Annabelle

The Warrens’ Final Case: Everything We Know About The Conjuring: Last Rites

Published by FrightFind On May 12, 2025

Prepare yourself. Lock the doors. You may want to sleep with the lights on. ED and Lorraine Warren are returning for one last paranormal investigation in The Conjuring: Last Rites. The 4th installment promises to be the darkest and most disturbing chapter yet in this cherished horror franchise. Dare I say we are already clutching our rosaries?

The Conjuring: Last Rites Plot and Cast

Set 5 years after The Devil Made Me Do It, we find Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga back at it as Ed and Lorraine Warren, but are now in semi-retirement. After Ed’s heart attack in the previous film, the paranormal Sherlocks have stepped back from active investigations, mainly focusing on university lectures. But when the Smurl family encounters a demonic presence in their Pennsylvania home, the Warrens are pulled back into the dark.

Director Michael Chaves isn’t pulling any punches, declaring:

“The Smurl case was the darkest thing we’ve ever seen in the series”.

The film also stars Ben Hardy as Tony Spera, alongside Rebecca Calder and Elliot Cowan as Janet and Jack Smurl, the terrorized homeowners. Mia Tomlinson also stars as Judy, the Warren’s now adult daughter, who is helping the aging couple take on this demonic presence.

Release Date

Mark your calendars for September 5th, 2025—that’s when Ed and Lorraine take on their final paranormal case, and it’s one for the books.

The Conjuring: Last Rites Teaser Trailer

The Conjuring: Last Rites isn’t just the end of a great movie series—it’s the conclusion of an era that transformed modern horror. As James Wan puts it:

“The beating heart of this franchise is Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson playing Ed and Lorraine”.

And now, after more than a decade of terrifying audiences worldwide, Ed and Lorraine are ready to face their final demons. We miss them already!

All Of The Films Inspired By Ghost Hunters Ed & Lorraine Warren

Published by FrightFind On June 1, 2024

Ed and Lorraine Warren gained popularity with most people when Hollywood started creating movies based on their real-life cases. These worldwide known ghost investigators had a talent for assisting families who moved into haunted homes. Their journey began in the late 1960s, and over the decades, they worked extensively with haunted houses and families who unfortunately lived in them. Let’s delve into the movies that were inspired by the Warrens’ experiences.

Movies Based On Ed and Lorraine Warren’s Investigations

Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror is one of the most terrifying films ever made. The film is based on the same book and was released in 1979. The book was based on the haunting experiences of the Lutz family when they moved into the home.

In 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed six of his family members in the home on 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. He was eventually convicted of second-degree murder in November 1975. He was sentenced to serve 25 years to life in prison. He died while he was in prison in 2021. Unaware of this story, George and Kathy Lutz moved into the Amityville house in December 1975. The realtor did end up telling them that there were some horrible murders in the home, but that didn’t seem to bother them at all. They felt that it was their dream come true. This house seemed to be a new start for them, and they were ready to raise their family there.

After living there for a very short time, the Lutz family began to experience some unexplainable paranormal events. When they moved into the house, one of George’s friends mentioned that they should get the home blessed by a priest. Neither George nor Kathy were religious, so they didn’t know what that meant.

The Catholic church sent Father Mancuso to their home to bless it. When he went into their home, he felt terrified. He heard a masculine voice telling him to leave the house. He told no one about his visit to the home and allegedly ended up getting very sick with a high fever and blisters after he left the home. The symptoms were much like those of people who claim they have stigmata.

The Real Amityville House

The Lutz family began to experience horrifying paranormal events in their home. Some of the rooms would be swarmed with flies for one second, and then they would vanish. They would also feel a “very strong force” that was trying to push them out of the house. There were stories of green ooze coming out of the walls and the water sometimes turning black in the baths and toilets. Not only this, but the children claimed to see a pig face with red eyes and a demon figure in a white hood. The Lutz family was driven to their breaking point on January 14, 1976. They left everything they owed behind and would never step into the house again.

Ed and Lorraine Warren were called to help the Lutz family with these paranormal events. Lorraine could feel the terrifying spirits in the home, so they did everything they could to help. After being there, the Lutz family wanted nothing else to do with the home.

Rumors have circulated that the Lutz family faked everything to become rich off of this story. Although proof of some of the paranormal events has been found, the Lutz family continues to say that it all happened to them in the Amityville house.

The Haunted

The Haunted was released in 1991, and it was one of the first films to actually use the Warrens as characters. This film didn’t get too much attention when it was released and has practically been forgotten about. It was based on the Smurl family haunting, a case that Ed and Lorraine Warren worked on and spent quite a bit of time on.

Janet Smurl moved into a home in Pittston, Pennsylvania, and felt it was the perfect home for them. It didn’t take long for the family to start encountering paranormal activity. The family would see strange figures walking around their home, and they would hear horrifying sounds at night. Strange stains would also start to show up on the walls of the home.

The Smurl family wasn’t sure how to deal with everything happening in the home. Janet found out about Ed and Lorraine and called them to get some help with these encounters. She felt like someone was trying to push her family out of the home, but she knew they couldn’t leave; they had put everything into this house. The Warrens discovered that there was a lot more going on in the home than anyone ever thought.

The Haunting in Connecticut

Released in 2009, The Haunting in Connecticut, based on the Snedeker House, focused on a family going through a terrible time in their lives. Sara Campbell and her son, Matt, were going through a challenging time in life. Matt, her son, was going through cancer treatments, and she and her husband, Peter, needed to find a home closer to the hospital.

The Real Snedeker House

Sara and Peter were also going through a hard time in their marriage. He was an alcoholic, and she was waiting tables and picking up any odd jobs that she could in order to help her son. As the couple discussed finding a rental home, Sara drove by one and knew it was fate. The homeowner was frustrated that no one wanted to live in it. He offered the family a free month if they would move in quickly. This didn’t strike the family as strange, and they felt that this was supposed to be their home.

The family decides that this is a deal they can’t refuse. They move in, and immediately, paranormal events begin to occur. Matt finds some strange pictures in his room, which is in the basement, and then Peter finds out that the home was a funeral home at some point. Matt begins to see visions in the home, and soon, there are figures in his room, and the more they show up, the closer they get to him.

A Haunting in Connecticut got a lot of backlash. Critics claim that Ed and Lorraine Warren sensationalized this entire story, and none of these events ever happened to the family. The Warrens always stood by their story that all of these events did happen inside this house.

The Conjuring Films

The Conjuring

The Real Conjuring House

The Conjuring franchise solidified Ed and Lorraine Warren’s validity in these paranormal cases. The movies began with the paranormal tales from the Perron family and their haunted house. Many critics claim that the first Conjuring film was fictionalized to add to its horror. This movie was one of the first-ever movies to show the Warrens as heroes to those who called them for help. The franchise has made Ed and Lorraine seem more positive than all the rumors about them in the 1970s and 80s.

The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring 2 featured a family’s home in England. In the 1970s, the family was terrified by a poltergeist. In this film, the Hodgson family experiences a lot of paranormal activity in their home. Interestingly enough, Lorraine actually had a vision during the seance of a demonic nun figure. This ended up being the demon that was haunting the Hodgson family. This was the first film where the demon Valak was introduced into the Conjuring film franchise.

The Real Conjuring 2 House

In the Hodgson home, some of the children began to show signs that they had been possessed. One of the children, Janet, was seen levitating and growling like a demon. The Warrens found out about their story and wanted to know what was happening in this home. They wanted to be able to prove if this possession was a hoax. Lorraine wasn’t sure that she wanted to get involved after seeing visions of Ed being killed there.

The Warrens did come to see the Hodgson’s home and got help from other paranormal experts. The Warrens felt as if the family was lying to become famous, but later found out that Janet was, indeed, possessed by the demon in the home. Ed and Lorraine ended up saving Janet and her family, and they ended up moving away from the home.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is yet another film in The Conjuring franchise in which Ed and Lorraine Warren appear. This movie is about a man who asks a demon to possess him instead of his girlfriend’s child. Ed Warren watches as the man is possessed, and that is when he suffers from a heart attack. Arne Johnson begins to act very strangely after being possessed.

Arne ended up killing his landlord after he stabbed him 22 times. He told the police that the demon inside of him was what made him do it. The Warrens felt they needed to testify for Arne since they saw the possession and were part of it. However, Arne ends up going to prison no matter how much Ed and Lorraine stand up for him.

**The Annabelle Films**

Annabelle

The Annabelle movies gave horror lovers a big scare with the face of this creepy doll. A medical student named John Form bought the creepy doll for his expecting wife, Mia. In the movie, it was a porcelain doll, but in real life, Ed and Lorraine Warren kept a Raggedy Ann doll named Annabelle in a glass case.

It turned out that the doll was possessed by the spirit of a girl named Annabelle. Paranormal events began to happen in John and Mia’s home, and as soon as she gave birth to their daughter, Leah, things seemed to get even worse. They contacted a priest to help them; they just wanted peace from this spirit. After the doll disappeared, it reappeared when a woman bought it for her daughter, Debbie. Debbie was a nursing student and took the doll to her home. Her story is seen in the first half of The Conjuring film.

Annabelle Comes Home

Annabelle Comes Home is yet another installment of a film inspired by Ed and Lorraine Warren. In this film, the Warrens have a babysitter come over to watch their daughter Judy for one night. The babysitter, Mary Ellen, invites a friend over. Daniela, her friend, goes into the Warrens’ haunted and cursed objects room. As she pokes around, she sees the Annabelle doll and decides to let her out. This ends up causing some horrible paranormal events.

Although most of the events in this movie were made up, fans of the franchise enjoyed it. This movie was dedicated to Lorraine Warren, who died on April 18, 2019.

Other movies seem to be inspired by the Warrens but do not give them much credit in the films themselves. The Nun, The Nun 2, and various seasons of American Horror Story were all inspired by the Warrens in some type of way. All of the movies in The Conjuring franchise pay homage in one way or another to the Warrens and everything that they did for families that faced paranormal events in their homes.

The Places and Artifacts from The Conjuring Franchise

Published by FrightFind On May 13, 2024

The Conjuring movies have become one of the best horror franchises in horror movie history. Ed and Lorraine Warren were featured in most of these films, as they investigated quite a few haunted locations and took artifacts from a few of the sites where these horrifying events occurred. Let’s take a deeper look at the places and artifacts from The Conjuring.

The Perron Family Estate

The Conjuring was based on the Perron Family’s paranormal experiences in their Burrillville, Rhode Island home. It was first known as the Old Arnold Estates, and generations of families have lived here. The house is now used as a haunted bed and breakfast and thrill seekers can spend the night here.

The Annabelle doll was one of the artifacts taken from the first Conjuring movie. This doll is locked up in the Warrens’ haunted and cursed museum. The Annabelle doll has been featured in multiple movies in the franchise. The doll doesn’t look anything like the creepy one in the movies; it is an old Raggedy Ann doll. The doll was inhabited by the spirit of a child named Annabelle Higgins. When the Warrens investigated the doll, they claimed it was inhabited by a demonic spirit. The doll has been exorcised, but it was unsuccessful. The Annabelle doll is still locked in a glass case and will never be opened again.

The Perron Family Music Box is another artifact that was taken from the Perron house in the first Conjuring movie. In the movie, the youngest Perron child, April, discovers an old music box in their house. She used it to communicate with a spirit named Rory. He was killed by his mother, Bathsheba. When Lorraine looks at the music box, she sees the face of the child in it. At the end of The Conjuring, Ed and Lorraine take the music box to keep in their room of artifacts. There are rumors that it will still open up and play music on its own.

Ed and Lorraine Warren also took a toy monkey from Perron’s home. They claimed that it was possessed as well. There is only a small glimpse at it in The Conjuring. It is seen when Ed talks to a reporter about what is in the room. He tells him, “Everything you see here is either haunted, cursed, or used in some kind of ritualistic practice. Nothing is a toy. Not even the toy monkey. Don’t touch it!”

The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring 2 was a movie about a haunting in London, England. The Enfield poltergeist happened in the home of Peggy Hodgson and her children. The family claimed that evil spirits haunted the house. The children say they saw furniture moving and heard knocking on the walls. The family wouldn’t go upstairs, lived in the living room together for 18 months, and were terrified of going anywhere else in the house. Over those 18 months, over 30 people witnessed the haunting in this home.

There is still a lot of speculation that this family made up all of the paranormal events that happened here. There were photos and videos of the events, but some think Peggy made it all up to become famous. The children are all grown up now and have tried to keep their lives as private as possible.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It takes place in 1981 in Brookfield, Connecticut. The Warrens went to help out an eight-year-old boy named David Glatzel. His family was present when a demon possessed him. In fact, his sister’s boyfriend, Arne, wanted David to be safe again and told the demon to take his body instead. While the demon took over Arne’s body, Ed Warren had a heart attack as he watched it happen.

Arne made a lot of horrible decisions while he was under the demon’s possession. It turns out that he stabbed his landlord 22 times. His defense for the entirety of his court hearing was that he was possessed by a demon. The Warrens were at his trial to testify and had quite a bit of proof to show the court, but Arne was convicted of manslaughter. The Annabelle doll that the Warrens have in their collection was featured in this movie as well.

Annabelle

Annabelle took place in Santa Monica, California, when John Form bought his wife, Mia, a porcelain doll meant for their first child, Leah. They added it to the collection of dolls in the nursery and just knew that she would love it. The family began to experience some very bizarre events in the home when they added the doll. They were attacked by two members of a cult, and one of them killed herself while she was holding the doll in their home.

Mia and Leah were attacked by a demon a few times, and they ended up calling a priest to exorcise the demon. Father Perez comes to them, and he tells them that demons are known for attaching themselves to objects like dolls. Father Perez takes the doll from Mia and John and gives it to the Warrens.

Annabelle: Creation

Annabelle: Creation features the Annabelle doll locked up in the Warren’s collection. This film is all about how the doll was created by a dollmaker named Samuel Mullins. He and his wife suffered a horrible loss when their daughter, Annabelle, was hit by a car. He and his wife wanted to feel the love of a child again, so they took in six children from the local orphanage.

The demon in the doll began to stir up paranormal activity for Samuel and the children. The demon also posed as one of the nuns, Sister Charlotte. The events that took place at the hands of the Annabelle doll were horrendous. This is why the Warrens kept the doll in a glass case; that is where she remains today.

Annabelle Comes Home

Annabelle Comes Home occurs right after Ed and Lorraine Warren take her home and lock her in a glass case. The Warrens hired a babysitter, Mary Ellen, to watch their daughter, Judy. They wanted a night out together, and Mary Ellen seemed the perfect fit. However, one of Mary Ellen’s friends shows up at their home and decides to sneak into the collection room, and she opens up Annabelle’s case. This is when multiple spirits get released.

One of the many artifacts from this movie is the Samurai armor, which is one of the main attractions in the museum. Judy and Mary Ellen’s friend stare in awe at this armor. They could even hear the battle cries of the Samurai coming from it. Not only that, they could hear the screams of his victims as well.

The Shadow Doll

There are hundreds of different cursed and haunted items in the Warren’s Museum. Their daughter, Judy, is now in charge of it. One item that hasn’t been featured in the films is the shadow doll. This is a very creepy handmade doll. The story is that it will visit people in their dreams and can even stop their hearts while they are sleeping.

If you are ready to see more of these cursed artifacts, be sure to watch The Conjuring movies in order.

The John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal

Published by FrightFind On January 24, 2020

Ed and Lorraine Warren are without a doubt the most famous paranormal investigators of all time. Together, the husband and wife pair investigated some of the most violent hauntings in the world, including the Amityville Horror, the Haunting in Connecticut, the Smurl Family Haunting, and the Enfield Poltergeist. Over time, the pair accumulated an astonishing amount of paranormal and supernaturally charged objects that reside in their own household called the Warren Occult Museum. However, this occult museum is not the only one located in the New England area. Paranormal investigator John Zaffis is the nephew of both Ed and Lorraine Warren, and he has accumulated a vast amount of haunted objects.

The John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal

Based in Stratford, Connecticut, people come from all over North America and beyond to bring Zaffis whatever presumably haunted object is making their lives absolutely miserable. His personal objective behind the existence of the museum is to educate people on all the different types of haunted items that are out there in the world. He has stood very firm in trying to tell people, who might be looking for help, that haunted items are not exclusive to just a singular belief system or religion. Zaffis stresses that these sorts of haunted items can happen to anyone of any faith and that there are people out there like him who are there to help. However, before any object is just handed over by someone and accepted into his museum, Zaffis first takes it out to a small barn on his property. The object is typically kept there under lock and key until he returns with large quantities of holy water and a prayer book containing certain binding spells. He repetitively and religiously blesses the object to the point where any initial negative energy is thwarted. With objects containing a deeper, and darker energy his binding spells help to keep it in place before it can escape and wreak havoc on those around it.

In educating people on the types of objects out there, Zaffis stresses that everyday objects can be used by evil spirits to harbor dangerous negative energy. Mirrors are one such common object that he tends to see a lot of at the museum. According to Zaffis, mirrors are in fact able to hold energy, by becoming trapped somehow between the glass and filament that binds it together in the back. Spirits can definitely be trapped inside of mirrors and they are particularly effective for conjuring spells. Everyday household objects like mirrors are not the only thing that he has large quantities of in the museum, the other is dolls.

Haunted Dolls

Simon and The Boys

While his aunt and uncle perhaps have the most famous haunted doll, Annabelle, Zaffis certainly has some that are enough to give her a run for her money. One such display in his museum is a little pair of hobo-clown dolls that he has dubbed simply, “The Boys.” Innocently enough they were purchased at a thrift store by a woman who brought them home before noticing an uptick in paranormal activity there to the point she was nearly going insane. He displays them to show how innocent little items like that can still have a dangerous effect.

Another is a ventriloquist dummy named Simon, who has piercing green eyes and a wicked smile. It was a gift for a child, whose parent one day noticed the doll talking and moving its mouth without anyone operating it. Perhaps the most sinister doll there is named Chiefy, who resembles that of a miniature voodoo priest in ceremonial garb. Zaffis says that a woman purchased the doll and took it home, only to witness an overwhelming amount of negative energy manifest. She was bitten, scratched, and harassed by unseen forces to the point that she herself needed an actual exorcism to combat the forces hidden away in the doll.

Haunted Objects

Delving deeper into the museum there is a vast assortment of other haunted objects. There is a white wedding dress that was once worn by a hopeful bride who was strangled on her own wedding day. Many years passed before the dress was resold and the new buyer eventually took it to Zaffis where he had someone do a psychometry reading on it. Mid-way through the reading, the reader felt a choking sensation along with a cold grip around her throat.

John Zaffis with The Sword

He also has a simple silver jewelry box filled with innocent looking jewelry. Perhaps the most haunted item in his possession is that of an antique sword. A woman brought it to him after divorcing her husband, but he gave the sword to his son as a gift instructing him to keep it posted up on the wall in his room. Later the boy’s mother saw a black hooded shadow figure in her son’s room gathered around the sword. Upon investigating the object, Zaffis confirmed that there was indeed Satanic inscribed writing on the sword as well as mysteriously cursed objects built into the handle.

The museum is kept on his private property and not formally open to the public, however, Zaffis has given rare glimpses inside one of the most haunted collections in America. Most often, people call him up for a paranormal investigation leads to them taking the haunted objects home with them. Zaffis does get calls to go collect haunted objects, but after picking them up he says he always is plagued with mysterious car trouble.

The Real Story of the Annabelle Doll

Published by FrightFind On June 6, 2018

Dolls can be very creepy. Some suggest that dolls were the first children’s toy dating back to the Egyptians. Were those Egyptian dolls creepy? Of course, they were! Since then, children have spent endless hours playing with everything from Barbie and Cabbage Patch to G.I. Joe and Star Wars dolls. Yes, those are dolls. And of course, there are famously haunted dolls. There’s Harold, the first haunted doll sold on eBay, whom psychics won’t go anywhere near. There’s Robert the haunted doll, who now lives at The Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida. And then there is Annabelle, the Raggedy Ann doll that has taken doll stardom to new heights and is known as one of the most haunted dolls in the world. Here is the true backstory of the Annabelle doll from The Conjuring films.

The Real Annabelle Doll

The Real Annabelle Doll from The Conjuring Universe at the Warren’s Occult Museum

The Annabelle doll was actually a Raggedy Ann doll, not what you might expect a haunted, evil doll would look like. How could anyone ever see that smiling, brightly colored doll as a demonic menace? A young med student named Donna would find out. As well as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who have a compelling tale of horror that will make you think twice about this rosy-cheeked rag doll.

True History of the Annabelle Doll

The year is 1970 and soon to be registered nurse Donna has just received an antique Raggedy Ann doll from her mother for her birthday. She takes the doll back to her shared apartment with her roommate and fellow nurse, Angie. Both girls fawn over the cute smiling doll when it arrives but quickly forget its existence as it becomes part of the decor. However, the doll doesn’t go unnoticed long. Only days later, both girls start to notice that the doll seems to not only move from room to room but also change positions on its own. Donna would sometimes leave the doll in the living room only to come home to find the doll on her bed with the door closed. The doll was often found with its legs crossed or standing on both feet but it was never left in those positions, to begin with.

A month after the doll’s arrival, Donna started to find handwritten notes seemingly from the doll itself. Each note was written on scraps of parchment paper with the handwriting of a small child that bore the message, “Help us” and “Help Lou.” Donna, confused and scared, noted that she had never owned parchment paper and had no idea where it could have come from. Lou was a long-time friend to both Donna and Angie and at the time it was unclear why the doll had written his name specifically.

Up to this point, Donna kept what was happening to herself and didn’t feel the need to call in any kind of specialist until after one particularly unsettling event. Donna had just come home to find that the doll had moved again, this time to her bed. This time, something a bit more was off about the doll than just its changing position. Upon further inspection, Donna found to her horror that the doll had drops of a blood-like substance on its chest and hands. Nearly petrified with fear, Donna and Angie agreed they needed help and called a medium.

Who was Annabelle? Was the Annabelle doll possessed?

Through this medium, the girls would learn about the now infamous Annabelle Higgins. Before the apartment complex where the girls lived was built, there was just a field and a small house. It’s said that Annabelle and her family lived there happily until tragedy struck the family when seven-year-old Annabelle would be found dead in the field where the apartments now sit. The medium relayed to the sympathetic Donna and Angie, that Annabelle just wanted to stay and be loved. Without question, Donna allowed the spirit of Annabelle to stay in the Raggedy Ann doll. Not long after accepting Annabelle’s plea to stay, the girls realized that the spirit might not be as innocent as its soft doll was make it seem.

From the very beginning, Lou had disliked the cheery doll, even saying it was evil and he urged Donna and Angie to get rid of it as soon as it arrived. Both girls continuously refused since they felt such compassion for both the doll and Annabelle. Lou, on the other hand, had nothing but terrifying experiences when it came to the Annabelle doll. One night, Lou awoke to find that he could not move his body. Panic-stricken, he looked toward the end of the bed and saw the doll standing there. Seconds later, Lou felt the pressure of hands around his throat and was choked almost to the point of asphyxiation. Lou woke the next day terrified and convinced it had not been a dream or sleep paralysis. This would not be his only encounter with Annabelle. He also received seven long claw marks on his chest, three vertical and four horizontal. Interestingly, the cuts were fully healed in two days, leaving no trace they had ever been there.

The Warrens take on Annabelle

After these violent episodes, Donna realized this was not the spirit of a little girl but something much more sinister. Donna knew she needed more than a medium, so she contacted an Episcopal priest named Father Hegan. After Donna explained what had been happening to Lou and the doll, Father Hegan decided to call a priest of higher authority, Father Cooke. Upon hearing about the horrifying events, he instantly called Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Warrens came to the conclusion that it was not the spirit of the young Annabelle but instead a demonic presence since spirits want to possess people, not inanimate objects. It was only making the doll seem alive so it could attach to a human host instead.

Starting small, the evil spirit started attracting attention to itself to get closer to a human host. The medium also made it much easier for the spirit to manipulate the girls with a sob story. Considering how violent the spirit started to get, the Warren’s predicted that the spirit would have possessed or killed someone in a couple of weeks if they haven’t been notified. Father Cooke cleansed the apartment with a seven-page prayer and, to Donna, Angie, and Lou’s relief, the Warrens took the Raggedy Ann doll with them.

Where is the Annabelle doll now?

The Annabelle doll is currently in a case in The Warren’s Occult Museum in Connecticut with a sign on the glass reading: “WARNING POSITIVELY DO NOT OPEN.”

The doll still showed signs of violence while in the Warren’s care. As they traveled home with the doll in the back seat, the car stalled repeatedly on every corner making the power steering and brakes fail. After almost colliding with another car because of this, Ed Warren poured holy water over the doll and they made it home safely with no more strange automobile failure. Ed also reported that the doll levitated off a chair when they returned and would turn up in rooms randomly. The Warrens built a special case for the doll after Father Jason Bradford, a Catholic exorcist friend of the Warrens, got into an almost fatal car accident after tossing the doll and telling it, ”You’re just a ragdoll Annabelle, you can’t hurt anyone.”

Tony Spera, curator of The Warren’s Occult Museum on Annabelle

Comparisons to the Annabelle film

While some of the above was included in the film, much of it was embellished for Hollywood’s big screen. Here are a few truths and falsities.

The doll was indeed a birthday gift to Donna from her mother. She was a nursing student which was depicted in the film.
The doll was never given to a pregnant wife.
The satanic cult scene never happened.
The owners never attempted to throw away the Annabelle doll. The activity was never really bad enough to warrant tossing the doll.
There were messages that appeared to have been left by the doll. Another odd fact was that the paper used was parchment. Donna, Angie, and Lou did not have any parchment in the house.
The doll never started a fire.
Father Hegan did perform an exorcism on the doll.
The Warrens did confiscate the doll to be held at their Occult Museum.

Ever wonder where the real Conjuring house is?

Robert the Haunted Doll

Published by FrightFind On August 18, 2017

Robert the Doll is over 100 years old. Robert the Doll receives handfuls of letters daily. Most of them apologies. He even received a birthday commendation letter from former US president George W. Bush. Robert also has thousands of visitors each year and is featured in videos on YouTube with over a million views. Why? Because Robert the Doll is haunted.

But before we dive any further into Robert, let’s take a quick look at the history of dolls in general.

A brief history of dolls

Dolls are kind of creepy.

Okay, dolls are really creepy.

And even well-intentioned dolls can still be a bit off putting. This is a Mourning Doll.

Those dead eyes just stare right into your soul.

Egyptian Paddle Doll circa 1750-2040 BC.

It’s been suggested that dolls were possibly the first toy ever created. With the discovery of wooden paddle dolls in Egyptian tombs dating back to the 21^st century BC, it appears humans have always had a desire to create lifeless, miniature versions of ourselves for some godly, or ungodly, reason.

2017 is shaping up to prove no different. Movies like Jigsaw and Cult of Chucky are slated for release later this year, and with the recent release of Annabelle: Creation, which already holds a 7.3/10 IMDB rating, it’s apparent that our fascination with dolls is growing, albeit with a twist.

Pediophobia is the fear of dolls and it’s a pretty common thing and growing thanks to some of the recent hype and films. Most researchers have chalked it up to the “Uncanny Valley” effect. The “Uncanny Valley” is a psychological phenomenon in which something resembles a human almost perfectly. But just almost. Our brains detect that something is off while trying to reconcile that we’re looking at a human-like figure, so the observer gets an eerie or uncanny feeling that something’s not right.

Making them even creepier, albeit useful, dolls were also often used during times of grieving, such as the case with Victorian Mourning Dolls. Mourning dolls were wax effigies formed in the image of a deceased child or infant, often dressed up in the child’s clothing and created with the child’s actual hair. The dolls were frequently left on gravestones or kept by the family as a physical reminder of the deceased.

So dolls have definitely served some useful purposes and there is a seemingly logical reason behind why so many are terrified of them.

But then a doll like Robert comes along and you realize these plastic lifeless hell spawns deserve all the pediophobia they get.

Robert The Haunted Doll

As mentioned before, Robert is a fairly well-known doll in the creepy doll world. Robert was the inspiration for possessed dolls like Chucky of the Child’s Play series and is often compared to the Annabelle doll of The Conjuring films.

How did Robert the Doll come to be haunted?

Robert “Gene” Otto received Robert the Doll when he was only six years old. The doll was handmade and is reported to have been created by the family’s Bahamian servant who practiced voodoo and black magic. She gave Gene the doll during a period of her own grieving over the loss of her child. Robert the Doll was made with a wire frame, hay, old clothing and some of Gene’s own hair. The doll was given the name “Robert” and was gifted to a young Gene Otto. Robert the Doll and Gene became inseparable.

Gene Otto as a child, playing in what is likely the same sailor outfit that Robert the Doll now wears.

Gene would take Robert on trips, dress him in his own clothes and talk to him as if he were another child. Gene supposedly named Robert after a particularly rough scolding from his mother, telling her he would prefer to go by his middle name Gene because Robert was the name of his doll.

Shortly after that exchange, Gene began blaming accidents around the property on Robert and talking to him regularly. Children have always been known for their large imaginations, but servants and family members began noticing oddities surrounding Robert and Gene’s relationship.

Soon it wasn’t just Gene talking to Robert, rather – according to the family – Robert would actually talk back. At first, it was assumed that Gene was simply responding to himself, but after witnessing the two conversing, some relatives were convinced that the doll was able to produce sounds and giggles on its own. Visitors to the home would swear that Robert the Doll moved about the house unaided and neighbors insisted that Robert would watch them from windows when the family was out.

Gene’s Death. Robert the Doll Moves On.

Apparently, none of this bothered Gene in the slightest. Gene Otto went on to become a rather famous artist in Florida, with plans to make his own house an art museum. Gene kept Robert his entire life, up until his death in 1974. Gene’s home was sold to a woman named Myrtle Reuter the same year, who found Robert in the attic and fell in love with him.

Myrtle kept Robert for years and supposedly witnessed his miraculous ability to move around the house untouched multiple times. In 1994, Myrtle donated Robert to the very museum that Gene had contributed works to during his lifetime – The Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida.

Shortly after receiving the donation, the museum began reporting various anomalies seemingly tied to Robert.

Visitors to the museum even today report electronic equipment failures and camera malfunctions when trying to video the doll. Others, including a reporter named Malcolm Ross, claimed to witness the doll’s expression change.

Ross recalls his experience viewing the doll with a friend as the friend recounted the tale of Gene and Robert. When one of the people present made a comment about Gene being a fool, Ross reported that Robert’s expression changed to one of disapproval.

“There was some kind of intelligence there. The doll was listening to us.”

Robert the Doll Fandom

Today Robert receives thousands of visitors every year, many who make international trips just to view him. Many of the visitors are fans of Robert and come to pay their respects to the 3-foot long doll and his owner, Gene. A handful of regretful others, however, claim that there’s something more sinister to be found.

Robert the Doll in his glass case in Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, FL

Each day the Martello Museum receives letters from visitors who came to mock Robert and subsequently found themselves believers in his cursed origins. Letters of apology pour in regularly, most with a running theme of begging for Robert’s forgiveness. One such letter arrived with a sticky note attached requesting simply, “Please post where Robert the doll will see this.” The letter’s author weaves a tail like almost all of the others, stating:

I didn’t ask for your permission to take your picture, and I openly mocked you. Like I said, I was just trying to be funny and impress the people I was visiting with. I in no way actually meant what I said, and I realize now I made a big mistake.

The letter goes on to describe a series of events that shortly followed a visit with Robert, including multiple health issues, family members and pets that passed away, financial difficulties and bankruptcy.

Another letter begs for forgiveness after similarly snapping pictures without Robert’s permission which the writer felt contributed to a kitchen fire, a near car accident, and a childlike “giggling” sound coming from the family’s basement.

“Last night I was home all alone. I heard a voice coming from the basement. When I went to investigate, I tripped and fell down the bottom three stairs. I got up to run out, but the door was locked. My husband said that I probably turned the lock myself without even thinking about it and locked myself in the basement, but honestly Robert we both know the truth. Please accept my deepest apology for taking your picture without asking.”

Whether it be a case of mass hysteria, odd coincidences, or simply intrigued fans who want to prolong Robert’s legacy, each new day brings with it letters from around the world for Robert, who still resides prominently on display in his glass case.

Should you wish to visit Robert the Haunted Doll at the Fort East Martello Museum in Key West, FL is open daily from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM. And our advice should you visit? Maybe ask Robert’s permission before you snap any pictures.

Annabelle: Creation Interview with Lou Lou Safran

Published by FrightFind On July 26, 2017

The Conjuring universe continues to expand with the upcoming release of Annabelle: Creation. FrightFind had the chance to sit down with Lou Lou Safran, who plays Tierney in the much-anticipated Annabelle: Creation.

FrightFind: Welcome, Lou Lou. Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions about your upcoming role in Annabelle: Creation. Our audience is excited to hear from you.

Lou Lou: I’m frightfully happy to be talking with you Tracy and the FrightFind fans!

Photo credit: Igor Drozdowski

FF: After The Choice, this seems like a distinctly different role & genre. How did you get involved? Is horror something you’re a big fan of?

Lou Lou: I am fascinated by horrors and terrified by them at the same time. The Choice was my first movie and since the first scene, I knew that acting was what I wanted to do. So, when I heard about the part of Tierney in Annabelle Creation I knew I had to audition for it. On top of getting to act again, I figured watching how the supernatural thriller magic happens up close would be fascinating and make me less scared of the end result. Seeing it all being filmed was completely fascinating. If it seems less scary on the screen we will see at the premiere.

FF: Tell us a little bit about your role in Annabelle: Creation.

Lou Lou: Tierney is one of six orphaned girls who together with their nun, move to an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Our orphanage got shut down so we have no choice but to make our new home there, but everything about the place seems creepy. The couple who invites us to live with them are very strange and soon things start to go horribly wrong. We are basically a family all of us girls, so we stand up for each other, but this turns out to be so evil it is far beyond our power to control.

FF: Were you a fan of the first Annabelle and The Conjuring films?

Lou Lou: I was the Annabelle doll for Halloween when the movie came out! I have seen scenes from the movies but have never been able to watch them all the way through. I mean, they are scaaaaaaaary!

Lou Lou Safran from Annabelle: Creation dressed as Annabelle for Halloween.

FF: What was it like playing opposite the Annabelle Doll?

Lou Lou: It was pretty intense. The doll itself is actually quite beautiful: very intricate with all movable parts, including the eyes of course. She’s really large, heavy and not easy to hold. We would make fun of her when she’d be on the set but I think secretly we were all a little afraid of Annabelle. Sometimes you’d turn around and see her just sitting somewhere in the other corner of the set waiting for her next take, looking so quiet and inanimate. Or sinister? You are never quite sure.

FF: What should we expect from Annabelle: Creation?

Lou Lou: A really great movie! It has blood-curdling scares and is really intense so definitely expect to be jumping in your seat. David Sandberg, the director, is a master of darkness and suspense. Some set ups would make us actors jump for real even though we knew they were coming. But this movie is much more than just a great supernatural thriller. The characters are really lovable I think and the plot is very moving, so I think the audience is going to root for us and care about what happens. Also, the set that Jennifer Spence designed is simply fantastic and Leah Butler’s wardrobe is so beautiful and authentic, that you will look at the screen and instantly be transported to the 1940s and 50s.

FF: Tell us one thing about the movie that made you jump.

Lou Lou: There are so many! Well, there is one scene involving the lady of the house that will make your heart stop. We would scream for real in every take.

FF: Do you have a favorite horror film?

Lou Lou: Annabelle Creation of course!

FF: What was more fun? Making The Choice or Annabelle: Creation?

Lou Lou: Wow, you are putting me in a difficult spot because it’s impossible to pick! The Choice was my very first movie, the cast was amazing and I loved my movie parents Ben Walker and Teresa Palmer. The set was a gorgeous green property on the water in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ross Katz, the director is amazing at what he does and he made the atmosphere on the set so good.

Annabelle: Creation was the opposite looking set with all the dark scary corners and the film has a completely different tone. But I loved having five other girls with me on the set and the camaraderie we built during the filming. It turns out that I also love shooting super scary scenes in which I have to run and scream a lot. (laugh)

FF: As a young star in Hollywood, what advice would you give girls who look up to you and want to work in film? Fair warning, I have 3 daughters of my own and they wanted me to ask.

Lou Lou: Aw how sweet, please tell them Lou Lou says Hi!

I think the best advice I could give anyone is to pursue what they want most in life no matter what the obstacles are and what anybody tells them. I know we need to listen to our parents when we’re younger and sometimes they decide things for us, but I think if you show them that you really want something badly, that you can stick to it and work hard for it, you can convince them your passion is not a whim.

For those who want to act, I would say the most important thing is not to pretend the character they are playing but to be that character. To understand their life, their troubles and dreams and channel that in every scene.

Also, don’t eat too many Life Savers from craft service, you will get a belly ache. Oh, and don’t let social media take over your life. Get outside, play an instrument and real games with friends, it’s so much better than being on a phone all the time.

FF: What’s next for you? Any new projects? Anything in horror?

Lou Lou: Not in horror yet. It has been such a crazy busy year and I am in Australia right now, that I just look forward to getting back home in August and attending the Annabelle Creation premiere. It will be so fun to walk that black carpet with all my friends. Besides that, I need to find time to practice my piano more and post all my videos with the Arctic Monkeys covers that I’ve been working on. I’m obsessed with them and I just launched my YouTube channel to share the obsession. There will be other music on it as well. I just got a ukulele here on the Gold Coast and I’ve been practicing all the Eddie Vedder songs.

FF: Last questions! What is your favorite Halloween candy? And what will you be dressing up as this Halloween?

Lou Lou: I like Almond Joy the most. I’m going to dress up as one of The Gorillaz but I might also attempt another crack at the Annabelle doll. There are a lot of dress up events at Halloween so I can do a costume change.

Thank you, Lou Lou. We can’t wait to see you in Annabelle: Creation.

In her free time, Lou Lou likes to spend time with her friends and support charities that are close to her heart. One of her favorite charities is called Animal Tracks, and she also volunteers for Project Angel Food.

Keep up to date with Lou Lou on Instagram and be sure to check out Annabelle: Creation in theaters August 11th.