You may have heard that a 54-year-old paranormal investigator named Dan Rivera died a few days ago while on tour with a supposedly possessed Raggedy Ann doll named "Annabelle." I know I have, because about two dozen loyal readers of Skeptophilia have sent me links about the story.
According to the most recent news releases, police found no signs of foul play or anything suspicious about Rivera's death, although more information may come out once an autopsy is performed.
Annabelle has a long history. Her reputation for supernatural hijinks goes back to the 1970s, when her owner reported odd and scary behavior (moving on her own, leaving scrawled and threatening notes, knocking stuff over in the middle of the night) to none other than Ed and Lorraine Warren. Ed Warren was a "self-taught demonologist," which is pretty much the only kind there is at the moment, given that Cotton Mather, Tomás de Torquemada, and Girolamo Savonarola are no longer in charge of designing university curricula. Lorraine was a "light-trance medium" who assisted her husband on his demon-hunting expeditions. If you've heard of them, it's probably because of their involvement in the famous Amityville Horror case, which was the subject of much hype and a movie featuring one (1) puking nun. (Interesting fact: my wife, who grew up on Long Island, worked in a record store in Amityville during the height of the craze. She and her coworkers were constantly being asked "Where's the Horror House?" Their stock answer was "Take the first left, go about a mile to the third stoplight, then turn right. Three blocks down, on the right." In point of fact, none of them knew nor cared where the Horror House was, because they rightly believed that the entire story was bullshit.)
In any case, Annabelle was given to the Warrens, who locked her up in a cabinet in the museum of the occult they ran, but they said they still periodically found her running loose when they got there in the morning, and more than once they heard eerie laughter when no one was there. This drew the attention of various people, all of whom regretted getting involved. These allegedly included a skeptic who was given "psychic slashes" that drew blood; a priest who insulted Annabelle and forthwith ran his car into a tree; and a homicide detective who was stabbed by the doll, "receiving injuries that forced him into an early retirement."
The museum closed after Lorraine's death at age 92 in 2019, and the New England Society for Psychic Research took charge of Annabelle, sending her out earlier this year on a "Devils On the Run" tour that showcased items from the Warrens' collection.
You have to wonder why they did this. I would think the members of the New England Society for Psychic Research would, by and large, believe that all this possessed-doll stuff is completely reasonable. So wouldn't they go, "Hell no, we gotta keep Annabelle locked up, she's too dangerous, someone could get hurt"? Nope, they sent her right out on tour, suggesting that either they (1) believe Annabelle's powers are real but don't give a damn if she does injure someone, (2) believe in some psychic stuff but figure Annabelle is nonsense, or (3) don't believe any of it but saw a good opportunity to cash in on the fact that lots of other people do.
You also have to wonder what they think now that one of her handlers has died.
Of course, the great likelihood is that Rivera died of natural causes. I get that 54 is a pretty young age to drop dead; it'd be surprising, given that I am a 64-year-old person, if that thought didn't cross my mind. But I'm going to follow my Prime Directive of eliminating all the normal and natural explanations before jumping to a paranormal or supernatural one, and I think once we learn what the autopsy finds, it'll turn out Rivera had a heart attack or stroke.
So it's sad -- from the tributes written by his friends, he sounds like he was a good guy -- but unlikely to be due to the evil machinations of "Annabelle."
One of the people who sent me a link added the message, "Be careful what you write about her, though! She'll get even with you if you make fun!" My response to that is:
Ha ha ha ha ha, Annabelle, you are ugly and your mom dresses you funny. You've got a blank expression, a goofy smile, and what is that triangle-thing in the middle of your face supposed to be? You call that a nose? Oh, and you don't like my saying all that? What're you gonna do about it? Go ahead, girl, gimme your best shot. I dare you.
Okay, that should do it. I'm not sure what the priest said who ended up wrecking his car, but maybe this will be enough for some psychic retribution.
I'll report here if I have any sudden attacks of gout or bursitis or brain aneurysms or whatnot. Myself, I think I'll probably be okay, but we'll see. Gordon vs. Annabelle 2025 -- who are you rooting for?
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