What actually happens
An exorcism with a bad volunteer
In 1981, the demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren attend an exorcism for eight-year-old David Glatzel in Brookfield, Connecticut. The family is present, along with David's sister Debbie, her boyfriend Arne Johnson and Father Gordon. To protect the boy, Arne tells the demon to take him instead of David, and it does. Ed sees the demon enter Arne, and at the same moment the demon gives Ed a heart attack. Ed ends up in a hospital bed before the case has properly started.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
The landlord and the barking dogs
The following month, Ed wakes up in the hospital and says he saw the demon go into Arne. After hallucinating a demonic creature attacking him, Arne stabs his landlord 22 times and kills him. That is the scene people dread, it comes early, and the barking dogs nearby are not harmed. The Warrens consider the acquittal of Michael Taylor in England, and Arne's trial turns into the first in America to argue that a demon did it. In the Glatzel house the Warrens find a witch's totem that carries a satanic curse. Kastner, a former priest who studied a cult called the Disciples of the Ram, says an occultist left the totem on purpose, which cursed the Glatzels and led to David's possession.
Danvers has the same totem
The Warrens hear that detectives in Danvers, Massachusetts found a similar totem after the death of Katie Lincoln. They travel there, and the totem was found at the house of a friend of Katie's named Jessica, who has disappeared. Lorraine has a vision showing that Jessica killed Katie while possessed and then jumped to her death, so the detectives can find Jessica's body. In the same vision Lorraine sees the occultist trying to make Arne kill himself, and Lorraine interrupts, which tells the occultist the Warrens are involved. A book on Stregherian witchcraft says the curse can only be lifted by destroying the occultist's altar. Then a totem turns up in the Warrens' own house, and Ed nearly stabs Lorraine until their assistant Drew stops him.
Kastner's family problem
Kastner admits the occultist is his daughter, Isla. He raised her in secret, which broke the Catholic rule on clerical celibacy, and as he studied the occult she became fascinated by it and turned into an occultist. He takes Lorraine into the tunnels under the house, where Isla's altar is. Isla kills Kastner and curses Ed and Arne, so Ed tries to kill Lorraine and Arne tries to kill himself. Lorraine reminds Ed of their love, which brings him back, and he destroys the altar, which also rescues Arne. Isla fails to finish the curse, and the demon she summoned kills her. Afterward Ed puts the altar's cup in the artifact room, next to the Valak painting and the Annabelle doll.
The ending, explained
Ed destroys Isla's altar, which breaks the curse and saves Arne as well. Isla, who has just killed her father Kastner, is killed by the demon she summoned because she failed to complete the curse. Arne is convicted of manslaughter and serves five years in prison, where he marries Debbie. Ed puts the altar's cup in the Warrens' artifact room, beside the Valak painting and the Annabelle doll.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits, so staying for them is your call.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: No dog dies, though dogs bark through the landlord scene.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It scary?
Yes, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is a 5 out of 10 with medium dread. It has jump scares throughout and some gore, and the fear fades after a night.
How does The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It end?
Ed destroys the occultist's altar, which breaks the curse, and the demon kills the occultist Isla. Arne is convicted of manslaughter and serves five years, and he marries Debbie in prison.
Does the dog die in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It?
No, no dog dies in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Dogs bark during the landlord scene and are kept in small kennels, but nothing happens to them.
Is there a post-credits scene in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It?
Nobody has confirmed whether The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It has a scene after the credits, so staying for them is your call.
Who is the occultist in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It?
The occultist is Isla, the secret daughter of Father Kastner. She grew fascinated by the occult while he researched it, and she left the totem that cursed the Glatzels. Later she cursed Ed and Arne herself.
