Paranormal Investigator Dies While Touring With ‘Haunted’ Annabelle Doll

The Conjuring franchise is often considered one of the scariest in modern horror, largely because it draws inspiration from real-life supernatural claims. The films center around Ed and Lorraine Warren, famed paranormal investigators and self-proclaimed demonologists and weave together stories based on alleged encounters with unexplained, possibly malevolent forces. Among all the terrifying tales, none have captured the public’s imagination quite like the saga of Annabelle, the haunted doll.

A Raggedy Ann with a Dark Reputation

The inspiration for the 2014 film Annabelle wasn’t a porcelain figure, but an ordinary Raggedy Ann doll given to a nurse by her mother in the 1970s. According to accounts, the doll started behaving strangely — reportedly moving on its own and even physically harming someone without making contact. The nurse eventually gave it away, fearing its presence.

The real Annabelle now resides in the Warrens’ Occult Museum in Connecticut. While typically locked in a protective case, the doll has occasionally been taken on tour, and that’s when the most unsettling incidents seem to occur.

A Paranormal Investigator’s Mysterious Death

In the summer of 2025, Dan Rivera, a senior investigator with the New England Society for Psychic Research, was touring the U.S. with a collection of supposedly cursed items, including the original Annabelle doll. The tour, dubbed Devils on the Run, was well attended and made a stop in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Just hours after one of his presentations, Rivera was found unresponsive in his hotel room on July 13, 2025. Emergency responders attempted CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the age of 54. No immediate cause of death was identified, and an autopsy was pending. While there’s no conclusive link between Rivera’s death and the doll, the eerie timing has fueled speculation.

A Deadly Encounter After a Laugh

This isn’t the first time tragedy has been tied to Annabelle. According to the Warrens, a young man once mocked the doll during a museum visit, tapping on its glass case and laughing off its reputation. Not long after, he died in a motorcycle accident. His girlfriend, who survived the crash, later claimed they had been joking about Annabelle right before he lost control of the bike and hit a tree.

Other Chilling Accidents Allegedly Connected to the Doll

Over the years, more frightening stories have emerged. One such account involves a priest who visited the Warrens’ museum. After disrespectfully tossing Annabelle across a room, he reportedly had a vision of the doll appear before him while driving, moments before he crashed his car into a tree.

Even the Warrens themselves weren’t spared. They claimed that when they first brought the doll home in the early 1970s, their car brakes failed repeatedly, nearly causing multiple accidents. The vehicle only returned to normal after Ed Warren stopped and doused the doll in holy water.

Cursed or coincidence? Whether you believe in Annabelle’s supernatural power or chalk these stories up to urban legend, one thing is certain: her eerie legacy continues to haunt believers and skeptics alike.