Should Annabelle be on tour? What if she really escaped?

US Ghost Adventures recently presented an interesting question: What happens if Annabelle really escaped?

Intriguing. And a little bit alarming. I’m not going to lie. It temporarily gave me the same flutter of shock I feel when I imagine Laughing Sal suddenly springing to life.

However, at first, I didn’t understand why they were asking. Did it have to do with the plot of the newest movie in The Conjuring franchise or something?

Nope. It was inspired by recent headline-making stories that involved both New Orleans and the haunted Annabelle doll. Turns out, I’d missed some really big news.

A Curious Timeline

The biggest story, one that captivated national news, was about the 10 inmates who’d escaped from jail in New Orleans on May 16. This one I knew about.

However, the day before that, on May 15, a devastating fire destroyed the Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana. Then, on May 19, a fire destroyed part of the French Quarter home where Marie Laveau had lived. I hadn’t heard anything about either of those.

But what would any of that have to do with Annabelle, who usually resides in New England? Well, she’s been on tour, and one of her stops was New Orleans. Her tour there started on May 13.

Naturally, people speculated how crazy it was that no sooner had Annabelle rolled into town than misfortunes befell the Big Easy and its surrounding environs.

The Devils on the Run Tour

Ed and Lorraine Warren established The New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR). It’s now led by their son-in-law, Tony Spera, who also inherited the artifacts of cursed and haunted objects from the Warrens’ Occult Museum. Among the most infamous of which is Annabelle.

The museum is no longer open, but every once in a while, the NESPR makes it possible for people to view some of the items at paracons and horror fests. That’s what “The Devils on the Run Tour” is all about. Annabelle headlines the traveling exhibition.

Why People Thought Annabelle Escaped

Apparently, Annabelle was temporarily removed from the tour in Louisiana, which fueled rumors that she had escaped. And was apparently headed to Chicago, according to CT Insider. Why people fixated on her heading to the Windy City, I don’t know. Maybe they thought she wanted to ghost hunt at the Medieval Torture Museum and hang out with its creepy mannequins?

Anyway, Spera quickly assured everyone that, no. Annabelle wasn’t lost, she hadn’t been stolen, and she’d always been under their control. Later, Dan Rivera, a lead investigator for NESPR, posted a video showing Annabelle back in her case at the museum.

Coincidence or Scapegoat?

Was Annabelle’s bad juju responsible for the fires and prison break in NOLA? Did it happen because Spera removed her from her protective case and put her in another one to make her more accessible to those who paid to meet her during the tour? After all, she was put in that case for a reason: to contain her allegedly dangerous energy.

US Ghost Adventures reported that Spera assures those who worry that there’s “nothing to fear.” He claims that they take “extreme precautions” when it comes to Annabelle, who “is blessed by a Catholic priest before moving it while on tour and after it is returned to the museum.” One even travels with them while they’re on tour.

I’m sure Spera’s right. I mean, Annabelle’s traveled to other tour stops without incident. It’s likely just a coincidence that when one of the most infamous haunted dolls arrived in one of the most haunted cities some crazy things happened. Right?

Is it safe to take haunted objects on tour?

All of this made me think of an old friend who couldn’t help but chuckle at people like the Warrens, Spera, and Zak Bagans. The kind of people who charge others a fee to see the allegedly haunted and dangerous items they’ve collected. She felt it was the worst kind of irresponsible scam.

She always questioned, “What if something really was unleashed? What would they do then? How do they re-contain it? How do they help those affected? Would they? Could they?”

When I really stopped to think about that, it felt very wrong. In Bagans’ case, he makes people sign a waiver before entering his haunted museum. He won’t be held liable.

I don’t know what happens in the case of “The Devils on the Run Tour,” and I won’t be finding out. For one, tickets are hard to come by. They’re sold out for the Ghostly Images of Gettysburg events in July. There are still some available for her appearance at the Maine Paranormal and Horror Convention in September.

However, meeting Annabelle is cost-prohibitive. $50 for a 30-minute spot? No. I don’t have that kind of money to waste on potentially polluting my spiritual well-being. But if you do, I’ll live vicariously through your posts on social media…if you survive to post anything, that is.

Check-In

Which sounds more frightening to you: Satanic Panic or Demon Doll Fever?