Valak Tattoos

Everyone’s reason for getting a tattoo is different.

There are people who want to decorate their bodies with fairies tattoos and spread joy wherever they go.

Then there are those who welcome the less popular motif of chaos and destruction.

The people beneath horror movie tattoos are likely wonderful individuals, but they don’t mind putting a little scare into people.

And why not? Everyone needs a little wake-up call now and again.

With tattoo artists and technology getting better and more impressive all the time, a person’s tattoo sleeve can be just as scary as a creature from the silver screen!

You’ll see these slick, terrifying pieces of portraiture parading around most horror conventions- where fans can share in their love of filth, gore, glamour and guts.

What’s truly impressive these days is to create a new horror icon.

It takes more to scare a modern audience, and so many creatures have been “done.”

That’s what makes the movies from The Conjuring Universe and their resulting fandom so remarkable.

What is The Conjuring Universe?

The Conjuring, directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes, came out in 2013.

In a few short years, the fandom has grown and shows no signs of stopping.

As more movies come out, the following grows- and more people than ever are getting tattoos of the creepy characters from The Conjuring.

What’s cool about The Conjuring is that there are multiple offshoot movies, each contained within the universe of the original film.

These are less like sequels, and more like branches.

Though the “multiple films within one world” concept is usually dedicated to superhero movies, it was originally more of a horror movie concept.

In the 1940’s there was a series of popular horror movies made by Universal Pictures- each one drawing from the “Dr. Frankenstein” well.

These movies included Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, The House of Frankenstein, and even Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

With The Conjuring’s much ookier and spookier cast of characters, they’ve reclaimed and modernized the idea of the “horror house.”

One of the emerging favorites, The Nun named Valak, has become a popular choice for daring tattoo collectors.

The Conjuring Tattoos

The Nun Tattoos

Who is Valak?

Valak has a face you won’t soon forget!

She made her film debut in The Conjuring 2, the third installment in The Conjuring Universe.

She is a demon named Valak who appears in the form of a nun, which is quite cheeky when you think about it!

This character was so popular she received her own title film in 2018: The Nun, the fifth installment to the universe.

Valak wears a traditional nun’s habit but is otherwise grotesque.

She has pale skin, sunken yellow eyes in black pits, and sharp uneven teeth that barely fit in her mouth.

She is often depicted fresh off a kill, with blood oozing from her lips, or sometimes staring forward with a stoic expression.

What Does the Name Valak Mean?

In The Conjuring Universe, there are no decisions made lightly.

Valak shares her name with an ancient demon who appears in many grimoires.

The word ‘grimoire’ can take on different meanings depending who you ask, but in this universe we’re talking about books that tell a person how to conjure some demons.

Not something many folks are checking out of their local library, but they exist.

The most memorable mention is in a 17th century grimoire called The Lesser Key of Solomon.

In this ancient text, Valak is described as The Grand President of Hell.

He is said to appear as a child with angel’s wings, riding on a two headed dragon. No big deal.

Though the creators of The Conjuring didn’t take many cues in terms of design for the character of Valak, it’s a properly evil name for a thoroughly evil character.

Why is Valak a Nun?

The inspiration for Valak’s character comes from real life demonologist Lorraine Warren.

She worked as a paranormal investigator and demonologist, most notably on the “real” Amityville Horror house.

Warren is a character in The Conjuring Universe (portrayed by Vera Fermiga), so it’s only appropriate to pull a character from her real life experiences.

Lorraine Warren claims to have been haunted in her home by a “swirling tornado vortex with a hooded figure in there.”

The makers of the film wanted to avoid CGI as much as possible, so they took their time and let the idea of a demon nun take shape.