Valak (the demon)

Valak also known by its alternate avatars, Crooked Man or The Nun is the overall main antagonist of The Conjuring Universe, serving as the overarching antagonist of the 2013 horror film The Conjuring, the main antagonist of The Conjuring 2 and The Nun, and the overarching antagonist of Annabelle: Creation.

The personality of Valak is as horrific as its physical form of a nun. It is a very wicked, ruthless, sadistic, cold, and completely despicable demon, shown when it begins to haunt and terrify the Hodgson family just for its own twisted pleasure. These traits make it feared by the nuns of the abbey of St. Cârța în România. It is spiritually oppressive, taunting Lorraine about her Catholic faith. Valak holds a grudge over the Warrens for being exorcized out of Maurice by them, showing a vengeful side to itself. By 1952, Valak had slaughtered all of the nuns, leaving only two survivors. After murdering one after she retrieved the key to the relic, the other, Sister Victoria, commits suicide in order to prevent Valak from claiming her as a host. 

Annabelle: Creation

 Sister Charlotte shows Mr. Mullins a picture of herself in Romania with three other nuns. Mr. Mullins asks who the nun in the background of the photograph is. Sister Charlotte looks at the nun, revealing Valak to be standing behind her in the picture. She tells him that she does not remember who the “woman” is. as she never met her.In a post-credits scene, Valak is seen roaming the candlelit halls of the Cârța Monastery in Romania in 1952. This was however just a teaser for the (at the time) upcoming spin-off featuring Valak.

The Conjuring 2 

Valak first appeared during a séance to determine whether or not a demonic presence was truly responsible for Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdering his family on November 13, 1974. Whilst paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren relieved the murders, Valak lured her to the basement. Knowing how special Ed was in her life, Valak shows her a vision of Ed being impaled. Valak had continued to haunt Lorraine since then.

 After Ed was compelled by a dream to paint Valak in its nun form, Valak itself chooses the form to torment Lorraine, using the painting to its advantage. Later in the movie, the Hodgson family, a British household living in the United Kingdom, starts experiencing paranormal activity. 

On top of that, Janet Hodgson, the youngest daughter, becomes possessed by the spirit of Bill Wilkins, the previous owner of the house the Hodgson family is living in. When the Hodgsons retreat to their neighbor’s house, Valak appears as The Crooked Man when it transformed from a dog before Billy Hodgson and attacked him before turning into a shadow, quoting the Crooked Man’s own rhyme with some sinister twists to it. When the shadow reveals itself to the family, it appears to be Janet possessed by the demon who continues to present itself as the character. this makes the Hodgson family call for help and Ed and Lorraine take the case. When Ed and Lorraine Warren eventually come close to outing Valak, the demon has Janet deliberately throw furniture about in front of a camera, leading all the paranormal investigators to dismiss it as a hoax and leave.

 Seizing the opportunity, Valak possesses Janet and chases the other Hodgson out of the house, preparing to sacrifice Janet. On the train back, Lorraine has a vision of Bill Wilkins himself, who reveals he wishes no harm upon the family, that Valak had manipulated him into tormenting the family, to prevent her and everyone else from seeing the true perpetrator and not letting him move on into the afterlife.

The death of VALAK (the demon)

Soon after they discover that Valak is behind everything, Ed and Lorraine return to the Hodgson residence, only to find all of the Hodgsons, except for Janet, locked outside. A lightning strike hits a nearby tree, leaving a jagged stump resembling the object that impaled Ed in Lorraine’s first vision. Ed ventures into the house alone but Valak causes the pipe to burst open, partially blinding his eyes with steam. Valak (in the form of the Crooked Man) appears before him in Billy’s tent and tries to kill him with the umbrella, but fails because of Ed’s resistance. Ed eventually finds Janet standing near the window and getting ready to commit suicide. Ed grabs Janet in time but finds himself holding onto a shower curtain being torn from its rings due to Ed and Janet’s combined weight. Soon, Lorraine enters the room herself. She finds and confronts Valak (now the nun) and successfully condemns Valak back to Hell.