Once upon a time on a dark night, I was surfing YouTube, when I came to know the true story of Anabelle. The doll encased by Ed and Lorraine Warren seen in the first scene of conjuring, Anabelle that came to our home at the theatres last week. I realised her real story is even more surreal than we had seen in the cinemas. Her story as told by the Warrens seems stranger, perhaps because it was reported to be true.

The conjuring made Ed and Lorraine Warren a known name in the horror-loving Hollywood. But after two films on Anabelle, we are still not close to discovering the real story behind the doll.

The first sighting of Anabelle was in 1970 the doll was given to a nurse Donna, by her mother on her 28th birthday. Donna was a collector of dolls and lived with her roommate Angie who was also a nurse. The real doll of Anabelle was a raggedy Anne- doll and not the monstrosity that we see in the films. Thus, Donna was very happy with her gift.

But soon Anabelle began to move- her legs would suddenly be crossed or she was sitting up. The girls tried to test the doll by leaving it in a particular position, but it would move. At one point, Anabelle even was seen sitting up with her hands on the table. There were notes on parchment papers and crayons across the house. But the girls did not own crayons or parchment paper. There was also some blood on the doll’s arms. This was the first time they thought of the possibility of paranormal.

Angie knew of a psychic. They called her to investigate things. The woman informed them a spirit of a small girl resides in the doll. Her name was Annabelle and she apologised to them for scaring them. She told them she really liked the place and the doll. She wanted to stay there within the doll. They pitied the small child and let her stay. But it was a mistake.

The girls had a friend Lou stay at their house one time. Lou really did not like the doll. But what happened next terrified him. He was asleep on the sofa when he experienced a moment of sleep paralysis. In this dream, he saw Anabelle climbing up his legs and coming to strangle him. He woke up and in a way; to assure himself. He threw the doll across the room and shouted, “It is just a Raggedy Anne doll.” It is said six psychic wounds appeared on his stomach then. They realised it was not a ghost of a small sweet girl but pure evil.

The Warrens were called and they took the doll with them, to the Occult Museum.But the story of Anabelle did not stop there either. Once a priest Father John came to the Warren’s house, he wanted to see the doll. When he saw the doll he picked it up, said: “no spirit has more power than god.” He had a severe accident on his way back. This could be a coincidence, but he reported that the last face he had seen in the rearview mirror before the crash was of Annabelle’s.

The doll has since given rise to multiple accounts of horror stories. Deaths by accidents follow her wake. People have reportedly gotten hurt for challenging the doll. This has given rise to the creepiest of urban legends. Now my story ends with the question, Can a Raggedy Anne doll do all of this?

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