Paranormal investigator Dan Rivera, who has been hosting a national tour featuring the infamous Annabelle doll, has died suddenly at the age of 54, the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) said.
Newsweek reached out to NESPR via email for comment on Wednesday.
The Context
Annabelle is said to be possessed by a demonic entity and inspired the 2013 film The Conjuring. The doll is usually kept at the Warrens’ Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, which was established by late NESPR founders Ed Warren, a demonologist, and his wife Lorraine Warren, a trance medium, though is currently on tour.
The tour celebrates the work of the Warrens and displays Annabelle “for those brave enough to face her.”
According to the NESPR’s website, a student was given Annabelle as a gift in 1968, but she and her roommate soon “noticed strange occurrences with the doll.”
“They were introduced to a medium who told them the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle,” the website states. “The two roommates tried to accept the doll’s spirit and please it only to have it reciprocate maliciousness and violent intent.”
The Warrens later “pronounced the doll demonically possessed” and “removed the doll from the house and encased it in a glass box to contain the evil spirited entity.”
What To Know
Rivera died on Sunday in a Gettysburg, Pennsylvania hotel room, Adams County Chief Deputy Coroner Scott Pennewill said, per Today. His cause of death is “pending.”
“His death was nothing suspicious. The coroner’s office and the state police were called to the scene on Sunday night,” Pennewill told the outlet, noting that Annabelle was not present.
Rivera was the lead investigator for the NESPR and was also a U.S. Army veteran. He was involved in the sold out “Devils on the Run Tour” over the weekend, hosting a show featuring Annabelle a day before his death.
Earlier this year, rumors started swirling that Annabelle had been stolen after the doll was blamed for recent fires and jail breaks.
Tony Spera—director of the NESPR, who took over Occult Museum duties after Ed Warren’s death—shut down speculation, telling NBC News at the time that the doll “was never out of our sight.”
“In a way, I don’t blame people for being skeptical,” Spera added of people that doubt the doll is actually possessed. “If people don’t know about the demonic, it’s very difficult to believe that these things are happening, but they do happen.”
What People Are Saying
The New England Society for Psychic Research said in a statement posted to Facebook on Monday: “It’s with deep sadness that Tony, Wade, and I share the sudden passing of our close friend and partner, Dan Rivera. We are heartbroken and still processing this loss. Dan truly believed in sharing his experiences and educating people on the paranormal. His kindness and passion touched everyone who knew him. Thank you for your support and kind thoughts during this difficult time.”
What Happens Next
Autopsy results are estimated to take 60 to 90 days, Pennewill told Today.
The Conjuring: Last Rites, the latest film in The Conjuring Universe franchise is set to hit theaters in September.
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