Haunted doll's handler says it's not responsible for disasters while on tour
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
A cursed doll rumored to have gone missing while touring the US with a traveling exhibit is being blamed for local disasters including a fire and a jailbreak.
The 'Annabelle' doll, which some believe is demon-possessed and was featured in The Conjuring horror films, is on a paranormal tour along with other items belonging to her ghost hunter owners.
Word on the street in mid-May was that Anabelle vanished while stopping at the Ghost City Tours office in New Orleans. It happened to be the same week that a fire tore through a nearby plantation and 10 prisoners escaped from a jail.
But Tony Spera, the owner of the Warren Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, said that Annabelle is 'safely back' there locked in her display case.
'You know, it's easy for rumors to start. The fact of the matter is, that doll was never out of our sight, never out of our control,' Spera told NBC News this week.
'It's in a protective case that many precautions were taken to make it safe.'
Paranormal investigator Ryan Buell sought to further quell rumors by posting a video on Facebook on May 24 of himself at the museum.
'She's not in Chicago, she never was in Chicago, and she's not missing because she's right behind me,' said Buell, while pointing the camera towards him with the doll sitting in the case over his shoulder.
Still, social media users and conspiracy theorists have been skeptical about those accounts of Annabelle's whereabouts.
A blaze destroyed the Nottoway Plantation House between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on May 15, and the very next day, inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center.
Annabelle was touring in New Orleans on May 13 and 14, and among the precautions that were taken were having a Catholic priest alongside the doll.
Some people are 'absolutely convinced' that Ghost City Tours is at fault for the fire and jailbreak, said its founder Tim Nealon.
One Facebook user asked why Annabelle wasn't left at the Connecticut museum and wrote on Ghost City Tours' page: 'Did it cross your mind maybe she was there for a reason. Some things are better left alone.'
'I did not think people were taking it seriously, I kept seeing jokes about it on Instagram and TikTok,' Nealon told USA Today.
'But, I didn't realize people were out here like, actually thinking that this was legit.' More Trending
Spera said he doesn't blame people for being skeptical.
'If people don't know about the demonic, it's very difficult to believe that these thing are happening,' he said.
'But they do happen.'
Annabelle has been on sold-out tours across the US – and Buell said that plans are underway for her to be at the Rock Island Roadhouse Esoteric Expo in Illinois on October 4.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Family business '£10,000 out of pocket' after Meta blocks their accounts for 12 weeks
MORE: British journalist Charlotte Peet who vanished in Brazil four months ago has been found
MORE: FDA tomato recall elevated to highest level due to salmonella risk
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
37 minutes ago
- NBC News
'Love Island USA' contestant exits after clips of racist language surface online
Yulissa Escobar will not be finding love in the villa on Season 7 of "Love Island USA." The 27-year-old from Miami exited the show on the second day after video clips surfaced online that appear to show Escobar using racist language while on a podcast. In two podcast clips shared by TMZ, Escobar used racial slurs when talking about men and relationship drama. Escobar's abrupt exit was not given any context on the show. "Welcome back to Love Island USA," series narrator Iain Stirling said at the top of day two, which aired Wednesday. "Yulissa has left the villa." Although it is unclear exactly when Escobar left the show's villa in Fiji, she was last shown sleeping during the first night with 22-year-old Ace Greene, with whom she coupled up during the first episode. Escobar coupled up with Greene after he was already paired up with another contestant, Chelley Bissainthe. It is also unclear if Escobar was edited out of the show. "Love Island USA" is streaming on Peacock, which NBCUniversal owns. Peacock confirmed to NBC News that Escobar left the villa, but did not offer specific details on the reason for her departure. Escobar, who owns a mobile bar in Miami, has not yet publicly spoken on the backlash. She last shared photos from the first day in the villa on her Instagram story on Wednesday night. She did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment. During cast introductions shared on YouTube, Escobar revealed she was in a 9-year relationship prior to coming on the show. Her mother was born in Cuba, and her father was born in Missouri. "I could be fire, so don't play with fire because you might burned, baby," Escobar said in a clip shared on Instagram.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Ice makes record number of immigration arrests on single day
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) made a record high number of arrests on Tuesday, detaining more than 2,200 people as Donald Trump's hardline immigration policy continues. NBC News reported that the figure represents the most people ever arrested by Ice in a single day. Hundreds of the people arrested were enrolled in Ice's alternative to detention program, under which migrants who are awaiting legal status are given background checks to determine they are not a safety risk, then tracked by the government using ankle monitors or smartphone apps. The record total comes after senior officials over the weekend instructed rank-and-file Ice officers to arrest more people, even without warrants. In May, the White House demanded that Ice arrest 3,000 people a day. Some of the arrests 'appear to be the result of a new Ice tactic', NBC News reported, in which Ice officials arrest migrants who are enrolled in the alternative to detention program when they arrive at pre-scheduled check-in meetings at Ice offices. '[With] mass arresting of people on alternatives to detention or at their Ice check-ins or at immigration court hearings, the dragnet is so wide that there's no possible valid argument that could be made that these individuals are all dangerous,' Atenas Burrola Estrada, an attorney with the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, told NBC News. The Guardian reported that on Saturday senior Ice officials urged officers to 'turn the creative knob up to 11' when it comes to enforcement, including by arresting undocumented people whom officials may happen to encounter – here termed 'collaterals' – while serving arrest warrants for others. In a meeting on 21 May, Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, and Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary, ordered Ice leaders to dramatically increase the number of arrests. Miller and Noem told Ice officials to arrest 3,000 people a day – more than a million a year. The scramble to arrest as many people as possible has caused chaos, as citizens have been wrongfully detained and detention centers have become overcrowded. Last week, a fourth grader was detained by Ice officials and separated from his father during a scheduled immigration hearing in Houston, Texas. KTLA5 reported that Martir Garcia Lara, a student at Torrance elementary in south California, attended the hearing with his father on 29 May. His teachers alerted the school's parent-teacher association (PTA), which is lobbying for Lara to be released. 'He's alone and he's not able to return home,' said Jasmin King, the president of the PTA. 'We have not received any information on why they were detained. All we know is that Martir is just a fourth grader who's by himself, without his dad, without a parent, and just in a place that he probably doesn't know, so we can only imagine what he might be feeling.'
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Doctor Who fans fume that character was 'butchered' as actor speaks out on exit
Doctor Who season 15 came to a divisive end last week, and one show's stars has finally spoken out about her exit. Varada Sethu, who played Belinda Chandrab– the latest companion to join Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor in the Tardis – addressed her exit on Instagram. In an emotional post, the 30-year-old apologised for being 'late to the party' but said she 'needed to take a few days' to process the show, the finale and everything Doctor Who had brought into her life. 'My heart has doubled in size,' she wrote. 'I have felt so so full of gratitude and love, I still feel I haven't found the words to express it. It has been a true gift to know a woman like Belinda, I will never forget our journey together. 'Thank you @ncutigatwa for being my partner in crime, my beloved Doctor. You are unending, pure magic, what a privilege it's been to bear witness to it. Mom & Dad forever❤️ My sweet angel @milliegibbo, thank you for your kindness, for always lifting me up, you have stolen everyone's hearts!! I cannot wait to see what life has in store for you.' Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Varada finished by thanking the 'beautiful fans' and Russell T Davies, adding she finally understands what he meant when he said her life would 'never be the same again'. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Despite Varada's grateful words, a number of fans aren't happy with how Belinda (and Varada) were treated in the finale with some going so far as to say her character was 'butchered'. 'You and Ncuti deserved BETTER!' wrote ryan__norman__97, while Merrony97 added: 'Fantastic character until the final episode where it completely jumped the shark'. Noinxo wrote, 'Feels incomplete, like someone gave me a book with pages ripped out of it; but leaving the last chapter.' 'They didn't do your character justice, but it was a Beautiful ending to a chapter. Such an amazing cast and amazing characters. Still, though, continue success in everything you do!' Sadly, this feeling that Belinda was done dirty is pretty pervasive in the Doctor Who community at the moment. Across Reddit, X, and Instagram, you'll find countless fans praising Varada for her performance but complaining about the treatment of Belinda in the finale. Their main issue seems to be that the character was established as an independent woman who had her agency stolen from her when the Doctor rewrote reality to bring her 'wish world' child, Poppy, back to life. They believe the Doctor took this decision without considering whether Belinda would have wanted a child in the first place. Our Deputy TV editor Tom Percival gives his verdict… The most recent Doctor Who finale had some moments of greatness, but honestly, for the most part, it was a confusing mess. The episode's big baddies, The Rani and Omega, were dealt with far too quickly, the stuff about Poppy was harder to wrap your heart around than theoretical physics, and don't get me started on Susan's disappearing act. That said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find Ncuti's final decision to regenerate to save a child quite emotional, and I did enjoy seeing the Time Hotel again. Of course, the elephant in the room is Belinda's ultimate fate. I'm not sure if it was just bad storytelling or a poorly conceived idea, but the Doctor rewriting reality to give a woman a child (without her consent) just left a bad taste in my mouth. You don't have to look far to find fans expressing this view. On another Instagram post, one fan going by the name _raggedywho wrote 'NEVER forgive RTD for what he did to Ar Belinda…' Meanwhile, _ataho_ said, 'The character assassination of Belinda Chandra, Original timeline. Belinda, we mourn you.' On Reddit, Icy_Bandicoot3674 complained that 'Episode 1 Belinda is a completely different character to the rest of the season, and by episode 8, there is absolutely nothing left. She basically doesn't exist from Ep 4 to Ep 8'. This sentiment was echoed by agitatedandroid, who added, Belinda could have been so much more.' 'Perhaps a sort of cross between Donna and Martha. But she was never really given an opportunity to even be Belinda,' they continued. 'And by the end, she's not even the Belinda she started as. Her entire reality is rewritten into what the Doctor wants.' KronksKronk, however, was probably the most withering, labelling Belinda's treatment as 'gross'. More Trending 'The Belinda from episode 1 is… dead in a way, they raged. 'Her whole life got rewritten without her consent, so she suddenly has a kid and an ex-husband, and it gets played off as a victory.' It wasn't just Belinda's fate that annoyed fans who tuned in for the finale. Others were let down by the treatment of the Rani and Omega, two classic villains fans have wanted to see return for years. Others, though, were just disappointed to see Ncuti Gatwa regenerate into Billie Piper, a move criticised by some as stunt casting. Doctor Who is available to stream now on iPlayer. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. View More » MORE: Race Across The World fans moved as episode honours Sam Gardiner after death aged 24 MORE: Former BBC studios where EastEnders was filmed riddled with asbestos MORE: Violent Doctor Who scene 'put show at risk of being cancelled before it started'
