There are three “Annabelle” movies in the “Conjuring” franchise. These creepy movies featuring a demonic doll have grown in popularity over the years, and the story intrigues many people. Some may not realize, however, that these movies are based on real events. So what happened in the real Annabelle story? 

It all started around the 1950s. A nursing student named Donna was given the Raggedy Ann doll as a gift for her 28th birthday from her mother. At the time, Donna was living with her friend Angie. As time went on, they started to notice weird things about their doll. 

It started with small movements. Then, the doll started moving so much that it would sometimes even end up in a different room than where they placed her. They would even find notes around their house with different eerie messages. Some of the messages were written on materials that the girls did not even have in their apartment, like parchment paper.

One day Lou, Donna’s boyfriend, was at their apartment when he heard a crashing noise coming from her bedroom. When he went to check it out, he felt a sharp pain in his body. He then realized that he had bloody claw marks and scratches against his body. That is when the girls decided to call a medium to investigate. 

The medium told them that a little girl had died where their apartment complex had been built. The girls felt bad for the girl and allowed her to live as the doll. 

Over time, the girls finally could not stand the activity and called on a priest to come to their home. The priest called Ed and Lorraine Warren to investigate the case. The Warrens explained that the doll was not just the spirit of a little girl, but what they believed to be a demonic entity looking for a human host. 

The Warren’s called for an exorcism, and the doll now resides in their museum. As it turns out, the doll had been bought at a second-hand store. So, next time you decide to go to a vintage or second-hand store, you may want to think about who owned it first.