LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Event organizers in Lexington have spent all year planning one of the biggest conventions in horror, and a red-haired doll with a long, haunted past was wheeled in at the last minute to spook and inspire visitors from across the globe.
ScareFest Weekend kicked off on Friday, running until Oct. 19. Among its guests are horror icon Robert Englund, wrestling legend Chris Jericho, and the haunted collection of Warren’s Occult Museum, with Lexington being the final destination of the Devils on the Run tour.
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What to expect during ScareFest
The weekend-long event features panels from some of the biggest names in scary movies, tattoo artists, special effects crash courses, costume contests, and vendors.
Where did the haunted Annabelle doll come from?
The Warrens investigated claims surrounding Annabelle from a nursing student, Donna, who got the doll as a birthday present from her mother. Within days of being given the doll, Donna and her roommate, Angie, noticed Annabelle began mysteriously moving around the house and standing on its feet.
The Warrens took it home to their museum-like basement, where the doll was sealed in a special glass case with the words “Warning, positively do not open.”
Annabelle and the horror stories surrounding her skyrocketed to fame in 2013 with “The Conjuring,” which led to the allegedly haunted doll starring in her own film franchise the following year.
Here’s Freddy
When the late Wes Craven and former head of New Line Cinema, Rob Shaye, were brainstorming what would end up becoming “A Nightmare on Elm Street” in the early ’80s, they both agreed their movie’s monster would need to break the mold of the silent, soulless horror villain. Robert Englund’s performances as Freddy Krueger have scared and amazed movie audiences the world over.
As recently as 2024, Englund received acclaim from a new generation for his mysterious role in the fourth season of the Netflix horror drama series “Stranger Things.”…