A three-foot Raggedy Ann doll named Annabelle is touring America in a van, drawing thousands of paranormal enthusiasts willing to pay fifty dollars to stand near what they believe is one of the world's most haunted objects. The doll, quarantined by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in the 1970s after nursing students reported supernatural activity, has become the centerpiece of horror films that earned $2.8 billion and spawned the Devils on the Run Tour organized by the New England Society for Psychic Research.
According to Esquire, the doll's origin story involves a nursing student, "Debbie," who received the Raggedy Ann as a gift in Hartford, Connecticut. After the roommates began treating it like a real child, strange events allegedly occurred, including levitating arms, mysterious notes, and physical attacks on visitors. The Warrens took possession of the doll, claiming it housed an evil spirit rather than the benevolent child ghost the students believed they had contacted.
The tour has sparked bitter family feuds between Tony Spera, who married into the Warren family, and Chris McKinnell, the Warrens' grandson. Each accuses the other of exploiting Annabelle for profit while claiming to protect the Warren legacy. The doll travels in a specially constructed cabinet with warnings not to open it, and is handled by team members wearing gloves, sometimes accompanied by a priest.
"I think a lot of what I experienced when Annabelle was here wasn't necessarily so much Annabelle's energy as it was Tony Spera's energy," paranormal investigator Zak Bagans told Esquire after hosting the doll at his Las Vegas museum.
Previously:
• Goth Raggedy Ann and Andy
• Happy Public Domain Day 2009!
• Here are the most popular toys of the year, going back to 1920
