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Annabelle is a haunted doll residing at The Warren's Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut. According to demonologists, Ed and Lorraine Warren, the doll is demonically possessed. The Warren's story served as the inspiration for the films Annabelle and The Conjuring. Annabelle has been compared to Robert the Doll and was described in Gerald Brittle 2002 biography of Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Demonlogist.

Story

The doll was purchased at a second-hand Raggedy Ann store and given as a birthday gift in 1970 to "Donna" (or "Deirdre Bernard") a 28-year-old nursing student. The doll is about the size of a four-year-old child. Donna's roommate, "Angie" (or "Lara") said the doll would move on its own, sometimes crossing its arms or legs. Both women noticed that doors which had been left open would sometimes close when no one was at the apartment. The roommates have found notes with the messages like "Help Us" and "Help Cal" around the house in what looked like a child's handwriting. The notes were written in pencil on parchment paper, despite the fact that the house did not have either item. The roommates began to suspect burlars, however it soon became clear the notes were not left by someone entering the house as there was no trace of their entrance.

One night Donna and Angie came home to find the doll with what looked like blood on its hands and chest. Upon closer inspection, a red liquid suddenly appeared all over the doll. Worried, the women contacted spirit medium who performed a séance on the property. The medium said the doll was possessed by the spirit of a girl named Annabelle Higgins who lived on the property before it became an apartment complex. She was found dead in a field when she was seven-years-old. The medium reported that Annabelle wanted to live with them in the house and so possessed the doll. Donna named the doll Annabelle after learning about the story. Afterwards, the roommates contacted the Warrens to investigate.

The doll later became malevolent and attacked roommates' friend "Lou" (or "Cal") after he had expressed his dislike for the "evil" doll. Lou says that one night he awoke to find Annabelle "slowly gilding up his leg" before moving onto his chest and attempting to strangle him. Lou claimed he attempted to push the doll off, before fainting. The next day Lou was at the house when he felt a present behind him, and when he sudden was cut and left with seven claw marks on his chest, three vertically and four horizontally. Although he felt intense pain during the attack, the wounds healed almost immediately. Lou described the the cuts as having a hot, burning sensation. After the incident, they contacted an Episcopal priest named Father Kevins, whom they knew because he was a professor at a local junior college. Kevins referred them to a Church higher up, Father Everett.

According to the Warrens the doll was possessed not by a spirit, but a demon, and had an Episcopal priest, exorcise the apartment. His rationale was that the parchment paper and drops of blood were symbolic of intent. At the same time, a human spirit did not have the power to perform some of the acts that Annabelle had. Warren also explained that there were three mistakes made. First, they gave the doll attention, and the demon inflicted pain and suffering instead of reciprocating their care and affections. Second, because the spirit was a spirit of deception (The Father of Lies), it channeled false information through the medium, thus misleading them about the true nature of the occurrences. As a result of the séance, the women had also given the spirit permission for further acts. The Warrens also tell the women that they would have been killed in around two to three weeks. The Warrens had Father Everett exorcise the apartment. Everett took five minutes per room while performing an exorcisism-blessing. After he was done, he blessed every person at the apartment. Instead of attempting to expel evil spirits from the area, he filled the rooms with the positive power of God.

Later, the Warrens took the doll home with them. They put Annabelle in the back seat and decided to avoid the Interstate. During the drive, the Warrens claimed that their car stalled several times and the breaks failed. Annabelle was in the Warren's living room for many years, where she would occasionally levitate. She also has shown as dislike for priests, as she has tried to attack priests who come to the Warren's house. Annabelle is currently at the Warren's Occulation museum. Several incidents have been reported since the doll has been in the museum. A priest claims to have been a near-fatal car crash after telling the doll, "you can’t hurt anyone". In another incident, a couple came to the occulation museum and mocked the doll, and the man also slammed his fist on Annabelle's case. Later they were in a motorcycle crash that killed the man and left the woman hospitalized for a year.

In popular culture

The Annabelle story is the inspiration for the 2013 film The Conjuring and its 2014 prequel Annabelle. Many details are changed from the Warren's original account of the story. The actual doll is a rag doll, unlike the films which portrays it as a porcelain doll.

See also

• Robert (doll)

References

1. Bryan Alexander (1 October 2014). "'Annabelle' joins ranks of freaky dolls in horror films". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
2. Eidell, Lynsey (2014-10-07). "The Real-Life Story Behind Annabelle Is Even More Bone-Chilling Than the Movie". Glamour. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
3. Joal Ryan (3 October 2014). "How the Real Doll Behind 'Annabelle' Became Even Freakier for the Movies". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
4. . Travel Channel. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
5. Squires, John (2014-01-29). "Meet Robert; The Haunted Doll That Inspired Child's Play". iHorror. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
6. Brittle, Gerald (September 13, 2002). The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren. iUniverse.
7. ^ Rebecka Schumann (2014-10-02). "'Annabelle' True Story: 9 Freaky Facts About The Real Doll Haunting Ahead Of Movie Release". International Business Times.
8. ^ Brittle chapter 3
9. McLoughlin, Pam (October 4, 2014). "Real 'Annabelle' story shared by Lorraine Warren at Milford's Lauralton Hall". New Haven Register. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
10. "Annabelle (2014)". History vs. Hollywood. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
11. "Annabelle the Devil Doll". Mysteries at the Museum. Travel Channel. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
12. Balzano, Christopher; Weisberg, Tim. Haunted Objects: Stories of Ghosts on Your Shelf.
13. ^ "Annabelle". Retrieved March 11, 2015.
14. Nancy Lynch (2014-10-28). "The story behind the 'evil' and 'dangerous' Annabelle doll". AOL.

External links

• Annabelle Information on the Warren's webiste

• Dolls
• Urban legends