Annabelle (doll)
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{{short description|Haunted doll and fictional character}}
File:Raggedy ann doll with dress.jpg doll]]
Annabelle is a supposedly haunted Raggedy Ann doll, housed in the now closed occult museum of the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Annabelle was moved there after supposed hauntings in 1970. A supposed character based on the doll is one of the antagonists that appear in The Conjuring Universe.
{{Paranormal}}
History
According to the Warrens, Donna, a 28-year-old{{cite news |work=The Salina Journal |publication-place=Salina, Kansas |date=October 12, 1980 |first=Julie |last=Doll |url=https://archive.org/details/ed-lorraine-warren-lecture-at-fort-hays-state-university |title=Demonologists Warn of Evil Spirits}} student nurse from Hartford, Connecticut, was given the doll in 1970.{{cite news |title=Husband, Wife Do Battle With Demons |work=Green Bay Press-Gazette |publication-place=Green Bay, Wisconsin |date=October 7, 1982 |first=Dave |last=Tianen |url=https://archive.org/details/husband-wife-do-battle-with-demons}} The nurse reported the doll behaved strangely, but specifics are mixed, some recounts say it physically lifted its own arms while it was placed at their kitchen table,{{cite news |work=Republican and Herald |publication-place=Pottsville, Pennsylvania |date=September 13, 1979 |first=Jim |last=Coddington |title=Couple Make Living Studying the Supernatural |url=https://archive.org/details/couple-make-living-studying-the-supernatural }} other accounts say the, "...doll began to walk and follow them about the apartment. When they came home from work, it would be standing at the door waiting for them with its frozen smile." They explained that a psychic medium told the students the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a deceased six-year-old girl named "Annabelle". The student and her roommate tried to accept and nurture the spirit-possessed doll, but it reportedly exhibited malicious and frightening behavior.
It was at this point that the Warrens say they were first contacted, moving the doll to their museum after pronouncing it demonically possessed.
In 1987, the Warrens gave a lecture at Rutgers University where they delved into the Annabelle case. They claimed the doll had a tendency to give "psychic slashes" to people she didn't like, drawing blood as if she had used a knife.{{cite news |work=Gloucester County Times |publication-place=Woodbury, New Jersey |date=October 30, 1987 |first=Adam |last=Levine |title=Tellers of Eerie Tales: 'Ghostbusters' Speak at Rutgers |url=https://archive.org/details/tellers-of-eerie-tales}} Allegedly, a priest threw the doll across a room and declared, 'no doll is stronger than God', only to run his car into a tree after leaving the Warren house. "...no doll or demon is stronger than God," Ed Warren said. "But a demon is stronger than a man or a priest." The doll reportedly forced the "early retirement of a homicide detective"{{cite news |work=The Morning Call |publication-place=Allentown, Pennsylvania |date=November 8, 1991 |first=Susan |last=Snyder |title=Eerie Duo: Ghost-Hunting Couple Sense a Double Haunting of Kutztown's Old Main |url=https://archive.org/details/eerie-duo}} who was stabbed by the doll.{{cite news |work=Centre Daily Times |publication-place=State College, Pennsylvania |date=November 1, 1979 |first=Bob |last=Quarteroni |title=More Laughs than Frights At Amityville Horror Night |url=https://archive.org/details/centre-daily-times-1979-11-01-8}}
The doll remained in a glass box at the Warrens' Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut{{Citation |url=http://www.warrens.net/Annabelle.html|title=Annabelle|website=www.warrens.net|access-date=2017-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522230945/http://www.warrens.net/annabelle.html|archive-date=2016-05-22|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web| title = 'Annabelle' joins ranks of freaky dolls in horror films| first = Bryan| last = Alexander| work = USA Today| date = 1 October 2014| access-date = 2015-03-11| url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/10/01/dolls-creepy-annabelle/15474915/| archive-date = 2015-02-23| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150223083605/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/10/01/dolls-creepy-annabelle/15474915/| url-status = live}}{{Cite web| title = The Real-Life Story Behind Annabelle Is Even More Bone-Chilling Than the Movie| last = Eidell| first = Lynsey| work = Glamour| date = 2014-10-07| access-date = 2015-03-11| url = http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2014/10/real-story-behind-annabelle| archive-date = 2014-10-08| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141008015706/http://www.glamour.com/entertainment/blogs/obsessed/2014/10/real-story-behind-annabelle| url-status = live}}{{Cite web| title = How the Real Doll Behind 'Annabelle' Became Even Freakier for the Movies| first = Joal| last = Ryan| work = Yahoo!| date = 3 October 2014| access-date = 2015-03-11| url = https://www.yahoo.com/movies/how-the-real-doll-behind-annabelle-became-even-99081889057.html| archive-date = 2015-07-15| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150715054605/https://www.yahoo.com/movies/how-the-real-doll-behind-annabelle-became-even-99081889057.html| url-status = live}}{{cite episode|url=http://www.travelchannel.com/video/annabelle-the-devil-doll|title=Annabelle the Devil Doll|series=Mysteries at the Museum|network=Travel Channel|host=Don Wildman|access-date=2014-12-03|archive-date=2014-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126164429/http://www.travelchannel.com/video/annabelle-the-devil-doll|url-status=live}} until the museum's closure over zoning violations.{{cite web |title=No trespassing signs, fines used to ward off curious souls in search of Warren's Occult Museum {{!}} The Monroe Sun |url=https://themonroesun.com/no-trespassing-signs-fines-used-to-ward-off-curious-souls-in-search-of-warrens-occult-museum/ |website=themonroesun.com |date=28 October 2019 |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-date=20 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820120646/https://themonroesun.com/no-trespassing-signs-fines-used-to-ward-off-curious-souls-in-search-of-warrens-occult-museum/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |work=Sunday Mirror |publication-place=London, London, England |date=March 26, 1989 |first=Peter |last=Wilson |title=Into The Unknown: Exploring the Terrifying World of Poltergeists - The Devil's Doll |url=https://archive.org/details/sunday-mirror-1989-03-26-23}}
In May 2025, reports online alleged that the Annabelle doll has disappeared.{{cite web |title=Annabelle on tour? Why the allegedly 'haunted' doll from Connecticut has been viral on TikTok |date=May 13, 2025 |first=Andrew |last=DaRosa |publisher=Connecticut Insider |url=https://www.ctinsider.com/entertainment/article/annabelle-doll-tiktok-warren-conjuring-20325005.php}} But in reality it was a bit of viral marketing for a tour presented by 'Devils on the Run,' showcasing the items from the Warrens Occult Museum. "The doll has never missing," said Tony Spera the Director of New England Society for Psychic Research. "We had taken the doll on a brief tour to several locations, so paranormal enthusiasts could witness the real Annabelle."{{cite web |title='Evil' Annabelle Doll Update After 'Missing' Reports Spread |url=https://www.newsweek.com/evil-annabelle-doll-located-warrens-occult-museum-missing-2076827 |date=May 25, 2025 |publisher=NewsWeek |first=Marni Rose |last=McFall}}
== Religious and Parapsychology skepticism ==
Texas State University assistant professor of religious studies Joseph Laycock says most skeptics have dismissed the Warrens' museum as "full of off-the-shelf Halloween junk, dolls and toys, books you could buy at any bookstore". Laycock calls the Annabelle legend an "interesting case study in the relationship between pop culture and paranormal folklore" and speculates that the demonic doll trope popularized by films such as Child's Play, Dolly Dearest, and The Conjuring likely emerged from early legends surrounding Robert the Doll, as well as from a Twilight Zone episode released five years prior to the Warrens' story, entitled "Living Doll", in which the character of the mother is named Annabelle. Laycock suggests that "the idea of demonically possessed dolls allows modern demonologists to find supernatural evil in the most banal and domestic of places".{{cite web|last1=Laycock|first1=Joseph|title=The Paranormal To Pop Culture Pipeline|url=http://religiondispatches.org/the-paranormal-to-pop-culture-pipeline/|website=Religion Dispatches|publisher=University of Southern California|access-date=19 February 2016|date=2014-07-08|archive-date=2016-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303115441/http://religiondispatches.org/the-paranormal-to-pop-culture-pipeline/|url-status=live}}
Commenting on publicity for the Warrens' occult museum coinciding with the film release of The Conjuring, science writer Sharon A. Hill said that many of the myths and legends surrounding the Warrens have "seemingly been of their own doing" and that many people may have difficulty "separating the Warrens from their Hollywood portrayal". Hill criticized sensational press coverage of the Warrens' occult museum and its Annabelle doll. She said, "Like real-life Ed Warren, real-life Annabelle is actually far less impressive". Of the supernatural claims made about Annabelle by Ed Warren, Hill said, "We have nothing but Ed's word for this, and also for the history and origins of the objects in the museum".{{cite web|last1=Hill|first1=Sharon|title=The Warrens: Sorting the truth from the Hollywood myth|url=http://doubtfulnews.com/2014/07/the-warrens-sorting-the-truth-from-hollywood-myth/|website=Doubtful News|publisher=Lithospherica, LLC|access-date=19 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725165047/http://doubtfulnews.com/2014/07/the-warrens-sorting-the-truth-from-hollywood-myth/|archive-date=25 July 2014|url-status=dead}}
Legacy
The doll was also described in Gerald Brittle's 1980 biography of the Warrens, The Demonologist.{{cite book|last=Brittle|first=Gerald|title=The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren|date=September 13, 2002|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-24618-2|pages=39–53|chapter=Annabelle|orig-year=1980|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0qscomSDhcoC&pg=PA39}}
The Warrens' story of the doll served as inspiration for the Annabelle doll character depicted in The Conjuring Universe, a film series that includes the following: Annabelle (2014), Annabelle: Creation (2017), and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). The producers did not use the likeness of Raggedy Ann, partially due to potential trademark issues and partially to make the doll's appearance more unsettling for a horror film; its appearance has been described as a "terrifying porcelain doll that is disfigured and immediately menacing".{{cite web | title=Annabelle Comes Home Has A Sly Reference To The Real Doll | url=https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2475687/annabelle-comes-home-has-a-sly-reference-to-the-real-doll | website=CinemaBlend | first=Corey | last=Chichizola | date=June 27, 2019 | access-date=July 28, 2020 | archive-date=July 28, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728213849/https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2475687/annabelle-comes-home-has-a-sly-reference-to-the-real-doll | url-status=live }} The character makes its first appearance in James Wan{{'s}} The Conjuring (2013) {{cite web | title=Annabelle (I) (2014): Trivia | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322940/trivia?item=tr2975828 | website=IMDb | access-date=June 30, 2022 | archive-date=June 29, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629220413/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322940/trivia?item=tr2975828 | url-status=live }} and additionally makes brief appearances in his sequel The Conjuring 2 (2016){{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/aquaman-movie-annabelle-easter-egg-james-wan/|title=The Evil Annabelle Doll Makes a Cameo in James Wan's Aquaman Movie|website=ScreenRant|first=Christopher|last=Fiduccia|date=December 6, 2018|access-date=December 31, 2018|archive-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101051458/https://screenrant.com/aquaman-movie-annabelle-easter-egg-james-wan/|url-status=live}} and Michael Chaves' The Curse of La Llorona (2019) and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2020), as well as in the DC Extended Universe films Aquaman (2018) and Shazam! (2019), respectively directed by Wan and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg.{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3554699/spot-cameo-appearance-annabelle-doll-shazam/|title=Did You Spot the Cameo Appearance from the Annabelle Doll in 'Shazam'?|website=Bloody Disgusting|date=April 8, 2019|first=John|last=Squires|access-date=September 24, 2019|archive-date=April 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409134548/https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3554699/spot-cameo-appearance-annabelle-doll-shazam/|url-status=live}}. The doll also appears in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, also directed by Sandberg.