Actress Lorna Raver has died at age 81.

Raver passed on May 12, 2025, according to SAG-AFTRA’s Summer 2025 magazine, which announced her death in their ‘In Memoriam’ section.

Raver, who has 55 acting credits to her IMDB page, is memorably known for her portrayal of Mrs. Ganush, a woman who places a curse on the lead, in the 2009 horror film Drag Me To Hell.

In a statement obtained by Daily Mail about Raver’s passing, her talent agent Michael Greene praised the actress: ‘She will go to Heaven! Not dragged to Hell. She was an incredible lady & artist.

‘A true Chameleon – was the complete opposite of this character in real life. OMG. This role was the height of her career!!! What a Beautiful Lady. Know you’ll give her the Best New Life in Heaven.

‘It was between Lorna Raver and Anna Berger for the role our other beautiful client. Anna was too fragile to fly around in a harness flying around & Lorna was able to fly & will be flying with the angels in Heaven!’

Drag Me To Hell actress Lorna Raver has died at age 81

Raver is memorably known for her portrayal of Mrs. Ganush, a woman who places a curse on the main star

Several fans paid tribute to Raver on X, with one writing: ‘What a memorable turn she gave in Drag Me To Hell. R.I.P.’ 

Another posted: ‘#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.”‘

‘Very sad. She was the highlight of Drag Me to Hell. RIP,’ another posted.  

The appeal of working with director Sam Raimi, who also helmed 2004’s Spider-Man, is what drew Raver to join the cast.  

Yet she was not ‘fully’ prepared for what the role entailed until she joined.

‘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 in the Jason Norman book Welcome to Our Nightmares: Behind the Scene With Today’s Horror Actor, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

‘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,’ she said. 

‘What I liked about the character,’ the actress said, ‘was that she was powerful.’

She previously said the role was ‘gruelling’ but ‘a lot of fun’ to do.  

‘It was a lot of fun,’ she said in a 2011 interview with JoBlo Movie Network.  ‘I mean it was gruelling sometimes, but it was a lot of fun and Sam is terrific to work with.

Raver was inclined to join the film in order to work with director Sam Raimi 

‘He very much likes to involve the actors in the process,’ she said, adding she had a chance to speak with Raimi ahead of filming to ‘get on the same page.’ 

‘It was a great time. I actually had a ball doing it. I was a little apprehensive going into it but I had a wonderful time.’

While she may be best known for the 2009 horror, she has quite an acting resume that boasts appearances in some massive shows.

Though the majority of her appearances were for a single episode, Raver’s resume includes parts 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.

While her screen career began in 1990, she has been acting for decades prior.

Early in her career, Raver, who was born in York, Pennsylvania on October 9, 1943, honed her craft at the Hedgerow Theater before heading to Broadway in 1979, according to THR.

One fan posted to X of her passing, ‘What a memorable turn she gave in Drag Me To Hell. R.I.P.’

Following a move to New York, she appeared in the off-Broadway production of Last Days of the Dixie Girl Cafe followed by Between Daylight and Boonville.

She eventually made the big move to Hollywood, making her first appearance on-camera in the 1990 Dana Carvey-led comedy film, Opportunity Knocks. She played the SNL star’s on-screen secretary. 

In her last credited role, Raver narrated the 2016 audiobook for the Stephen King classic Cujo.

She has lent her voice to numerous audiobooks and has received multiple AudioFile magazine Earphone Awards.

In 2012, Raver’s long-time partner, writer and producer Yuri Rasovsky, passed at age 67.