Tributes Pour In After Star Actress Dies At 81

Actress Lorna Raver has died at 81, a blow to horror movie fans who remembered her for her disturbing role in the 2009 hit “Drag Me To Hell.”

Raver passed away on May 12, according to a brief note in the SAG-AFTRA’s Summer 2025 magazine, which listed her death in a section titled “In Memoriam.”

Over her career, Raver was credited on 55 projects, though none as popular as the box office scary movie where she played Mrs. Ganush, a shadowy figure who places a curse on the young woman at the center of the story.

Fans turned to social media to share their fascination with Raver’s transformation for the role.

“What a memorable turn she gave in Drag Me To Hell. R.I.P.,” one user wrote.

Another recalled a previous interview where Raver admitted to being surprised about the role she was seeking, knowing little until the minute she was hired.

“#RIP Lorna Raver. The stage-trained actress was excellent as Mrs. Ganush, the witchy woman who plants a curse on Allison Lohman’s banker in Sam Raimi’s ‘Drag Me to Hell.’ When she auditioned, ‘I was not fully aware of exactly what I was getting into,'” the person said.

Raver was a fan of Sam Raimi, the director behind Tobey Maguire’s 2004 breakout hit “Spider-Man.” His involvement in “Drag Me to Hell” is what compelled her to seek out a spot in the cast.

“While I knew of [Raimi’s] work from other films, I was so ignorant of the whole horror genre that I had never even heard of the Evil Dead [movies],” she recalled as part of a horror anthology project by author Jason Norman.

“I was definitely interested in doing it because of Sam Raimi, but I was not fully aware of exactly what I was getting into until it happened.”

“What I liked about the character,” the actress said, “was that she was powerful.”

In addition to her role in “Drag Me to Hell,” Raver is credited with appearances in The Bold and the Beautiful, ER, Beverly Hills, 90210, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Role, Felicity, The Pretender, Judging Amy, Ally McBeal, Star Trek: Voyager, Gilmore Girls, Weeds, Malcolm in the Middle, Desperate Housewives, Cold Case, NYPD Blue, Boston Legal, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Nip/Tuck, One Tree Hill, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy and The Young and the Restless, according to the Daily Mail.

Before retiring, Raver transitioned to audio narration. She contributed to a reading of Stephen King’s 2016 audiobook “Cujo” and received numerous Earphones Awards for her work in the industry.

Raver succeeded her partner of 25 years, Yuri Rasovsky, a Peabody Award-winning screenwriter, who died at age 67 in 2012.