Latest news with #GhostlyImagesofGettysburgTours
Mint
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
‘Haunted' Annabelle doll tour handler Dan Rivera dies suddenly; netizens say 'This was bound to happen'
Dan Rivera, a well-known paranormal investigator from Connecticut and handler of the infamous Annabelle doll, died suddenly on June 13 while on tour in Gettysburg, the New England Society for Psychic Research confirmed. Rivera was a familiar face from the popular 'Devils on the Run Tour,' during which he and other members of the society travelled across the United States with the supposedly haunted doll, Annabelle. Emergency services, including firefighters and paramedics, were called to a hotel in Gettysburg on Sunday night after receiving a report that a man was receiving CPR. The Annabelle tour in Gettysburg was organised in partnership with Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Tours at the Soldiers National Orphanage. Organisers said the event was completely sold out, with over 1,260 tickets sold across the three-day weekend. The tour wrapped up on Sunday afternoon. Rivera played a key role in bringing international attention to the tour. Alongside fellow paranormal investigator Ryan Daniel Buell, Rivera created several viral TikTok videos featuring the doll, attracting millions of views. The tour had drawn widespread attention recently, with some locations reacting strongly to the doll's spooky reputation and backstory. After news of Rivera's passing broke on Monday night, tributes poured in from the paranormal community. He was remembered as a devoted husband, father, friend, and passionate paranormal researcher. Many on social media reacted with disbelief and unease. One user said, 'I've been next to that doll. It's not that creepy.' Another added, 'Believe what you want, but she's not to be messed with😳 My friend went to see her…weird stuff happened.' A third wrote, 'That's not good he was next in line to watch over the museum,' while another said, 'My husband wants to go see this doll. It's only a few hours away from us. I said absolutely NOT!!' Another wrote: 'This was bound to happen.'
NDTV
16-07-2025
- NDTV
Paranormal Investigator Dan Rivera Dies At 54 While Touring With 'Haunted' Annabelle Doll
A 54-year-old paranormal investigator died suddenly while touring with the supposedly haunted Annabelle doll, his tour organisers said. According to the New York Post, Dan Rivera, a US Army veteran, was in Pennsylvania on his sold-out "Devils on the Run Tour" when the incident took place. He died on Sunday, shortly after finishing a three-day sellout stop in Gettysburg, hosted by "Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Tours" at the Soldiers National Orphanage, the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) said. According to the Post, Mr Riveria died unexpectedly after completing his tour, in which the group brought the allegedly haunted doll, Annabelle, across the country to various sites. Firefighters and medics were rushed to his hotel in Gettysburg on Sunday evening for a report of CPR in progress on a male patient. But by the time the medics reached the scene, Mr Rivera had died. The exact cause of the death remains unclear. According to the Evening Sun, coroner's office personnel said that the death did not appear suspicious, and that Rivera was found alone in his hotel room. An investigation is ongoing. Notably, Rivera was featured as a paranormal investigator on the Travel Channel's "Most Haunted Places" and served as producer for a number of other shows, including Netflix's "28 Days Haunted." As part of his tour, he was travelling around the US with other members of NESPR to show off the allegedly demonic doll. Annabelle has been tied to a series of supposed hauntings in the 1970s, after being given to a Connecticut nursing student named Donna. Ed and Lorraine Warren, the famous paranormal investigators, claimed the doll physically lifted its own arms, followed people around the apartment, and would display other frightening and malicious behaviour, per the Post. The couple also claimed that the doll had stabbed a police officer and caused a car crash involving a priest. It is believed that the doll has been inhabited by the spirit of a dead 6-year-old girl called Annabelle. Warrens said that it was demonically possessed and moved the doll to their museum in Connecticut. The demonic doll has inspired the movie 'The Conjuring'. Earlier this year, Annabelle was in the headlines after conspiracy theorists linked the doll to a prison breakout and devastating fire in Louisiana. However, experts later clarified that the doll was never "out of control".
7NEWS
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Dan Rivera: Paranormal investigator dies during tour with haunted doll Annabelle that inspired The Conjuring
A paranormal investigator has died suddenly in eerie circumstances, sparking wild online speculation about the involvement of a doll that inspired the horror movie The Conjuring. Dan Rivera, 54, was touring the US with Annabelle, a supposedly haunted Raggedy Ann doll when tragedy struck. Emergency services were called to his Gettysburg hotel on Sunday to a report of CPR in progress on a male patient, according to the Evening Sun. Annabelle is usually kept at a now closed occult museum in Connecticut where she is locked in a specially built case but was being taken to various sites across the US as part of a popular Devils on the Run tour led by Mr Rivera. The sold-out Gettysburg leg of the tour was being hosted by the Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Tours at the Soldiers National Orphanage. The doll was linked to supposed hauntings in the 1970s and was made famous by Ed and Lorraine Warren, a husband-and-wife team of demonologists and paranormal investigators, before gaining further notoriety from The Conjuring film in 2013. They believed Annabelle was a demonic entity and kept her at their Warren Occult Museum. Mr Rivera, who was one of the lead organisers of the New England Society for Psychic Research after the deaths of the Warrens who had founded the group, had been promoting taking the doll on tour via TikTok. Just a day before his death, he told a tour group before showing them into a room where Annabelle was being held that he had taken steps to 'protect them' from the doll, including building the case housing using three crosses, representing the holy trinity, and staining it with a finish that contained holy water. Mr Rivera was also known for his work as a paranormal investigator on the Travel Channel's Most Haunted Places and was a producer for paranormal television series including Netflix's 28 Days Haunted. TikTok has been flooded with videos about Mr Rivera's death, including some speculating about a possible paranormal cause. 'The Warren's told you to leave that doll locked up and you did not listen,' one TikToker said. Another posted a video saying, 'I think it is really eerie that Dan's an army veteran and he passed away in Gettysburg which is believed to be one of the most haunted battlefields in American history, not sure if there is any correlation there but it does give me chills. A tribute by NESPR posted to Facebook read, 'a US Army veteran, Dan served both his country and the people around him'. 'Dan's passion for the paranormal was rooted in a genuine desire to educate, help and connect with others, whether social media, conventions or investigations with local families seeking understanding and peace. 'Dan's strong faith was a guiding light in his life. He never wavered in his belief in god and often spoke about the spiritual side of the work we do. We find comfort in knowing that he is now at peace, reunited with loved ones who have gone before him.' Mr Rivera's cause of death has not yet been established, although it is not believed to be suspicious. Final autopsy results are not expected for months. The NESPR website says Annabelle's origins date back to when a student nurse was given the Raggedy Ann doll as a gift. Almost immediately, she and her roommates noticed strange occurrences, with a medium telling them the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle. 'The two roommates tried to accept the doll's spirit and please it only to have it reciprocate maliciousness and violent intent,' the website reads. 'This is when Ed & Lorraine Warren were called and pronounced the doll demonically possessed. They removed the doll from the house and encased it in a glass box to contain the evil spirited entity.'
West Australian
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Dan Rivera: Paranormal investigator dies during tour with haunted doll Annabelle that inspired The Conjuring
A paranormal investigator has died suddenly in eerie circumstances, sparking wild online speculation about the involvement of a doll that inspired the horror movie The Conjuring. Dan Rivera, 54, was touring the US with Annabelle, a supposedly haunted Raggedy Ann doll when tragedy struck. Emergency services were called to his Gettysburg hotel on Sunday to a report of CPR in progress on a male patient, according to the Evening Sun. Annabelle is usually kept at a now closed occult museum in Connecticut where she is locked in a specially built case but was being taken to various sites across the US as part of a popular Devils on the Run tour led by Mr Rivera. The sold-out Gettysburg leg of the tour was being hosted by the Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Tours at the Soldiers National Orphanage. The doll was linked to supposed hauntings in the 1970s and was made famous by Ed and Lorraine Warren, a husband-and-wife team of demonologists and paranormal investigators, before gaining further notoriety from The Conjuring film in 2013. They believed Annabelle was a demonic entity and kept her at their Warren Occult Museum. Mr Rivera, who was one of the lead organisers of the New England Society for Psychic Research after the deaths of the Warrens who had founded the group, had been promoting taking the doll on tour via TikTok. Just a day before his death, he told a tour group before showing them into a room where Annabelle was being held that he had taken steps to 'protect them' from the doll, including building the case housing using three crosses, representing the holy trinity, and staining it with a finish that contained holy water. Mr Rivera was also known for his work as a paranormal investigator on the Travel Channel's Most Haunted Places and was a producer for paranormal television series including Netflix's 28 Days Haunted. TikTok has been flooded with videos about Mr Rivera's death, including some speculating about a possible paranormal cause. 'The Warren's told you to leave that doll locked up and you did not listen,' one TikToker said. Another posted a video saying, 'I think it is really eerie that Dan's an army veteran and he passed away in Gettysburg which is believed to be one of the most haunted battlefields in American history, not sure if there is any correlation there but it does give me chills. A tribute by NESPR posted to Facebook read, 'a US Army veteran, Dan served both his country and the people around him'. 'Dan's passion for the paranormal was rooted in a genuine desire to educate, help and connect with others, whether social media, conventions or investigations with local families seeking understanding and peace. 'Dan's strong faith was a guiding light in his life. He never wavered in his belief in god and often spoke about the spiritual side of the work we do. We find comfort in knowing that he is now at peace, reunited with loved ones who have gone before him.' Mr Rivera's cause of death has not yet been established, although it is not believed to be suspicious. Final autopsy results are not expected for months. The NESPR website says Annabelle's origins date back to when a student nurse was given the Raggedy Ann doll as a gift. Almost immediately, she and her roommates noticed strange occurrences, with a medium telling them the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle. 'The two roommates tried to accept the doll's spirit and please it only to have it reciprocate maliciousness and violent intent,' the website reads. 'This is when Ed & Lorraine Warren were called and pronounced the doll demonically possessed. They removed the doll from the house and encased it in a glass box to contain the evil spirited entity.'
Express Tribune
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Dan Rivera, paranormal investigator behind Annabelle Doll Tour, dies suddenly during Gettysburg stop
Dan Rivera, lead investigator for the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) and handler of the infamous Annabelle doll, died unexpectedly on July 13 while on the "Devils on the Run" haunted tour in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was 54. His death was confirmed by NESPR, although the exact cause remains unknown. Rivera was in Gettysburg, a historic town often cited as one of the most haunted in the U.S., hosting sold-out events at the Soldiers National Orphanage through Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Tours. First responders were dispatched to his hotel late Sunday for a cardiac emergency matching Rivera's age, according to Adams County dispatch records. A U.S. Army veteran, Rivera was a prominent figure in the paranormal community. He joined NESPR in 2011, mentored by famed investigator Lorraine Warren before her passing in 2019. He helped maintain the Warrens' legacy through tours and media, often appearing on television shows like Most Haunted Places and producing content for Netflix's 28 Days Haunted. Annabelle, the doll Rivera toured with, became infamous in the 1970s and inspired The Conjuring horror franchise. Though skeptics dismiss its alleged supernatural ties, many remain superstitious. The traveling tour, launched in May 2025, drew both fascination and controversy. Social media users blamed the doll for a fire in Louisiana and a prison break in New Orleans—claims Rivera publicly refuted in viral TikTok videos. He also clarified that Annabelle had no connection to a temporary 911 alert outage in Pennsylvania. Rivera, known for his charisma and dedication, used spiritually symbolic protections for the doll, including a hand-built case infused with holy water and marked with crosses. At the Gettysburg event, he reminded attendees of guidance he'd learned from Lorraine Warren, urging them to visualize a "halo of white light" for protection. Tributes poured in following his death. Fellow NESPR investigator Chris Gilloren praised Rivera's passion for educating the public about the paranormal. Paranormal researcher Mary Jo Chudley called him 'a true legend' and 'one of the kindest and funniest guys.' His close colleague Ryan Daniel Buell described Rivera as deeply devoted to continuing the Warrens' mission. Rivera's own words in a 2020 tribute to Lorraine Warren now resonate more deeply: 'When you look back at all the pieces you gave away, those pieces will always be remembered... I will never die. My journey has only begun.'
