Annabelle: Evil or Bringer of Vengeance?
The Haunted Doll's Dark Journey and the Warrens' Shadowed Legacy
As a paranormal investigator since the early 90s, I’ve read and heard a lot about Annabelle the haunted doll and the Warrens over the years. Something didn’t feel right to me about the Warrens though, I felt they weren’t authentic spiritual people and that they were hiding something. I took a real dislike to Ed Warren in particular, that gut feeling I get never steers me wrong, but I had nothing specific come to me intuitively, and had no way to research them back in those pre internet days.
When I watched “The Conjuring” movies which were very loosely based on Annabelle and their lives, it piqued my interest again, and now we have Google, I discovered some distressing information which made sense of my visceral gut reaction back in the day.
Fast forward to today.
With the recent rumours of Annabelle going missing on a tour of the US and a plantation catching fire, my instinct kicked in that maybe, just maybe Annabelle is only interested in retribution? Perhaps her targets have some nasty secrets that she brings to light and exacts vengeance accordingly?
I did a deep dive… Let’s explore what is known.
In 1970, a 28-year-old Hartford nursing student named Donna received an antique Raggedy Ann doll from her mother as a birthday gift. Initially, the doll seemed like a sweet, harmless present, but soon, Donna and her roommate Angie began noticing strange occurrences. The doll appeared to change positions on its own, would even appear in a different room from the one she was left in when they left the apartment. They discovered handwritten notes on parchment paper in pencil, reading messages like "Help me" and "Help us," despite not keeping such paper or any pencils in their home.
Disturbed by these events, the roommates set up traps to catch anyone coming in to mess with them… but found no evidence of anyone entering the apartment while they were gone.
They consulted a medium who claimed that the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle Higgins who lived on the land long before the current building was there. The spirit allegedly felt comfortable with the women and asked for permission to stay with them. Moved by this, the roommates allowed the entity to reside within the doll.
However, the situation escalated when a male friend named Lou was staying there and had a nightmare involving the doll. He later experienced a violent encounter that left him with claw marks.
In an interview with the Warrens, Donna and Angie said;
“He was over the apartment getting ready to take a trip. About 10 or 11 o‘clock we were reading over maps. We heard sounds in Donna’s room that made us think that someone had broken into the apartment. Lou tiptoed over to the door, as he did this the sounds stopped. When he switched on the light no one was there, no one except the Annabelle doll. The doll was tossed on the floor in a corner. Lou went in alone and walked over to the thing to see if anything unusual had happened.
Lou recalled:
“But as I got close to the doll, I got the distinct impression that somebody was behind me. I swung around instantly and, well…."
"He won’t talk about that part,"
said the roommate.
"When Lou turned around there wasn’t anybody there, but he suddenly yelled and grabbed for his chest. He was doubled over, cut and bleeding when I got to him. Blood was all over his shirt. Lou was shaking and scared and we went back out into the living room. We then opened his shirt and there on his chest was what looked to be sort a of claw mark! There were seven cuts in the claw mark. Three vertical, and four horizontal. Each of the marks hurt like burns, Lou did not lose consciousness, the wounds healed almost immediately, being gone 2 days after.”
We don’t know anything about Donna, Angie, Lou or his life, other than he was friends with the ladies at the time, and really didn’t like the doll even before he was attacked.
The Warrens' Intervention
Seeking help, Donna and Angie turned to the church, who referred them to Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and founders of the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR). The Warrens concluded that the doll was not possessed by a benign spirit but was instead manipulated by a demonic entity aiming to possess a human host. They performed a blessing on the apartment and took the doll into their custody, where they alleged their brand new car malfunctioned several times, losing power, brakes and steering on dangerous bends on the journey home. The Warrens alleged Annabelle moved around their home too, so they placed the doll in a specially crafted glass case in their Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, with a sign warning: "Positively Do Not Open" instructing everyone who came near not to touch it, ever.
According to Ed, a young man after hearing Ed’s account of the doll, began to bang on the case insisting that if the doll can put scratches on people then he wanted to be scratched too. Ed told him to leave and escorted him out of the building.
On the way home the young man and his girlfriend were laughing and making fun of the doll when he lost control of his motorcycle and went head on into a tree. The young man was killed instantly but his girlfriend survived and was hospitalised for over a year. When asked what happened, the woman explained that they were laughing about the doll when they lost control of the motorcycle.
Annabelle on Tour:
The Warrens' Occult Museum has been closed to the public since Lorraine’s death in 2019 but in recent years, the doll has been featured in various paranormal exhibits and allegedly haunted locations across the United States, including the "Devils on the Run" tour I mentioned earlier. These appearances have sparked widespread interest and panicked speculation. The tour kicked off with a multi-day stop at the West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville between 8–11 May. Dubbed the 'W.V.P. Lockdown with Annabelle,' the event allowed visitors to participate in overnight investigations, listen to lectures from paranormal experts, and view the doll in person, with her door open, under supervision.
Annabelle made an appearance at the Psychic & Spirit Fest at Victoria's Black Swan Inn in San Antonio, Texas. Held on 17–18 May, the event included a line-up of psychics, mediums, demonologists, and spiritual advisors, with Annabelle as its centrepiece.
From there, the tour is expected to continue through Illinois, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and other states throughout the summer.
Rumours circulated on social media platforms claiming that Annabelle had gone missing during the tour stop in San Antonio, Texas. Speculations linked the doll's alleged disappearance to a fire in Louisiana at a former plantation and the escape of ten murderers from a local prison.
However, these claims of Annabelle being missing were swiftly denied by NESPR’s lead investigator, Dan Rivera, who posted a video stating that Annabelle remained securely housed in her glass case and was back at the museum.
Was this true, or had Annabelle disappeared for a while and been returned?
The Nottaway plantation was being used as a wedding venue instead of a monument to the suffering of the many enslaved people who built it and lived and died there in misery. Was this spirit righting wrongs?
A medium had a vision some years ago of a spirit inside the doll, describing her as a black woman whose mouth was gagged. Could Annabelle be her vessel?
The identity of the spirit associated with the Annabelle doll has been a subject of debate among psychics, mediums, and paranormal investigators. Over the years, various interpretations have emerged, each offering a different perspective on the entity’s nature.
Lets dive deeper…
The “Annabelle Higgins” Narrative
As I described earlier, in the early 1970s, a psychic medium consulted by the doll’s owners claimed that the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle Higgins resided within the doll. According to this account, Annabelle had died tragically on the property and sought comfort by inhabiting the doll. The medium conveyed that the spirit felt safe with the owners and wished to remain with them. What had occurred on that land back in time?
The Warrens’ Interpretation: Demonic Deception
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren challenged the “Annabelle Higgins” story, asserting that no child’s spirit was involved. They believed the entity was a malevolent, non-human force using the guise of a young girl to manipulate the doll’s owners. Lorraine Warren reportedly sensed intense evil emanating from the doll, describing it as one of the most dangerous objects in their collection.
My Take:
Another interpretation would be the spirit(s) around Annabelle being morally outraged and upset by any “wrongdoers” e.g. Ed Warren’s sexual proclivities throughout their marriage, and Lorraine’s denial of them, especially the conduct around the 15 year old “adopted” girl Judith Penney living with them. She and her husband are now in charge of NESPR, the tours… more on Judith later…
In recent years, other psychics and mediums have offered additional insights:
Multiple Spirits Theory: Some suggest that the doll may have attracted multiple spirits over the decades since the 1970s, drawn in by the negative reputation.
Energetic Parasite: Others describe the presence within the doll as an undefined malevolent force or “energetic parasite,” rather than a specific spirit. I don’t feel this fits.
Deceptive Entity: A recurring theme is the idea of a deceptive entity pretending to be benign to gain trust, only to reveal its true, sinister nature later.
My take:
I’m of the opinion that it began with a spirit of a girl interacting with the doll, with more spirits being drawn in by it’s reputation over the decades since. I’m certain more than one earthbound entity is drawn to the doll, some malevolent. They all come and go, using the doll as a vehicle to mess with negative people and places.
The tour is a big mistake going forward, especially the kind of venues booked such as haunted old prisons, places with dark histories, mentally ill former residents, or violent multiple deaths on site. It will result in more entities hitching a ride with Annabelle, using the doll and her notoriety as a vessel for more activity.
I’ve seen photos of the cabinet door open, people very close to it. One photo online even shows a malevolent looking face in the cabinet.
The Warrens' Controversial Legacy: Allegations and Revelations
While Ed and Lorraine Warren have been celebrated for their paranormal investigations, their personal lives have come under scrutiny. In 2014, a woman named Judith Penney alleged that she was “adopted” by the Warrens and had a sexual relationship with Ed Warren that began when she was 15 years old and he was in his mid-30s. Penney claimed that she lived in the Warrens' home for decades and that Lorraine was aware of the relationship. She also alleged that she became pregnant with Ed's child in 1978 and was persuaded by Lorraine to have an abortion to avoid scandal.
Further allegations included claims of physical abuse within the Warrens' household. Penney described instances where Ed allegedly struck Lorraine, leading to concerns about domestic violence. These revelations contrast sharply with the devout and wholesome image portrayed by the Warrens in media and film adaptations.
Interestingly, when negotiating film rights for "The Conjuring" series, Lorraine Warren stipulated that neither she nor Ed could be depicted engaging in extramarital affairs or criminal activities, including sexual misconduct. This clause ensured that the films maintained the couple's public image, omitting the darker aspects of their personal lives.
With all these revelations, and being dragged around haunted locations on tour… no wonder the spirits of Annabelle are active. I’ll keep monitoring the situation and see what transpires.
What do you feel is the truth surrounding Annabelle?
*Note: The information presented here in this article is based on reported accounts and allegations. Readers are encouraged to consider multiple perspectives and sources when evaluating historical and contemporary claims.*
