The Annabelle doll tour is a demonic death trap — but nobody’s taking it seriously

Many people are familiar with the doll named “Annabelle” through the three movies that are part of the “Conjuring” universe.

In a disturbing recent development, the doll is now touring the country, and anyone who purchases a ticket can take pictures with it, talk to it, and touch its case. Technically, touching is against the rules, but videos show people making contact with the case while taking pictures.

A demon — a spiritual being with a will and intelligence — has attached itself to this object, and its intentions are malevolent.

To explain how dangerous this is, I must first provide important background. Like other cases Ed and Lorraine Warren were involved in that are part of the movie franchise, the “Annabelle” films have little in common with the actual events surrounding the doll.

The real-life case, as recorded in “The Demonologist,” a book about the Warrens, involved a 25-year-old nurse residing in Connecticut who was given a Raggedy Ann doll as a birthday gift by her mother. The nurse shared an apartment with a female roommate who was also a nurse. Not long after the doll’s arrival, it began to mysteriously change locations around the apartment. The women then began finding short messages written on pieces of paper, including “Help us.” They also once found three drops of blood on the doll’s chest.

Perplexed by what was happening, the women sought out a psychic medium to try to find answers. The medium informed them that the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a deceased 7-year-old girl named Annabelle Higgins, who had died near the apartment building. Feeling sympathy for Annabelle’s plight, they gave her permission to stay with them and inhabit the doll.

Not surprisingly, these details turned out to be lies.

Things escalated when the boyfriend of Annabelle’s owner was attacked one night in the doll’s presence with seven claw-like slashes across his chest. Alarmed at this violence, the women contacted an Episcopal priest, and the case was referred to Ed and Lorraine, who interviewed the nurses.

All the evidence pointed to demonic activity, and the Warrens contacted a second Episcopal priest and asked him to come and bless the apartment. Following the blessing, the nurse asked the Warrens to take the doll with them to ensure there wouldn’t be any further problems.

This, however, would not be the end of the attacks associated with the doll. The Warrens maintained that three different people who belittled the doll in their home were either killed or seriously injured in vehicle accidents the same day they made their comments.

Tragically, the main organizer of the current “Devil’s on the Run” tour displaying the doll, Dan Rivera, died suddenly in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 13. He was only 54 years old and had just presented to a group of ticket-holders the day before.

Some of the reasons the tour organizers have given for exhibiting the doll include educating the public, keeping the Warrens’ legacy alive, and funding a new museum where the doll can reside.

Although well intentioned, this tour is exceptionally irresponsible.

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There were good reasons, as we’ve seen, that Ed Warren placed that famous sign on the doll’s storage cabinet: “Warning, positively do not open.” If the stories of those who made light of the doll are true, what might happen to scores or hundreds of other people now engaging in similar behavior?

Although the tour operators believe they’re providing an educational experience, it’s clear from photos and videos that many attenders are there to make jokes, take selfies with the doll, and generally frolic in front of it.

At the time of this writing, Dan Rivera’s autopsy results are still pending, and the coroner has said the cause of death was “nothing suspicious.”

Perhaps the autopsy will reveal that Rivera had a chronic condition of some kind that led to his untimely death. I don’t wish to demean his memory, but given that this doll, which has allegedly killed or severely injured people in the past, was being transported around the country and made into a carnival-like spectacle, one has to wonder if his death was more than a coincidence.

Notably, the Warrens’ grandson, paranormal investigator Chris McKinnell, said the following prior to Rivera’s death: “They’re claiming this [tour] is what my grandparents would have wanted. It’s not. My grandfather’s warning still stands: ‘Positively do not open.’ If they keep doing this without understanding what they’re handling, someone is going to get seriously hurt.”

Unfortunately, the situation has taken an even greater turn for the worse.

Just a few days ago, a comedian named Matt Rife announced on Instagram that he and a YouTuber named Elton Castee had purchased the Warrens’ home and are now the “legal guardians and caretakers of all 750 haunted artifacts and items in the Warren Museum, including the Annabelle doll.” They don’t legally own the artifacts, which remain the property of the Warrens’ daughter and son-in-law, but the items will be under their control for “at least the next five years,” according to Rife.

Horrifically, the two intend to turn the home into a kind of paranormal Airbnb.

“You are going to be able to soon book a night or a weekend and stay at the Warrens’ house and investigate the house … as well as the museum and all the artifacts inside of it,” Rife said.

In an interview with a Connecticut news program, Castee added that the house will be supplied with a complete collection of ghost-hunting equipment, so that guests can try to make contact with any spirits dwelling there.

Non-Christians who interact with these objects are placing themselves in harm’s way and have no defense from demonic attacks.

I hope no harm will come to anyone involved in this tour or the conversion of the Warrens’ home to an attraction for paranormal thrill-seekers. I’m sad to say, however, that it’s highly likely that misfortune will strike again.

Rife and Castee, and the organizers of the Annabelle tour, are under the impression that with the correct precautions, people can safely interact with items that have demonic attachments. They believe that if someone sprays himself with holy water, makes the sign of the cross, and employs other rituals, that these will offer protection from demons looking for opportunities to destroy human lives.

From a biblical perspective, this approach is misguided.

It’s not holy water or rituals that protect a person from the attacks of Satan, but the fact that through regeneration the person has been delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:12-13; Ephesians 6:11-13). Because Christians have become children of the King, they gain his divine protection and can call upon his authority to drive away the enemy (Luke 10:19; Ephesians 6:11-13; James 4:7).

Non-Christians who interact with these objects are placing themselves in harm’s way and have no defense from demonic attacks. Even Christians can invite trouble into their lives if they’re not cautious — and most Christians have no business dealing with these kinds of items. They should never be sought out for the sake of entertainment.

Many in the paranormal community describe the Annabelle doll as having “negative energy.” This suggests the doll is something like a radioactive object that can contaminate a person. But this is a mischaracterization.

In reality, a demon — a spiritual being with a will and intelligence — has attached itself to this object, and its intentions are malevolent. And, yes, the demon can afflict people who come into contact with the doll.

This makes it much more dangerous than something merely giving off negative vibes.

I fear that what lies ahead for many non-believers who interact with the doll and other items collected by the Warrens is the fate of the sons of Sceva, recorded in the book of Acts. Although they weren’t Christians, they attempted to use the name of Jesus, “whom Paul preaches,” to cast a demon out of a possessed person. But the demon replied to them: “‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (Acts 19:13-16).