This episode, we’re venturing outside of the South to discuss Annabelle, possibly the world’s most famous haunted doll story. In the Conjuring movies, Annabelle is a tall, porcelain-esque doll with an angry, vengeful expression. She is possessed by a demon and, to say the least, exhibits some violent tendencies. And while the actual Annabelle is a much sweeter-looking Raggedy Ann doll, she is allegedly just as violent as her onscreen counterpart.
The story goes that Annabelle was given to Donna, a 28-year-old nurse, by Donna’s mother in 1970. It soon became clear that Annabelle was more than just a doll when she began moving around the apartment Donna shared with her roommate and eventually attacked the roommate’s fiancé. Soon after, Ed and Lorraine Warren came to investigate, becoming so concerned they removed Annabelle from the apartment altogether.
In this episode, we discuss the story of Annabelle and what we think of it — plus, Robin talks about the time she *thought* she had a real-life encounter with Annabelle!
Sources:
“Real ‘Annabelle’ story shared by Lorraine Warren at Milford’s Lauralton Hall” by Pam McLoughin, New Haven Register, Oct. 4, 2014: https://www.nhregister.com/living/article/Real-Annabelle-story-shared-by-Lorraine-11382545.php.
“The Legends Behind the Artifacts of ‘Annabelle Comes Home’” by Jessica Ariel Wendroff, The Hollywood Reporter, June 28, 2019: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/annabelle-comes-home-real-stories-behind-artifacts-1216397/.
“What to know about CT’s ‘haunted’ Annabelle doll” by Andrew DaRosa, CT Insider, updated Oct. 9, 2023: https://www.ctinsider.com/entertainment/article/Annabelle-Ed-Lorraine-Warren-Occult-Museum-CT-17501729.php.
“‘Annabelle: Creation’: The ‘true’ story of the evil doll star” by Bryan Alexander, USA Today, pub. Aug. 7, 2017; updated Aug. 20, 2017: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/08/07/annabelle-creation-true-story-evil-doll-star/543202001/.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annabelle_(doll)
“Annabelle Doll Escaped From Warren Museum Hoax Debunked” by Maria Vultaggio, heavy.: https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/08/annabelle-doll-escaped-warren-museum-hoax/.
“Meet The Real Haunted Doll Behind ‘Annabelle’,” written by Katie Serena; edited by John Kuroski, AllThat’sInteresting.com, pub. Oct., 1, 2023; accessed Feb. 2024: https://allthatsinteresting.com/annabelle-doll.
Haunted Hospitality Podcast 