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By Marni Rose McFall
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The team behind the New England Society for Psychic Research have issued an update following reports of a missing haunted doll which sent social media users into a frenzy.
They are keen to point out that the public was never in any danger from the Anabelle doll, one of the most infamous 'haunted,' objects in pop culture.
Speaking to Newsweek the society's director Tony Spera and paranormal investigator Ryan Buellconfirmed the doll's location, shortly after Buell took to social media to quash speculation.
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The Context
Anabelle is a Raggedy Ann doll made famous by Ed and Lorraine Warren, a husband-and-wife team of demonologists and paranormal investigators. The Warrens have said the doll is a demonic entity, and it is kept in a glass house at the Warren Occult Museum in Connecticut. The museum has been closed to the public since 2018 due to zoning violations.
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A version of the doll featured in the 2013 horror movie, The Conjuring, which led to three spinoff movies, Annabelle (2014), Annabelle: Creation (2017), Annabelle Comes Home (2019), further popularizing and cementing it in paranormal pop culture.
What To Know
A slew of videos hit social media recently, some of which have racked up millions of views, claiming that the doll was missing.
But this was untrue. "The doll has never missing," Tony Spera the Director of New England Society for Psychic Research told Newsweek via email. "We had taken the doll on a brief tour to several locations, so paranormal enthusiasts could witness the real Annabelle."
The tour had spooked horror fans, as Lorraine Warren previously stated that the doll should never be moved.
@christopherkeily, in a TikTok video viewed 2.6 million times as of reporting, said: "The Annabelle doll is missing... Lorraine tried to warn you, she said this doll should never be moved because it's extremely dangerous."
And Alex, a TikTok user in a video viewed 2.9 million times as of reporting, said: "Lorraine Warren told you all not to move the Annabelle doll. She said don't move her... Leave the doll alone."
"The public was never in any danger and the doll was never missing," Spera told Newsweek.
Buell also told Newsweek "The claim that Ed & Lorraine never moved Annabelle is false. Every so often, they would showcase Annabelle at a lecture or speaking event so people curious about the items could view the items."
It's not clear exactly what has prompted the storm of speculation about the doll. Some creators have linked the Anabelle doll being on tour to other recent major news events, including the Nottoway Plantation Fire, and the escape of 10 inmates from a jail in New Orleans.
Rumors about the doll have been extreme, and people have been seriously spooked.
Addressing the attention the doll has courted, Buell told Newsweek "Since we've taken to TikTok to document our journeys traveling with the items, we've seen a huge increase in attention. Part of me thinks this is the internet having fun with the lore of the items, but we also don't want false information spreading and people thinking that arguably the most haunted artifact in the world has gone missing."
In a video shared on Facebook by Buell, Dan Rivera of the New England Society for Psychic Research explained where the doll is.
"Annabelle is in the Warren's Occult Museum," Rivera says in the video. He then films inside of the museum, ultimately capturing the doll in its box. A text overlay on the video then reads "Annabelle is back home resting. For now."
What People Are Saying
Tony Spera the Director of New England Society for Psychic Research told Newsweek via email: "The doll was never out of our site or control. My team members, Dan Rivera, Chris Gilloren, and Wade Kirby kept her safely secured and guarded. We also traveled with a catholic priest, to ensure the public was safe. The priest frequently blessed the doll (in her protect enclosure), using binding ritualistic prayers."
Ryan Buell, a host and executive producer of A&E's "Paranormal State," in an email shared with Newsweek: "I have been a part of the tour and witnessed first-hand the amount of precautions and security the NESPR team enforced while traveling with Annabelle. The doll (and the other items) were under constant supervision at all times."
"The actual museum has been closed to the public for several years now due to zoning laws (the museum is housed in Ed & Lorraine's house in a quiet neighborhood). Due to the renewed interest in the Warrens and desire to see the museum, this is why NESPR takes select items out of the museum on occasion, so that way people can view them safely and learn about Ed & Lorraine Warrens work."
@marianneasfu, in a TikTok video viewed 4.7 million times as of reporting: "If you watch the Conjuring and Annabelle movies you will know how evil she truly is... I'll be praying for you all."
What's Next
Rivera said in the Facebook video that they plan to go to Rock Island Illinois with the doll in October.
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