
Let’s get this out of the way right up top: I don’t believe haunted dolls exist. That said, nobody can deny that an awful lot of disturbing things happen around Annabelle, the most famous haunted doll in the world who’s at the core of the hugely successful horror movie franchise that bears her name.
The real Annabelle – an unassuming-looking Raggedy Ann doll first reared her crimson head in 1970, when she was implicated by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (who The Conjuring movies are based on) in a series of hauntings.
The doll was said to move by herself, could give “psychic slashes” that drew blood, and once stabbed a homicide detective. The Warrens concluded that Annabelle was demonically possessed and placed her inside a glass box with a sign that said “Warning, positively do not open.” Both the Warrens are now dead, with an enterprising crew deciding to make a quick buck by taking her on a tour of the nation dubbed “Devils on the Run”.
And now, like something straight out of an Annabelle movie, the man responsible for guarding her has mysteriously died. As per TMZ, Dan Rivera, the lead paranormal investigator charged by the New England Society for Psychic Research with moving her from location to location, died “completely out of the blue”.
The incident took place on Sunday in Gettysburg, with dispatch scanner archives showing firefighters and paramedics rushing to his hotel room as people attempted to perform CPR. Rivera was apparently found alone in his room with no obvious cause of death, with an autopsy now being ordered to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Don’t mess with the doll!
It’s unknown whether Annabelle was in the room at the time of his death, but Rivera was taking being her custodian very seriously so it seems likely. He’d told people he’d built a special reinforced case to hold Annabelle, composed of three crosses and wood stained with holy water. He also meditated to ensure his safety in her vicinity, having been told to “envision yourself in a halo of white light” by the Warrens.
But we can only recall one of the more famous quotes about Annabella. According to Ed Warren, a priest once attempted to exorcise Annabelle, tossing her across the room and yelling “No doll is stronger than God!”. He left, and on the way home, crashed his car into a tree. Warren simply said: “No doll or demon is stronger than God. But a demon is stronger than a man or priest”.
It’s also worth checking out the TikTok comments on a video announcing that Annabelle was on tour. One said: “Lorraine tried to warn you, she said this doll should never be moved because it’s extremely dangerous”, with another echoing that “Lorraine Warren told you all not to move the Annabelle doll. She said don’t move her… Leave the doll alone.”
Perhaps this is all a big coincidence but just to be sure, maybe we should just leave Annabella in her case…