ONTD

In "The Warren Files," actors and actresses play such characters as demonologists and psychic investigators who encounter the most horrific case of their career – the haunting of a family in their Rhode Island home.

In real life, cast members' experiences shooting the film in Wilmington was way less terrifying.

For Patrick Wilson, who plays a leading role in the production, returning to North Carolina was a homecoming of sorts.



"It's been great. I love it. I really do," Wilson said in March. "I've never been to Wilmington, but I lived in Charlotte as a kid, and I've got family outside of Rock Hill, so North Carolina's always been pretty special to me. I used to camp every summer in Asheville out by Black Mountain for years."

The actor ("The Switch," "Watchmen") and dad enlisted his family and participated in local events, such as Wrightsville Beach's Quintiles marathon, to make the area feel more like home.

"It's been nice down here," he said. "I've got a place out at the beach. My family's down here."

Wilson wasn't the only one to hunker down in the area.

Feature film "The Warren Files," New Line's supernatural thriller formerly known as "The Conjuring," kicked off production at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in early January and is not expected to wrap until April 26. The film is set for a 2013 release, according to IMDB.com.

The movie, directed by James Wan and written by Chad and Carey Hayes ("House of Wax"), is based on the real-life experiences of couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, who worked as psychic investigators during the 1970s.

Wilson, who played Ed Warren, was joined by Vera Farmiga ("Up in the Air") who played Lorraine.
The couple claimed to have investigated more than 10,000 hauntings during their careers. They also founded the New England Society for Psychic Research and the Occult Museum, both in Connecticut.

In the film, the investigators come to the aid of the Perron couple, played by Ron Livingston ("Office Space") and Lili Taylor ("High Fidelity"), and their children.

The movie, which had an estimated budget of $13 million, shot at various locations in the area including the Carolina Apartments, the Carolinian Inn and the University of North Carolina Wilmington, according to City of Wilmington filming permits.

At the campus shoot, about 300 extras in ‘70s garb gathered around muscle cars in a parking lot while the production filmed exterior scenes.

Lorraine Warren also was on set, and sat with a crowd as the crew shot scenes inside Cameron Hall not far from where Taylor filmed scenes of a lecture with extras.

But it hasn't been all work.

Cast members Shannon Kook-Chun ("Degrassi"), who plays the Warrens' assistant, Shanley Caswell ("Detention"), Hayley McFarland, Joey King and Mackenzie Foy arrived in the area in February and visited such sites as Fort Caswell, the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher and the Battleship North Carolina Memorial, according to cast members' Twitter pages.

As filming began to wind down, Caswell and others flocked to the web to share their thoughts on the production.

"That's a wrap for Andrea on the Conjuring!" Caswell posted on Twitter. "Great cast and crew. Felt more like a vacation then work! Can't wait until next movie here."