Charlotte Elliott

For those who are unaware, the slang term DILF refers to “a sexually attractive older man, typically one who has children”. On the internet, fans have attached the label of ‘DILF’ to a range of fatherly fandom characters, from Joel Miller in The Last of Us, Charlie Swan in Twilight, and Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead. 

As an aspiring horror scholar researching contemporary character tropes, it definitely helps to be chronically online. Fandom spaces are responding to evolving archetypes in real time, and are unashamedly vocal about it. As somebody chained to a complicated relationship with The Conjuring franchise, the blatant DILFification of leading man Ed Warren cannot be ignored. And that’s just not my opinion.

Portrayed by the arguably dashing Patrick Wilson – who is also the face of the horror franchise Insidious – the non-threatening actor plays Ed Warren as a gentle, dedicated, romantic family man dedicated to God. The blockbuster horror films directed by James Wan not only conveniently disregard the disturbing allegations against the real-life demonologist. The Conjuring also made Ed Warren – to some – hot. 

Of course, no one would expect Hollywood to cast people that aren’t conventionally attractive as Ed and Lorraine Warren. That’s the shallow nature of the industry. Besides, the real Warrens stated their conditions for the films in exchange for the rights to their so-called ‘true’ supernatural escapades. No sex, no vice. Nothing but a pure, dedicated relationship between a heroic husband and wife. After all, who wants to watch a sexual predator bravely conquering demonic entities while saving all-American families?

Clearly, the effort to push this narrative has worked on much of the audience and fandom. Tumblr user @alwayshiccupandastrid gushes that they “love that the Conjuring fandom is all in agreement that while yes, the spooky ghost and demonic shit is cool, what we really love is the married middle age couple loving each other and having an actual healthy relationship”. Ironic.

It’s not wholly about Ed Warren not being as crush-worthy as his on-screen counterpart. The fandom is not adverse to the unconventional. On fanfiction websites there is apparently a demand for Valak x Reader (Valak being the demonic Nun that recurrently features throughout the films), in which writers and readers fantasise about sexual encounters with the being.

As I outlined in greater detail in my previous article Based on a True Story: The Conjuring and Writing Real Horror, the problem lies with Ed Warren not deserving a DILF legacy. He allegedly impregnated a teenager a similar age to his real daughter. He allegedly committed domestic violence, and took advantage of the vulnerable. I know I feel very passionately about this element of the franchise, but I find it interesting how Ed Warren has gained a greater reputation in death and through the help of horror cinema. 

For only $27.55, you can get a ‘DILF detected’ poster of Ed Warren from Redbubble. 

More to come. 

(Thank you to Julien and Tabby, who encouraged me to share this article despite my hesitation).