Hello, and welcome back to the Raven, the blog, the podcast, and yeah.
I think it was last week when I noticed Annabelle the doll was trending. Of course, interested, I noted that the articles said she was missing. With Lorraine Warren, one of the individuals who owned this haunted doll dying last year, I was concerned. Lorraine and her husband, Ed, are well-known figures in the paranormal field. We will get more into then in a bit.
As one could imagine, discovering that Annabelle, a demonic doll, has escaped from her glass coffin in the Warren museum is quite alarming.
I’m happy to say that she remains in her case at the museum, and someone just thought it would be funny to edit Annabelle’s Wiki page saying she escape, on August 14, 2020, at 3 am. With all the crazy stuff happening this year, it seemed believable.
(Tony Spera and Annabelle; Source: Youtube)
The Warren’s son-in-law, who now cares for the Warren museum, Tony Spera, made a youtube video disproving her escape and showing footage of Annabelle. He noted that the museum has top-notch security, making it impossible for someone to remove her from the museum.
Tony then noted, he would be concerned if Annabelle ever did get out. Honestly, with the Warren’s passed on, I don’t know what we would do.
With Annabelle trending, it only seemed logical that we cover here this week.
I think it’s safe to say that if you are interested in the paranormal, you have heard of Annabelle; she’s pretty famous.
The Conjuring Universe made several Annabelle adaptations; they have little to do with the actual story but are terrifying.
Some people think that Annabelle is just another Hollywood story like Chucky but, I surely don’t. Anyway, let’s jump right into it.
The Real Annabelle story:
(Source: US Today)
First of all, Annabelle was a fucking raggedy ann doll, not the porcelain looking one depicted in the film. Honestly, raggedy ann is so much scarier and, you’ll find out why soon enough.
Okay, so in 1970, two nursing students, Donna and Agie, lived together, but I couldn’t find the location. In the research, I could only see the Warren museum’s site, Monroe, Connecticut, and drove to the apartment from that. It seems like the apartment was near them.
There are a couple of stories about how Donna got the doll: one is that it was a Christmas present from her mom, another was that it was a present for her mom for her 28th birthday. Regardless, her mother gave it to her after purchasing it from a hobby shop. Some say that the doll was second had, but the calico dress on Annabelle was most popular that the doll was purchased new. Initially, I thought the doll was already haunted, but according to Lorraine, the doll was purchased new, meaning whatever possessed the doll came from that apartment. Where the fuck is this apartment?!
A lot of the next part is from an interview Ed and Lorraine had with Tony about how they got into the field and the Annabelle case.
So, who are The Warrens?
(Source: The Times UK)
Husband and wife demonologist and paranormal researchers. For 65 years, they were investigating and recording the paranormal. They have a series of books out, and I started one not too long ago, but I didn’t finish it. Anyway, Lorraine was a clairvoyant and recalled seeing auras and lights since she was 7. Ed grew up in a haunted house and had experiences that drove him for answers. The Warrens took cases from all over the world, such as England with the Enfield poltergeist, which The Conjuring 2 is based.
They were the shit, and everyone took them seriously, nurses, police, and scientists vouched for the Warrens.
The police were the ones to suggest the family in England call the Warrens because they couldn’t help them. Could you imagine being called to this family’s house for weird noises and see a fucking chair slide across the floor?
While looking at some of the Warren’s cases, I saw one about a Werewolf, and we are just going to have to cover that one.
Anyway, so Donna has this doll, and she usually keeps it in her room. One day she brings it down to breakfast as a joke, saying raggedy ann is going to eat with us. She does this every day, and the roommates talk to it, I mean it’s just been chilling with them for days. That’s when the doll puts its fucking hands on the table!
Donna and Agie are like right on; let’s call a medium. I’m sorry, but no. That’s not okay. Then again, the ghost from work followed me home once and moved the hot sauce bottle across the table. Every time I close, I say, “By ghost, don’t follow me home,” and so far, it works. I have quite a few stories about the ghost at my work, but that’s for another time.
The Medium told them that it was the spirit of a 6-year-old girl named Annabelle Higgins. The girl died on the property, playing in a field when a car spun out of control. Annabelle said she felt safe with the women and wanted to live in the doll. Donna and Agie were just like, of course, you can.
They took Annabelle everywhere and bought her gifts, treating her like an innocent little girl that Annabelle was. Unfortunately, Annabelle wasn’t a little girl but a full-blown demon or evil spirit, whatever you want to call it.
Then they decided to have a seance because why the fuck not.
After that, the roommates noticed a change in the energy in their apartment. They began to experience knocking, lights flying around at night, cold spots, and whispers. This is when they start to get scared. As someone who has experienced things like that, it’s terrifying.
I remember I was 18, lying in bed night and just hearing knocking up and down my walls. I tried to tell myself it was a squirrel on the roof or a bird, that’s about the time the shadows came. I would see them snaking across the walls and the ceiling, and I remember I would just hide under the covers. I mean, what the fuck else would I do. I was dabbling in Wicca, and let’s just say it wasn’t how I practice now, and I got into some things that I couldn’t precisely control. Let’s just say I am more educated now.
Donna and Agie started to ignore Annabelle, and that was another mistake. They would come home, and Annabelle would just be standing in the hallway.
She’s a fucking raggedy ann doll; she can’t stand!
Annabelle started moving from room to room on her own. Once Donna had her in her room with the door closed, and she appeared in another place.
They would find Annabelle in different positions, like her arms and legs crossed, standing, leaning against chairs (peeking out from behind them), and kneeling on a fucking chair.
She’s a rag doll; she doesn’t have knees, that’s not possible.
Oh yeah, and they found blood on her hands and chest.
They got notes from Annabelle on paper that they did not own. Dude, Annabelle has her own stationery.
The notes were quite lovely, saying, “ Help me” and “Help us.” Who is us? I couldn’t find any information on this. It sounds like Annabelle has several spirits attached to her.
At this point, Agie’s boyfriend was like to get rid of the doll; he suggested burning it. He knew it wasn’t a child in the doll. Donna and Agie still believed it was the spirit of Annabelle and ignored him.
Many think that children cannot be spirits but instead move on to the next life because of their innocence. Dark spirits or demons often mimic children because people are more willing to fall for their tricks. Think about it, if a child came up to you and asked for help, odds are you’d help them. Now, if a grown adult asked you for help, you might not help them. You wouldn’t feel like you had to or you were suspicious of them. Ted Bundy asked people for help and look at how that ended up.
One day Lou was taking a nap on the couch, and he had a nightmare that Annabelle was choking him. When he awoke, he has marks around his neck. Freaked out, Lou threw the doll on the floor and said, “You’re just a ragdoll. You can’t hurt anyone!”. The room went cold next thing you know, pictures started falling off the walls, and pounding started on the walls. Then Lou has seven scratches on his chest. The scratches were so deep that blood was seeping through his shirt. There were four horizontal marks and three vertical and were not to the touch. It looked like it had been branded into him almost and disappeared in a couple of days. It was surprising that there wasn’t a picture of the marks, yes it was the 70s, but the dude just got attacked by an unseen force.
Soon after this, Donna, Agie, and poor Lou were chilling at the apartment when they started to hear strange noises coming from Donna’s room. Lou went to investigate, probably hoping it was a burglar at this point, but he found Annabelle lying in the middle of Donna’s room, and there was a heaviness in the room.
At this point, they decided to call a priest, Father Hegan, who immediately called the Warrens.
The Warrens were like; this isn’t a child but a full-blown demon.
(Source: Pinterest)
The doll was a mere prop for the spirit t throw around the apartment. This demon said this calico dress and was like, “I’m Annabelle, bitch!”. And those stockings, it was just a fashionable demon. Calico dresses popped in the 70s, and this demon was like finally, a worthy vessel.
Anyway, the demon was about to possess one or all of them.
An interview with the Warren’s explained the stages that the demon would take.
Infestation: the spirit attaches to an object, in this case, the doll. Then comes the whispers, footsteps, knocking, the feeling of being watched. In this story, this was the doll moving, the notes left by the doll, and the knocking sounds.
Oppression: the victim(s) feel trapped and scared.
Possession: taking over someone
The priest and the Warrens performed an exorcism and removed the doll from home. Lou, Donna, and Agie were each blessed and refused to talk about it to this day.
The Warrens took backroads home because they knew they would run into issues. Sure enough, the car’s breaks went out, and they nearly avoided an accident. Ed dosed Annabelle in holy water before they continued their journey home.
The Warrens experienced some odd occurrences before making a glass cage for Annabelle, one made with holy water-soaked wood that a priest would be blessed a couple of times a month. Annabelle destroyed their house, I’m talking shit everywhere, and they were like, not in my house.
The sign on her case reads, “Warning, positively do not open,” and Ed attached a devil tarot card to the case, but no one knows why.
Also, after the exorcism, the priest has car troubles and was in a car accident. His car was literally ripped in half. He noted seeing the doll right before he crashed.
So, they took care of her, Annabelle can’t hurt anyone anymore?
Wrong.
(Source: Telegraph UK)
The Warrens believe that Annabelle is responsible for at least one death. A couple visited the museum, and the guy came right up to her case and started banging on it and saying, “hurt me like you did Lou.” Yeah, Ed didn’t like this. The museum is literally in their basement. Yes, the Warrens just had the most possessed and evilest shit, chilling in their basement. As someone who hated basements, I can’t imagine.
Ed kicked them out, and not three hours later, the guy lost control of his motorcycle and crashed. He died on impact, and the girlfriend remained in the hospital for over a year.
Ed also told a story about a police officer he knew who visited the museum. Lorraine was helping the police with a missing person’s case and was curious about the museum. While the officer and Ed were down there, Ed got a phone call. Not 1o minutes later, the guy runs up the stairs freaking out. He refused to talk to anyone but Lorraine about it. Ed went into the basement and found everything thrown around the room and instantly knew that the police officer had picked her up. Only Lorraine knows what happened to him, but whatever it was, it caused him to resign.
Buzzfeed unsolved episode:
That one guy taunted the fuck out of Annebelle I almost couldn’t watch.
They used flashlights to communicate with the spirit, and it was very responsive. They had a light on either side of her case and would tell her to turn on the left and turn off the right, and she would. It was pretty eerie to watch.
Of course, Ghost Adventures were interested in the most haunted doll in the world.
There are a couple of episodes on Annabelle by Ghost Adventures, but the one we watched was when Tony brought the doll to Zack Bagens’ haunted museum.
As soon as Annabelle arrives, shit starts happening. It could be Annabelle, but it could also be all the other haunted shit in this museum reacting to her presence.
The first thing that happens is they hear a child whining. This is even before she is out of the box.
Tony handles her with care and doesn’t touch her for too long. It’s obvious he fears the doll and then again, who doesn’t. I found it interesting that as careful as he was, he had he stuffed in a box, not a case but stuffed. I don’t know; I had red flags.
Tony made it very clear that no one was allowed to touch the doll.
Bagans got butthurt about it. Tony tried to explain that by touching her, you would be opening the door to another realm, and no one knows how to close that shit. Think about the police officer’s story; something happened down there.
(Source: Ghost Adventures)
Anyway, during there investigation, lights went on and off, anomalies caught on camera.
So, they put Annabelle in the haunted doll room, and Bagens think that one of the other dolls, Cynthia, interacted with Annabelle.
They experienced energy serges, EVP of a female voice saying, “listen,” followed by a deep voice saying, “Annabelle.” Meaning, I’m Annabelle, bitch!”
They asked the doll, “What do you want, Annebelle?” and she literally said, “You.” Goosebumps!!
They also hear growls.
I forgot to mention that while all of this is going, Zack is begging Tony to let him hold her. He’s like, “I will give you anything.”
Eventually, Annabelle hypnotizes Zach, and he approaches her like he’s going to touch her. Tony is watching him from home base and is yelling at Zack on the walky-talky saying “she will possess you” and “don’t touch her.” Next thing you know, Zach grabs her foot. He said he doesn’t remember doing it. Was he telling the truth, or was he lying to touch the most haunted doll in the world? Either way, Tony storms in and takes Annabelle, saying, “You don’t fucking touch the doll.”
It was pretty insane. Like Tony was super possessive over the doll, does she have some sort of tie to him without him realizing it, or is he just that afraid of what will happen? The Warrens aren’t here anymore, and it’s his possession. Maybe he can’t handle it, simple as that. I mean, that’s a lot.
And that’s about it. Unfortunately, the museum closed last year due to zoning violations. Maybe it was because Lorraine no longer lived there. I would absolutely love to visit this place, but best believe we are saging before and after.
No chances will be taken!
Anyway, until next time,
-Tye
Always Cite Those Sources:
“Annabelle (Doll).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annabelle_(doll).
Evon, Dan. “Did the Annabelle Doll Escape from the Warren Museum?” Snopes.com, www.snopes.com/fact-check/annabelle-doll-escape-museum/.
King, Cody. “'I'd Be Concerned If Annabelle Really Did Leave': Museum Owner Puts Haunted Doll Escape Rumors to Rest.” KSAT, KSAT San Antonio, 15 Aug. 2020, www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/08/15/id-be-concerned-if-annabelle-really-did-leave-museum-owner-puts-haunted-doll-escape-rumors-to-rest/.
Lang, Kevin. “Real Annabelle Doll - Annabelle Movie True Story, Annabelle Higgins.” HistoryvsHollywood.com, History vs. Hollywood, 18 Oct. 2019, www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/annabelle/.
McLoughin, Pam. “Real 'Annabelle' Story Shared by Lorraine Warren at Milford's Lauralton Hall.” New Haven Register, New Haven Register, 28 June 2019, www.nhregister.com/lifestyle/article/Real-Annabelle-story-shared-by-Lorraine-11382545.php.
“Three Stages of Possession.” Ahh Real Demons! - Home, ahhrealdemons.weebly.com/three-stages-of-possession.html.
Vejvoda, Jim. “Annabelle Missing? The Real Doll Has Not Escaped From Warren Museum.” IGN, IGN, 14 Aug. 2020, www.ign.com/articles/annabelle-missing-doll-real-museum.
Comments