HAUNTED RAGGEDY ANN DOLL – THE WARREN CASE FILE

Location: Warren Occult Museum, Monroe, Connecticut, USA
Investigators: Ed and Lorraine Warren
Date: Case investigated in 1970

Introduction

Annabelle is one of the most infamous haunted objects in modern paranormal history — a seemingly harmless Raggedy Ann doll said to be possessed by a malevolent, inhuman spirit.
The case became widely known through the work of Ed and Lorraine Warren, who investigated the doll in 1970 and later displayed it in their Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut.

Though popular culture reimagined Annabelle as a porcelain doll in The Conjuring (2013) and its spin-off films, the real Annabelle is a soft cloth doll — and her story is rooted in the Warrens’ early demonology files.

The Origin of the Case

In 1970, a young nursing student named Donna, who lived with her roommate Angie in Hartford, Connecticut, received a Raggedy Ann doll as a birthday gift from her mother.
At first, the doll appeared innocent — a cheerful red-yarn-haired toy that sat quietly on Donna’s bed.

But within weeks, strange things began to happen.
Donna and Angie would leave the apartment, only to return and find the doll in different positions or rooms. At times, it seemed to have crossed the apartment while they were away.

Soon after, they began discovering small notes written on parchment paper — even though neither woman kept such paper in their home. The messages were simple and chilling:

“Help us.”
“Help Lou.”

Their friend Lou, who often visited the apartment, was particularly uneasy around the doll. He claimed that it seemed to watch him, and he once experienced a vivid dream in which Annabelle climbed onto his chest and began strangling him.

The Escalation

One evening, Lou was napping when he woke suddenly to see the doll beside him. As he tried to move, he felt frozen in place. The doll reportedly began to slide up his leg toward his throat — and he blacked out.
When he awoke, he found deep claw-like scratches across his chest and abdomen. The wounds healed quickly but left the group terrified.

Convinced something evil was inhabiting the doll, Donna sought help from a medium, who claimed to contact the spirit inside. The medium explained that the doll was inhabited by the ghost of a seven-year-old girl named Annabelle Higgins, who had died in the area before the apartments were built. The spirit allegedly said it “felt loved” by Donna and Angie — and wanted to “stay and be cared for.”

Moved by compassion, Donna gave the spirit permission to remain.
According to the Warrens, that act of sympathy opened a door — allowing a nonhuman demonic entity to manifest through the doll.

The Warren Investigation

After the phenomena grew violent, the women contacted Father Hegan, a local Episcopal priest, who in turn reached out to Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Upon investigation, the Warrens concluded that no child’s spirit inhabited the doll.

“This was no ghost,” Ed Warren later wrote.
“It was a demon, masquerading as a child — a classic case of infestation and manipulation.”

According to their report:

• The doll was used as a conduit to draw attention and sympathy.
• The entity’s goal was possession, first of the doll’s owners, then of a living person.
• The scratches on Lou’s body were seen as a direct attack from the demonic force.

The Warrens arranged for an exorcism of the apartment, performed by Father Cooke, and took the doll into their custody for safekeeping.

The Warren Occult Museum

After its removal, the Warrens reported that even transporting Annabelle was dangerous. During the drive back to Monroe, their car reportedly lost brakes and swerved repeatedly, forcing Ed to sprinkle holy water over the doll to stabilise the situation.

The doll was eventually placed in a locked glass case inside the Warren Occult Museum, where it remains today.
A sign warns visitors:

“Warning: Positively Do Not Open.”

Over the years, many museum visitors claimed to experience strange sensations near the case — nausea, unease, and sudden temperature drops.
In one notorious incident, a young man reportedly mocked the doll during a tour, taunting it before leaving on his motorcycle. According to museum staff, he crashed and died shortly afterward — fuelling the legend further.

Cultural Legacy

The Annabelle case remains one of the most widely cited examples of demonic manipulation through an object. It inspired the Annabelle film trilogy (Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, Annabelle Comes Home), as well as its parent franchise The Conjuring.

Despite Hollywood’s fictionalised portrayal, the real Annabelle continues to be kept in containment under the supervision of Tony Spera, the Warrens’ son-in-law and current director of the New England Society for Psychic Research.

As of 2025, the original doll remains secured in storage beside the former Warren residence in Monroe, after the museum’s closure to the public.

Analysis

From an occult perspective, the Annabelle case exemplifies the Law of Invitation described by Ed Warren: an innocent act of sympathy or curiosity can open channels to inhuman forces seeking embodiment.
Whether one believes the story literally or symbolically, Annabelle represents a potent archetype — the childlike vessel of malevolence, echoing ancient fears of animism, possession, and false innocence.

🔗 See also on Occult World

• Ed and Lorraine Warren – America’s Demonologists
• Haunted Objects: Cursed Dolls and Spirit Attachments
• The Smurl Haunting – A Case of Demonic Infestation
• Demonology and the Law of Invitation
• The Conjuring Universe: Occult Cinema and Cultural Impact