Paranormal TV investigator Dan Rivera dies suddenly while touring with haunted Annabelle doll
Brooke Ivey Johnson
Prominent paranormal investigator Dan Rivera died suddenly while on tour with the haunted doll that the movie The Conjuring is based on (Picture: Getty)
The paranormal community is in mourning following the sudden and mysterious death of Dan Rivera.
The well-known ghost hunter and caretaker of the infamous haunted Annabelle doll passed away while on a U.S. tour at 54 years old.
Rivera, a lead investigator with the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), was found unresponsive in his Gettysburg, Pennsylvania hotel room on Sunday night.
He had been in town for a sold-out stop on his Devils on the Run tour, a controversial cross-country event showcasing the real Annabelle doll, famously linked to demonic possession and featured in The Conjuring universe.
Australian horror filmmaker James Wan, who brought Annabelle to global attention in his 2013 hit The Conjuring and its 2014 spin-off, paid tribute to Rivera on social media Wednesday, expressing shock and sadness over the investigator’s unexpected passing.
Wan, 48, had only recently mourned the loss of another close colleague, Jason Constantine.
Fear erupts as paranormal investigator dies suddenly while leading Annabelle haunted doll tour
Rivera was found unresponsive in his hotel room (Picture: Instagram)
WESTWOOD, CA - JUNE 20: James Wan arrives for the Premiere Of Warner Bros' "Annabelle Comes Home" held at Regency Village Theatre on June 20, 2019 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
James Wan, the filmmaker behind the Annabelle franchise, paid tribute to Rivera online(Picture: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
James Wan, Writer/Producer, Annabelle, Vera Farmiga seen at Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema 'ANNABELLE COMES HOMES' World Premiere, Los Angeles, CA, USA - 20 June 2019 (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)
The doll is believed to be haunted by a malevolent spirit (Picture: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)
Emergency dispatch records confirmed a CPR-in-progress call for a man matching Rivera’s description, but the official cause of death has not yet been released.
NESPR confirmed Rivera’s death soon after, prompting an outpouring of grief from fans and fellow investigators across the world.
Rivera had become a cult figure in the paranormal world, gaining a devoted following through his eerie investigations, viral content, and direct work with some of the world’s most notorious haunted objects.
At the center of it all was Annabelle, a seemingly innocuous Raggedy Ann doll believed to be possessed by a malevolent spirit, or worse.
Annabelle’s legend dates back to the 1970s, when a young nurse claimed the doll moved on its own and left frightening handwritten messages.
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren concluded the doll was a conduit for a demonic entity and locked it inside a glass case in their private occult museum, where it remained for decades until Rivera and NESPR took it on tour earlier this year.
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