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Famed comedian Matt Rife has become the proud new owner of an historic Connecticut museum and home—a purchase that has also seen him inheriting a very significant role: guardian of the infamous Annabelle doll, a sinister toy that has been at the center of much paranormal interest since the 1970s.
Rife, 29, took to Instagram to reveal his spine-tingling news, voicing his excitement at owning such an important piece of history, which was previously owned by late paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who ran an occult museum out of their dwelling for decades.
However, the museum shut down in 2019 amid a number of zoning issues and has sat abandoned ever since—until Rife and his close friend, YouTube creator Elton Castee, stepped up to restore the piece of paranormal history.
The comedian revealed that their purchase of the property not only secured them “the most important and prominent piece of paranormal history in the world,” but also granted them ownership of the Warrens’ entire collection of occult memorabilia, including the “haunted” Annabelle doll.
“I have officially purchased Ed and Lorraine Warren’s home and Occult Museum, including being the legal guardian for at least the next five years, of the entire haunted collection including THE ANNABELLE DOLL,” he said at the beginning of his post.
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The jokester did not reveal how much he paid for the dwelling, which is located in Monroe, CT, and was the backdrop of over 3,000 paranormal investigations that inspired multiple horror films like “The Conjuring” and “The Amityville Horror.”
He assured fans that this was a smart purchase because he is a huge fan of horror film—especially the flicks including the famed doll.
“The ‘Conjuring’ films are my favorite scary movies of all time. So I’m incredibly honored to have taken over one of the most prominent properties in paranormal history,” he revealed.
“So I’m incredibly honored to have taken over one of the most prominent properties in paranormal history. Ed and Lorraine Warren arguably put demonology and paranormal into the mainstream and are the very heart of some of the most famous haunted stories of all time, ‘The Conjuring House,’ ‘Amityville Horror,’ et…
“We plan to open the house for overnight stays and museum tours so you yourself can experience and learn all the haunted history surrounding this amazing place.”
In a separate video, he added, “We are the legal guardians and caretakers of all 750 haunted artifacts and items in the Warren Museum, including the Annabelle doll. I must go on record and say we do not legally own items, but we are the legal guardians and caretakers of the items for at least the next five years.
“This is the most random hobby ever, but it’s so f—ing cool, man. I should probably collect stamps or something. Might be a little safer.”
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Castee also chimed in on Rife’s video, penning in the comments section: “Still can’t believe we’re the new owners… Sitting on their porch now looking at all the photos of them at this house. We’re gonna make this the best paranormal investigation location on the planet.”
The infamous doll is thought to be haunted and is even believed to have haunted two roommates in the 1970s by moving itself, leaving notes, and trying to choke one of the pals who was sleeping in the abode.
It was recently brought back into headlines when Dan Rivera, who hosted paranormal investigations and was part of the “Devils on the Run Tour,” suddenly died in his hotel room.
Rivera was traveling around the country to showcase the doll as part of the tour.
Despite the belief that the doll is responsible for his death, the doll was not in the room at the time of his and police officers revealed that there was “nothing unusual or suspicious” about his death.
Tony Spera, the Warrens’ son-in-law and co-director of the their organization, New England Society for Psychic Research, revealed to Today that that the doll and the remainder of the Warrens’ collection is only being leased to Rife.
“We have no plans to ever ‘sell’ the artifacts,” he told the outlet.