When ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites‘ was announced, many fans suspected it would be the final chapter for Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s portrayals of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Over the years, the pair have anchored the franchise with supernatural horrors in a story about love and faith.
The film itself delivers a hopeful ending for the Warren family. However, it’s the post-credits sequence that truly lingers. By closing with real-life imagery of Ed and Lorraine, alongside the infamous “Conjuring Mirror,” the finale offers both a heartfelt tribute and a symbolic summation of the entire series.
‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Post-Credits Scene Epilogue Is Rooted In Reality
The post-credits scene of ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ doesn’t tease another demon or set up a spinoff. Instead, it slows everything down. Audiences are shown archival photos and videos of the real Ed and Lorraine Warren. This includes moments of them appearing on talk shows, smiling at family gatherings, and quietly existing outside of the sensationalism of horror cinema. This choice is poignant because it reminds us that, before they were movie characters, the Warrens were real people.
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Their work has long been debated, praised by believers, dismissed by skeptics, but what cannot be denied is their cultural influence. By ending the film with their images, director Michael Chaves and the production team ground the supernatural spectacle back in human reality. For longtime fans, this is both comforting and bittersweet. ‘The Warrens’ have been the emotional compass of the franchise since ‘The Conjuring’ (2013).
Watching Wilson and Farmiga embody their bond gave audiences a reason to keep coming back. The post-credits tribute acknowledges that connection and allows fans to say goodbye. The placement of the Conjuring mirror in the closing shot heightens this message. It isn’t just a random object from their museum; it is an artifact tied to some of their earliest cases. It also links to the near-death of their daughter Judy at birth. Ending with Ed’s photo beside it encapsulates both the Warrens’ triumphs and the darkness they constantly faced.
How The Mirror Reframes ‘The Conjuring’ Franchise
The Conjuring mirror is not only symbolic for ‘Last Rites’ but also serves as a retroactive key to the entire franchise. Across nine films, audiences have seen haunted dolls, demonic nuns, cursed families, and malevolent spirits. Yet, there was always a common theme: the thin veil between life and death and the entities that claw their way across it. The mirror embodies that theme perfectly. Historically tied to spiritualism, mirrors were believed to act as portals for the dead.
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In ‘Last Rites’, the demon tied to the mirror creates illusions, resurrecting old terrors like Annabelle, while targeting Judy, the Warrens’ child. It’s a chilling narrative device because it reframes the family’s decades of struggles as one long battle with the same force. By ending with the mirror, the filmmakers are effectively saying: this is what ‘The Conjuring’ has always been about.
Not just demons or haunted objects, but the ongoing fight to keep the boundary between life and death intact. That’s what Ed and Lorraine represented, ordinary people standing guard against the extraordinary. This reframing even lends new meaning to the franchise’s title. ‘The Conjuring’ is no longer just shorthand for exorcisms or hauntings. It’s about the act of conjuring spirits, of summoning forces from the other side, willingly or not.
