Additional Coverage:
- Paranormal investigator Dan Rivera dies while on Tour with ‘Annabelle,’ an allegedly haunted doll (nbcnews.com)
Paranormal Investigator Dan Rivera Dies on Tour
Gettysburg, PA. — Dan Rivera, a paranormal investigator known for his work with the allegedly haunted doll Annabelle, passed away on July 13, 2025. Rivera, 54, was found in his Gettysburg hotel room.
Adams County Chief Deputy Coroner Scott Pennewill confirmed the death, stating that there was nothing suspicious about the circumstances and that an autopsy is pending. Results are expected in two to three months.
Pennewill also confirmed that the Annabelle doll was not found with Rivera in the hotel room, but may have been secured in a van in the hotel parking lot.
The New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) announced Rivera’s death on their Facebook page, expressing their deep sadness and describing Rivera as a passionate educator about the paranormal.
At the time of his death, Rivera was participating in the NESPR’s “Devils on the Run Tour,” which features the Annabelle doll. The NESPR, founded by Tony Spera (son-in-law of famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren), created the tour to celebrate the Warrens’ work.
The Warrens investigated the Annabelle case in 1968. According to the NESPR, the doll, a Raggedy Ann doll, was given to a nursing student who, along with her roommate, experienced strange occurrences after bringing the doll home.
A medium reportedly told them the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle. After attempts to appease the spirit reportedly resulted in malicious activity, the Warrens took possession of the doll, declaring it demonically possessed and encasing it in a glass box.
The Annabelle doll currently resides at the Warren Occult Museum in Connecticut. In a May 2025 interview, Spera described the doll as “something to be respected, not revered.”