Lorraine Warren: A Role Model to Travel Channel’s Paranormal Women

On Thursday, July 23, Travel Channel stars Amy Bruni, Cindy Kaza, Katrina Weidman and Chelsea Laden will participate on the Comic-Con@Home panel “Wonder Women: Superstars of Paranormal.” On Monday, July 20, they had a press conference to promote their panel. I wasn’t able to attend, but Travel Channel graciously hooked me up with a transcript of the call, which yielded lots of interesting info (and will likely prompt another post or two), but among them was what three of the four of them had to say about Lorraine Warren.

I decided to share their answers, as is, straight from the transcript. See who pegged Lorraine Warren as their female paranormal role model, and why Amy said Chelsea was going to maker cry in this candid snippet.

The Question

The question came from Allison Jornlin:

Hey, guys. I really loved the answer to that last question, and mine’s going–my question is going to follow on with that. Because–many of you might not know–and I bet some of our panelists know though that the original ghost hunter was a woman. Her name was Katherine Crow (sp), and she went on the first ghost hunt that we would recognize as similar to the hunts that you see on TV today in 1854 in Edinburgh, Scotland. So, my question, to all the panelists, is who is your female role model? What females have, in the paranormal from the past–because it’s–as you–as suspected, it’s female driven now. It was female driven in the past. Katherine Crow, for example, is the one who brought the word “poltergeist” into English language usage. So, a lot of these women have set the foundation for what we have today. And I just wondered what women have inspired you?

The Answers

Katrina Weidman

This is Katrina. For me it was definitely Lorraine Warren, who–you know, the (inaudible). I had the opportunity to work with her for a number of years. And, you know, she was a religious investigator, which I am not. But, there was a lot of things that I was able to take away from her, you know, I think most notably thinking outside the box, you know, being that objective person but also being willing to look at the unexplainable in a way that other people aren’t and also really being there for the people that are going through a haunting and might just need that guidance and just that one person to tell them that, you know, “I believe you, and it’s okay. We’re going to see what we can do to help you.”

Amy Bruni

Yeah, I–this is Amy. And I have to agree. I would have to say Lorraine Warren. You know, it’s funny because we do not share the same methodologies or–at all. But, just the way that she always carried herself and the way that she approached the field, I always felt, was just–she was a very strong willed person. She didn’t waver. You know, no one looked at her as any weaker because she was a woman. And she was constantly trying to, you know, use what tools she had on hand to–including her mediumship abilities, which I do not have at all, to prove the existence of the paranormal and help people. And I often wonder like if she had–if Lorraine was still alive today and in her heyday and had all the tools that we now have, especially in the field of research and everything, just because everything has become so electronic and so much more accessible, you know, what she could have done with that. So, yeah, I would have to say Lorraine Warren as well.

Cindy Kaza

This is Cindy. I’m on board with Lorraine Warren as well being that she’s a medium and just a really kind, amazing person. And I have to say, I love her fashion sense too. Like I want to–I’m a medium on TV that wears dresses and heels. And it’s like–you know, it’s just empowering to see that. I guess I look at it kind of like, you know, you can still be in the field of paranormal, feminine and wear makeup and wear heels and do, you know–do badass things. And I feel like she represents all of that.

Chelsea Laden

And this is Chelsea. For me, I–as much as I am in the paranormal now, I grew up, you know, watching shows like Ghost Adventures and Ghost Nation and–or, at the time, it was called something else. But, I grew up with a lot of–you know, I got into it through a lot of male paranormal investigators. So, my–ironically, one of the first people that was a woman who I actually watched was Amy, Amy Bruni. I know this is so funny because she’s actually a panelist with me, which is–kind of makes it full circle. But, I just really admired her by her grace and how, you know, she was just so calm, cool, and collected, which is something I’ll never be. But, I just really–

Amy Bruni

–That’s not true–

Chelsea Laden

–I really appreciated how Amy just, you know, did her work. And it actually made me–instilled confidence in me that I could do something like that. Although, it might not be exactly the same. So, yes, Lorraine Warren is on the list. Although, you know, for me, Lorraine Warren was someone who I actually saw in like movies. So, it wasn’t that I actually got to really research who she was, you know, on paper and in real life. I was more seeing her amplified on, you know, actual movies like The Conjuring and stuff. So, for me, the first real paranormal investigator that I really got to see in action was Amy Bruni. So, kind of fun.

Amy Bruni

Chelsea, you’re going to make me cry.

Chelsea Laden

It’s true.

Amy Bruni

Thank you. Also, thank you for being so kind and reaching out to me last week to make sure I was okay after my–.

Chelsea Laden

–Oh–.

Amy Bruni

–My (inaudible).

Chelsea Laden

You know what? That’s part of–?

Amy Bruni

–Chelsea is one of the sweetest people, you guys. I can’t even–.

Chelsea Laden 

–Sometimes. Not when I’m, you know, 24 hours sleep deprived. You can ask my brother about that.

Check-In

Who’s your female paranormal role model?

And did you know the original ghost hunter was a woman who dated back the mid-1800s?