Haunting 'final countdown' of Annabelle doll handler before sudden death during 'demonically possessed' toy tour

Daily Mail​

17-07-2025

A veteran ghost hunter who suddenly died while touring the US with the haunted Annabelle doll made a chilling 'final countdown' social media post just days before his passing.
Dan Rivera, 54, was in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for his Devils on the Run tour - a cross-country event featuring the infamous doll - when he was found unresponsive at his hotel Sunday night.
He had built a loyal fanbase through his ghost-hunting work and viral content reviving the eerie legends of Annabelle and other cursed relics. His final stop - in Gettysburg, a Civil War town long said to be haunted - was completely sold out.
Just days before the event kicked off, Rivera posted an eerie video of the Annabelle doll promoting the 'final countdown' of the tour.
'On the road this week. GET READY GETTYSBURG. It's the final countdown,' Rivera captioned that video that played along with the band Europe's hit song 'The Final Countdown.'
'GET READY GETTYSBURG! ON THE ROAD THIS WEEK. ITS THE FINAL COUNTDOWN,' the caption continued.
The video montage included chilling shots of the 'possessed' doll along with photos of Rivera and his colleagues from the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR).
Rivera served as a senior lead investigator with the organization and was the one who had been bringing the creepy children's toy across the country.
Harrison Jones, a journalist for the local newspaper the Evening Sun, told People he had attended the tour's event at the Soldiers Orphanage Homestead on Saturday - the night before Rivera passed.
'It was quickly clear that Mr. Rivera was a people person as he spoke with the group,' Jones said.
'He was very charismatic and quick-witted. He seemed intent on making sure the group was comfortable and could enjoy themselves.'
The journalist described how during the event Rivera explained to guests how he built Annabelle's case himself.
'Mr. Rivera, along with another of NESPR's investigators, Wade Kirby, spoke to the group about Annabelle's history and their experiences working with the doll,' Jones said.
'Among those discussions, Mr. Rivera spoke about how he had built the case that Annabelle was in himself, and that he had designed many aspects from the perspective of his faith.'
Rivera had been with colleagues on Sunday morning but was not feeling well and went back to his room, Abrams County Coroner Francis Dutrow confirmed to People.
On Wednesday morning, authorities revealed that he died from 'natural causes' and that there was 'nothing unusual or suspicious observed at the scene,' according to Pennsylvania State Police.
NESPR announced in a Tuesday evening press release that they will resume the tours previously scheduled events, believing it's what the veteran ghost hunter 'would have wanted.'
'We believe with all our hearts that Dan would have wanted the work to continue - bringing people together, sharing knowledge, and honoring the memory of Ed & Lorraine Warren,' the statement said, referring to the legendary paranormal investigators who kept Annabelle their private occult museum.
'We will carry his spirit in us in everything we do.'
The Annabelle doll was made famous back in the 1970s when paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren looked into alleged attacks made by the infamous toy.
While they put her in a specially built glass case and warned that she should never be moved, Annabelle is now currently touring the US alongside other items from the Warrens Occult Museum collection as part of the exhibition called Devils on the Run.