Truth about lost Annabelle Doll revealed by paranormal expert after internet plunged into frenzy

Daily Mail​

25-05-2025

Internet sleuths and horror fans were sent into a frenzy this week after it was claimed the infamous 'haunted' Annabelle doll had vanished whilst on tour in the US.
The Raggedy Anne Doll's paranormal legend dates back to the 1970's when it was apparently given as a gift to nurse in Hartford, Connecticut, before it began exhibiting disturbing behaviour.
Annabelle was thought to be possessed by the spirit of a dead child and was said to move on her own, leave terrifying handwritten notes and even allegedly attacked someone.
The case caught the attention of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who concluded Annabelle was being manipulated by a demonic entity.
They performed an exorcism before taking the doll away with them and sealing her inside a glass box inside their Occult Museum in Monroe.
It wasn't until the release of the 2013 horror film The Conjuring and the 2014 sequel named after and based on Annabelle that the legend became popular in mainstream media - proven by the subsequent release of two more movies.
Due to her popularity, the real Annabelle doll was removed from the secured case she was displayed in and was included as part of a travelling US exhibition Devils on the Run which began touring earlier this month.
This is despite stark warnings from the Warren's that she should never be moved.
But things to a dark turn when visitors at a recent stop on the tour claimed the three-foot-tall doll wasn't anywhere to be found, sparking a panic and fear online.
Growing terror amongst fans of all things morbid grew when a fire broke out the historic Nottoway Resort in White Castle, Louisana, and ten inmates escaped from a prison in New Orleans just days after Annabelle was displayed in the state.
On X, one person wrote: 'Three days ago they moved Annabelle, one of the most haunted dolls from Monroe, Connecticut to New Orleans, Louisiana and now the largest sugarcane plantation in Louisiana burned down AND 11 inmates in a New Orleans Prison escape. Didn't the Warren's say she should never be moved?'
Another said: 'So the streets are saying after they moved the Annabelle doll out of the Warren museum (when they explicitly said never to move it) she's now gone missing.'
Someone else ranted: 'WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THEY LOST THE ANNABELLE DOLL??? ONE OF THE MOST HAUNTED POSSESSIONS?? THAT ANNABELLE?'
Putting the frenzies rumours to rest, Dan Rivera of the New England Society for Psychic Research which oversees the Warren Occult Museum's collection, released a video showing the doll safe and sound in a protective glass case back in Connecticut.
The caption read: 'Some wild and crazy internet rumours this morning claiming that we lost Annabelle. She/it is NOT lost'.
It comes as a haunted doll collector who houses 54 'spirits' weighed in on the debate surrounding the allegedly paranormal Annabelle doll being taken on 'tour.'
Collector Teej said: 'Do I believe that Annabelle is responsible for all of the tragedy that she is being blamed for right now? Absolutely not.
'Most of the stories tied to her are unverified and don't have any evidence to back them up.
'Honestly, I believe that Annabelle deserves a fresh investigation with an unbiased investigation team, to figure out what is actually going on with her.'
Teej said she believes the doll's narrative was 'created' by the Warrens following their initial investigation.
She added: 'This was a very long time ago and, since then, she has been sensationalised in Hollywood.
'We don't even know Annabelle's true story. We owe it not only to her, but to all spirits, to start asking the real questions and getting evidence on who they are and what happened to them.
'People keep saying "bring Annabelle home," but the truth is – Annabelle doesn't have a home.
'The Warrens Occult Museum has been closed to the public since 2019, so she [was] not at home – she was in storage. Locked away, not honoured, not protected, not valued.'
Teej pointed out that the doll has spent her entire 'afterlife' on display in a museum being 'gawked at, disrespected, and sensationalised for money' – without any way to 'defend' herself from the claims.
'Imagine being the centre of basically an entire country's fear without any voice of your own, and no one to look out for and defend you,' she continued. 'Spirits like Annabelle are not props – no spirit is.'
Teej explained that all purported spirits should be treated with 'dignity, respect and kindness' – no matter the rumours that have dogged them over the years.