Annabelle

Annabelle was a Raggedy Ann doll given to nursing student Donna Higgins by her mother in 1970. Within weeks, Donna and her roommate Angie reported the doll moving on its own — finding it in different rooms, in different positions, with legs crossed and arms folded, positions a Raggedy Ann cannot hold without external manipulation.

Notes written in a child's hand began appearing in the apartment: 'Help us' and 'Help Lou.' The roommates contacted a medium, who told them the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle Higgins who had died on the property. Lorraine and Ed Warren, who investigated the case, concluded differently — that the doll was the focus of a demonic entity, not a childlike spirit, and that the 'little girl' story was a manipulation to gain the women's sympathy.

The Warrens took possession of the doll and housed it in their Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, inside a locked glass case with a warning sign. In 2019, the museum was reported to have closed and the collection's disposition is unclear. The case became the basis for the 2013 film The Conjuring and the Annabelle film franchise.