What was the first annabelle movie

The Conjuring universe came back in a big way with the release of The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which saw Ed and Lorraine Warren face their most terrifying and dangerous case yet.

If you missed it at the cinema, the third movie is out now to buy or rent to watch in the comfort of your own home, as well as on Sky Cinema and NOW.

As with the other main Conjuring movies, The Devil Made Me Do It brought back Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the demonologist duo to explore another real-life case that the Warrens were involved in.

We don't yet know if there will be a fourth Conjuring movie, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of spooky delights to catch up on in the series. Since the first movie was released in 2013, the series has expanded with a spin-off trilogy for cursed doll Annabelle, as well as The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona.

Watching the series in chronological order might not be as easy as you think though, so if The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It has got you hankering for a series rewatch, we're here to help.

It can get surprisingly complicated, so be warned. And don't turn off the lights...

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Annabelle: Creation – 1943 / 1952 / 1955 / 1967

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Annabelle: Creation is a prequel to Annabelle, itself a prequel to The Conjuring.

It expands on how the evil doll we first saw in James Wan's original movie came to be possessed, starting out with a car accident in 1943, before moving into an orphanage in 1955, where it gets good.

But if you really want to see these movies chronologically, you actually need to watch the beginning of this movie, before switching to the post-credits scene as that's a teaser for The Nun, set in 1952.

Then you can watch the majority of The Nun, before switching back to Annabelle: Creation, all the way through to its coda in 1967.

The Nun – 1952 / 1971

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The Nun is set in 1952 and, thankfully, stays there for the majority of its running time as Catholic priest Father Burke (Demián Bichir) and nun in training Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) investigate the suicide of a nun at a convent in Romania, unaware it's linked to the demon Valak.

However, then, the very final scene of the movie skips ahead to 1971 and a scene we saw in The Conjuring as it's revealed that Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) is actually Maurice Theriault.

He's the person we saw being exorcised by the Warrens in The Conjuring, so if you wanted to watch the whole series chronologically, you'd actually have to stop The Nun here and watch this scene at the exact same time it occurs in The Conjuring. (We won't blame you if you skip that exercise.)

Annabelle – 1967

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You can now get through Annabelle, which sees the creepy doll making its first movements into the realm of the damned. Unfortunately, this is definitely the worst of the series – but watching it right after Creation does improve it somewhat.

Annabelle Comes Home – 1968 / 1969 (or 1971 / 1972)

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Now we finally get to the first movie in the series, which is also arguably the best. James Wan leaned into his influences for The Conjuring, updating movies such as The Changeling and Burnt Offerings for a modern generation.

As with those movies, the terrifying events take place in the '70s, specifically 1971 as Ed and Lorraine Warren help out a large family who have moved into a haunted farmhouse. It's based on a "true" story, if you believe ghosts and farmhouses are real (farmhouses probably are real, to be honest).

Although if you want to truly watch this in chronological order, you'll have to pause for a bit after the Annabelle opening set in 1968, and watch Annabelle Comes Home, before coming back to the rest of The Conjuring.

Or if Annabelle Comes Home is set mainly in 1972, you'd have to watch the opening of that movie after The Conjuring cold open, then come back to the rest of The Conjuring, before watching the rest of Annabelle Comes Home.

Simple, right?

The Curse of La Llorona – 1973

Warner Bros.

Watch now: Prime Video | iTunes

There is some doubt over whether The Curse of La Llorona is actually part of The Conjuring universe, but it has a connection whether or not it is canon.

Set in 1973, we catch up with Father Perez (Tony Amendola) from Annabelle as he chats to Anna Garcia (Linda Cardellini) about the time he battled an evil doll. That's about the only Conjuring connection though.

That doesn't mean we won't see La Llorona in future movies though...

The Conjuring 2 – 1976 / 1977

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Another movie that's based on a true story – if you think that ghosts making people levitate is more likely than a teenager jumping off a bed.

The Conjuring 2 saw the Warrens investigate the Amityville house in 1976, before moving on to a case in the UK in 1977, which we knew as the Enfield Hauntings, which is where the potential bed-jumping shenanigans took place.

Throwing in the aforementioned Nun for good measure, as well as a creepy dude known as The Crooked Man (who's getting his own movie too, what is this, The Avengers?), The Conjuring 2 marked a turning point for the franchise, where it really started to become the MCU of horror movies.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – 1981

Warner Bros.

Watch now: Prime Video | NOW

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It generally follows the real-life timeline of the story upon which it's based – that of Arne Cheyenne Johnson.

It starts on July 18, 1981 with the exorcism of 11-year-old David Glatzel, which Johnson was present at. This is a slight alteration to the real-life story as, by this point, Johnson was already in prison for killing his landlord, Alan Bono.

Otherwise, the movie sticks to the real-life timeline, culminating in Johnson being convicted of manslaughter on November 24, 1981. Along the way, it takes a lot of creative licence with the reported true story though.

Will it mark the Warrens' final on-screen outing? Not if Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have anything to do with it.

"Oh my God, I'd love to [continue]," Farmiga said, with Wilson adding: "We constantly want to push these characters. I would like to – for no other reason than I would want to keep playing opposite Vera."

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