Annabelle became a household name in 2014 when a horror film followed the story of a doll that became possessed, haunting a couple nearly to their death. Now, the real doll that inspired the movie and its sequels — also called Annabelle — is in the spotlight.

Dan Rivera, a paranormal investigator and a handler of “Annabelle,” a doll that’s rumored to be possessed by evil spirits, has died. Rivera, 54, died on July 13, 2025 in a Gettysburg, Pennsylvania hotel room, Adams County Chief Deputy Coroner Scott Pennewill tells TODAY.com.

The sudden death of 54-year-old Dan Rivera, who was on tour with Annabelle, said to be the world’s most haunted doll, is being mourned by the paranormal world.

While Annabelle the doll is real, the movie is not a true story. In Annabelle, a female cult member named Annabelle Higgins kills herself while holding the doll, and the demon she helped summon possesses it afterward.

In the film series, Annabelle is depicted as a porcelain doll. In real life, the Warrens claimed that spirits had possessed a Raggedy Ann doll. At one point in Annabelle Comes Home, Judy Warren ...