*Image courtesy of Spirit Shack

It’s no secret that the world is full of haunted objects. Hell, legendary paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren had most of them in the back of their house. Haunted items around the globe include paintings, boxes, vases, mirrors, dolls, even jewels. But one item in particular holds a sinister past, one that earned this innocent looking rocking chair its demonic name and a place in infamy—the Devil’s Rocking Chair.

What started as a simple piece of wooden furniture turned into evil decor, one that people dare not sit in. It’s a story of possessions, murder, and exorcisms, in what people believe is the devil at work.

What is the Devil’s Rocking Chair?

The Devil’s Rocking Chair is a legit rocking chair, a literal piece of furniture. But this evil relic has become a fascination in the paranormal world with ties to famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, and ties to the first and only murder case in the U.S. where demonic possession was used as a criminal defense. (In fact, the story appeared in a hit Netflix documentary called The Devil on Trial.)

The journey of the Devil’s Rocking Chair is incredible, from its humble beginnings in the 1950s as a discarded piece of household furniture, to its haunting claim to fame in the 1980s, and today as a paranormal relic on display. 

It may very well be the most haunted rocking chair in history.

*Image courtesy of The Guardian (Originally via Netflix)

History of the Devil’s Rocking Chair?

Since the origins of the rocking chair are unknown, our story begins in the 1950s when the Glatzel family came into possession of the chair. For 30 years, it was quite literally a chair, sitting idle in the family’s home and serving as an inviting place to sit.

But in the summer of 1980, things took an unusual turn when the Glatzel’s 11-year old son, David, became the target of a demon. He began describing a figure reminiscent of the devil, causing him to wake in the middle of the night screaming. David’s nightmares persisted, and he soon began experiencing bruises and scratches, all occurring while asleep. And where does the rocking chair fit in this story? Well, David claimed to have seen the devil sitting in the chair, rocking back and forth, making the chair his own. Family members also reported seeing the chair rock on its own volition, but never saw what David saw. Everyone also claimed to hear noises in the attic.

At the time, David’s sister, Debbie, was engaged to a man named Arne Cheyenne Johnson (more on him later). The family needed help and Arne agreed to stay at the house to be there for Debbie, David, and the rest of the family.

David’s visions got worse. By all accounts, the kid was possessed—hissing at family members, saying odd things, and even having seizures. With nowhere else to turn, the desperate family called in the famous duo of Ed and Lorraine Warren (you might know them from the film, The Conjuring.) Ed was a demonologist and Lorraine was a medium, working together to investigate the paranormal. Along with priests, the couple performed exorcism after exorcism, diligently working to rid the young boy of the devil. Our rocking chair enters the story again—many of these exorcisms were performed in the chair. It would move on its own, and disappear and then reappear in different locations. Whatever entity possessed this chair was so bold as to levitate the chair in front of everyone.

*Image courtesy of Collider (Originally via Netflix)

During an exorcism, in what we can presume to be the final one on David, Arne apparently noticed the young boy struggling. Fed up with the devil’s bullsh*t, Arne supposedly yelled and offered himself as a surrogate. Shortly after, David began to show improvement. Arne, on the other hand, began to deteriorate, showing similar possessed signs as David had prior to the exorcisms.

Five months later, Arne killed his landlord, Alan Bono, stabbing him with a pocket-knife. The evidence against Arne was insurmountable, including eye-witnesses, that his defense lawyers had one rabbit left in their hat—insanity by reason of demonic possession.

That’s right. Arne claimed that him being possessed was the reason he killed Bono. But the judge wasn’t having it and sentenced Arne to manslaughter in the first degree with a 10 to 20 year sentence.

It wasn’t all grim for Arne. Despite being a convicted killer, he and Debbie got married in 1985 (yes, while Arne was in prison), and he was let out after serving just five years.

But what about the star of the show, you ask? After terrorizing the Glatzel family, they still kept the rocking chair in storage. For whatever reason, they brought it with them when they moved. While no more possessions occurred, an evil presence still surrounded the rocking chair. People who sat in the chair experienced severe back problems, and one person even had to have surgery (although we can’t confirm or deny this was the work of the Devil’s Rocking Chair, or just signs of aging).

This haunting history of the Devil’s Rocking Chair has inspired a number of pop culture projects. Arne’s story in particular was the subject of the 1983 book titled The Devil in Connecticut, which spawned the 2021 film titled The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. In 2023, Arne’s story was told in a Netflix documentary, The Devil on Trial.

*Image courtesy of @SamandColby on X

Where is the Devil’s Rocking Chair Today?

In 2019, the host of Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, Zak Bagans, bought the chair for $67,000 from Carl Glatzel, the brother of David, who was possessed by the chair’s entity as a young boy. (It’s reported that Bagans bought the chair from Carl hours before Lorraine Warren passed away at 92 years old.)

Bagans added the chair to his Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, and of course, the chair was up to its paranormal tricks again. Bagans was forced to shut down the exhibit for a period of time because his staff and guests began to experience strange happenings. Shortly after the chair arrived, his staff noticed museum doors closing and locking on their own, and lights switches physically being turned off. Some guests experienced uncontrollable crying and one collapsed on the stairs located above where the rocking chair is housed.

Regarding the chair today, as far as we know, it still resides in Bagans’ Haunted Museum. Its appearance is old and weathered, stained with the holy water and oils used in the exorcisms conducted decades ago. Bagans works to safely display all of the haunted items in the museum so visitors can have the haunted experience they’ve come to see.

Many say there is still an evil presence that surrounds the Devil’s Rocking Chair. Perhaps it’s better off kept under lock and key.