If you click on my affiliate links and make a purchase, I may receive a tiny commission and be able to buy a caffeinated beverage to continue writing these articles.
"It's coming after me. Coming after my soul.”
- Janice
""Annabelle: Creation" was released in 2017, set in 1955, and is the backstory of one of the most notable killer dolls in the horror world. According to the movie, years before Lorraine and Ed Warren were involved with Annabelle, she was brought into existence by a doll maker, Samuel Mullins (Anthony LaPaglia), owner of the Mullins Toy Company. Samuel Mullins and his wife, Esther Mullins (Miranda Otto), tragically lost their young daughter, Annabelle (Samara Lee), in an automobile accident.
"We find comfort in knowing that she waits for you in heaven."
- Sister Charlotte
The couple's grief led them to find whatever way possible to communicate with their deceased daughter. They summon what they believe is the spirit of their daughter and find so much comfort in her presence that when the spirit asks to inhabit one of Mr. Mullins' dolls, blinded by their grief, the Mullins say yes.
"They saved my soul, but the evil was still attached to that doll."
- Esther Mullins
Soon, all hell breaks loose, and the Mullins quickly learn that whatever was pretending to be their daughter is evil incarnate. The evil entity makes an attempt at stealing Esther's soul, but the Mullins find help and lock the doll away in a wardrobe plastered with pages from the bible.
All is well.
Only it isn't.
Years later, in an attempt to fill the empty space in their home and hearts, the Mullins decide to open up their gigantic farmhouse to six young orphan girls and a nun, who just so happens to tie into the Abbey in Romania from "The Nun." It isn't long before the evil locked away in the doll begins to prey on the girls in the home, terrifying each of them while looking for another soul.
"What do you want?"
- Janice
"Your soul."
- Annabelle
Let me preface this by saying that yes, there is a real Annabelle doll, but no, this movie isn't the doll's real origin story. Yes, the original Annabelle was a young girl who died in an automobile accident, but that's about where the similarities stop. The doll itself was even done up in a more spooky fashion. In reality, the Annabelle doll is a classic Raggedy Ann doll manufactured by Knickerbocker Toy Co. Though throughout the movie, plenty of Raggedy Anne dolls are snuck in here and there.
In "Annabelle: Creation," the evil inside the doll focuses most of its energy on a young girl, Janice (Talitha Bateman). Eventually, after frightening her like no other, stalking her, and even injuring her, the demonic entity traps Janice in a barn and enters her body. Possessing her. However, before Janice even arrived at the Mullins', the demon waited inside the Annabelle doll for a new conduit. So is it possible that demons can enter any toys you may have hanging around while they wait for a new place to inhabit?
Maybe.
"The devil preys on those weak in faith, not weak of flesh or bone."
- Sister Charlotte
According to Catholic expert on religious demonology and exorcisms, Adam Blai, in his book, Hauntings, Possessions, and Exorcisms, only people can be demonically possessed. However, inanimate objects like dolls can be negatively controlled by a curse.
"A curse is simply a demon sent to do some harm. . . . Cursed objects are objects that have had the opposite of a blessing done to them. Instead of grace being attached to an object to make it holy, a demon has been attached to the object to make it associated with evil" - Hauntings, Possessions, and Exorcisms
The permission of whoever owns the object must be granted in order for a demon to curse it or attach itself and incite chaos. This is the case for smaller inanimate objects, but when permission is granted for something much larger, like a house, for instance, and demons are able to wreak havoc and commit evil acts on a more grand scale, it's called a demonic infestation. Annabelle may be a doll and not a house, but clearly, it's just as scary to have a demon attached to a doll. So just don't give permission for either one unless you're looking for a rough time.
The demon attached to Annabelle is looking for a living being to inhabit and finds the perfect targets once the girls arrive. To leave the doll, the evil must find another home or be locked away inside the doll behind strict protection to keep it from harming anyone. Demons needing another landing spot, so to speak, once they leave the conduit isn't anything new. In Matthew 8:28-34, Jesus cast demons into a herd of pigs in order to save the souls of two possessed men.
"You mustn't give up hope. Hope is a home unto itself. Dwell in it, and it will protect and keep you."
- The "book of Charlotte"
Demons aside, haunted inanimate objects are actually fairly common. In fact, they're so common that there's an entire realm of haunted objects for sale on sites like eBay and Etsy and even a show from Travel Channel called "Haunted Things." There's a difference between a haunted object and a cursed object used to induce harm and spread evil.
In a previous article, I described Haunted Inanimate Objects as "Chairs, toys, trinkets, or objects that may have been significant to someone while they were alive might be something that becomes haunted after their death. Other objects included in this could be ones that are associated with death, such as a gun or a knife."
Energy cannot be destroyed, and even after a person passes away, whatever energy is associated with their life or death needs a place to exist. If a person is particularly fond of something, maybe a prized piece of jewelry, or something from their childhood, their energy may stay with that even after they've passed.
Objects associated with death, like weapons, have a large amount of heavy and negative energy associated with them for as long as they exist. This energy can undoubtedly stick around. Whether the spirit of someone is consciously attached to these objects or it's just energy left over from their time on earth, haunted inanimate objects can come across as either creepy or comforting depending on the case and who you ask.
The ending of "Annabelle: Creation" gives viewers a nice tie-in to the original "Annabelle" movie. Though it's far from the true story of the real Annabelle doll, it ties in nicely with the rest of the Conjuring series. In my opinion, "Annabelle: Creation" is one of the creepiest chapters in the Conjuring series, and as it seems to be the case with most movies within this franchise, director David F. Sandberg had the set of the film blessed by a priest.
No paranormal occurrences were reported during filming.
Uncover your own haunts