single one. Young, glowing, angelic. Apparently, there wasn’t one average nurse in the UK during the entire ’80s or ’90s. Meanwhile, William Ramsey is not giving off Jacob Black vibes. No heat waves rolling off him, no abs, no luscious werewolf hair. This ain’t Twilight, Spidermonkey.
All jokes aside, this is actually the most believable book I’ve read so far in the Warren universe. I do wish there were actual updates on William and Abby somewhere. They pretty much vanished after the exorcism. Nothing online. Nothing anywhere.
Maybe the Volturi got them. One may never know.
CW / TW:
This piece contains graphic references to:
Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal Cruelty, Domestic Violence
Recommended Age: 16+
