While The Nun (2018) is heavily marketed as part of The Conjuring Universe—a franchise famous for being "based on the true case files" of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren—the specific plot of the movie is entirely fictional. There was no secret Vatican investigation in 1952 Romania, nor is there a real-life verified "blood of Christ" relic used to blast demons into portals.
However, the movie is a patchwork of inspiration drawn from real historical texts, the Warrens' real-life cases, and actual European locations. The true stories that inspired the film break down into distinct pieces:
1. The Real Myth of Valak
The central antagonist, Valak, is not an invention of Hollywood, but its movie depiction as a pale, demonic nun is completely fictional.
- The Historical Texts: Valak originates in centuries-old demonology grimoires, most notably The Lesser Key of Solomon (compiled in the mid-17th century).
- The True Mythological Form: In these texts, Valak (also spelled Volac or Valu) is described as the "Grand President of Hell" who commands 38 legions of spirits. Rather than wearing a habit, mythology describes Valak as a poor child with angel wings riding a two-headed dragon. His biblical powers include finding hidden treasures and controlling serpents, with no historical association to nuns or convents.
2. Lorraine Warren's "Spectral Entity"
The idea to present Valak as a nun came from a real-life experience reported by Lorraine Warren.
- Franchise producer James Wan noted that the real Lorraine Warren spoke of a "spectral entity" or a "dark, swirling tornado vortex" that haunted her inside her own home.
- Wan decided to manifest this abstract, real-life terror on screen as a demonic nun to visually mock Lorraine’s deep, lifelong Catholic faith and test her beliefs.
3. The Borley Church Haunting
The setting and specific concept of a "ghostly nun" stems from one of England's most famous paranormal cases.
- In the 1970s, Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated Borley Church and Borley Rectory