Was the Jessica Louise Strong case in The Conjuring franchise expertly weaves together fact and fiction as they tell the stories of Ed and Lorraine Warren, two of the most-renown paranormal investigators in the field. When the narratives blend together seamlessly, it can be hard to tell what's real and what's invented. Here's the truth behind Jessica Louise Strong, explained.
The Conjuring 3 is the latest chapter in the Warrens' career. After the exorcism of David Glatzel went wrong, the demon that was possessing David transferred to Arne Johnson, Glatzel's sister's boyfriend. After Arne murdered his landlord, the Warrens were called back in an attempt to prove that Arne was possessed during the murder. Their investigation leads them down a rabbit hole of similar cases, including those of Jessica Louise Strong (Ingrid Bisu) and Katie Lincoln (Andrea Andrade). Katie Lincoln's body was found in the woods of Connecticut, and her friend, Jessica, was still missing. Lorraine used her psychic abilities to help the police unravel what had happened at the scene: the same demon had compelled Jessica to murder her best friend. After she realized what she had done, Jessica ended up throwing herself off of a nearby cliff into the water below in her grief.
So, is the Jessica Louise Strong story a true Warren case? Despite there being real-life inspirations for the plot, Jessica's story in The Conjuring 3 isn't true. Like other Conjuring movies, some side stories are added to the movies to increase the scare factor or connect an overarching story, like in The Conjuring 3. Katie and Jessica's story serves to establish a pattern that led Ed and Lorraine to the Occultist. The Occultist needed three victims to complete her curse — the child, the lover, and the man of God. Jessica's death was meant to fill the role of the child. While she served as a useful story device, Jessica Louise Strong (and the Disciples of the Ram) are fictional.
However, there was a rash of murders in Connecticut in the '80s that The Conjuring 3 could have drawn inspiration from. During that era, a Satanic Panic had gripped the United States, and fear-mongering tactics had people blaming the Devil for every act of "evil." With groups like the Manson Family making newspaper headlines, Satanic cults became the newest boogieman in town. With the number of serial killers peaking in the United States in the 1980s, many began to attribute the killings to the workings of demons and their worshippers.
There is one part of the Jessica Louise Strong case in The Conjuring 3 that is true — Lorraine Warren did lend her abilities to the police multiple times throughout her career. In the 1980s, Lorraine helped police on multiple missing-persons cases, a move that helped her and her abilities gain notoriety across the country. While the Jessica Strong case itself might not be true, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It uses it as a chance to give a nod to Lorraine's real-life contributions to the police.
