Comedian Matt Rife reveals he is now caretaker of supposedly haunted Annabelle doll
No joke: Matt Rife may be conjuring up more than laughs.
The comedian, 29, announced on Instagram that he and YouTuber Elton Castee have purchased the former home of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators depicted in the "Conjuring" films.
Rife also said he is now "the legal guardian for at least the next 5 years" of the Warrens' "entire haunted collection," including the supposedly haunted Annabelle doll. He shared a photo of himself and Castee posing in front of Annabelle, a Raggedy Ann doll that was alleged to have been possessed in one of the Warrens' most famous cases.
"We do not legally own the items, but we are the legal guardians and caretakers of the items," Rife said in a video. He added that fans will be able to "book a night or a weekend" in the Warrens' former home. "It will be operated as an (Airbnb)," the comedian wrote in an Instagram comment.
"This is the most random hobby ever," he quipped in his video.
The case of Annabelle, in which a student nurse alleged the doll was moving on its own, was dramatized in the 2013 horror movie "The Conjuring," starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren. The film spawned a universe of horror movies about the Warrens' other cases and haunted artifacts, including three standalone "Annabelle" films about the doll itself.
Tony Spera, the Warrens' son-in-law and co-director of the New England Society for Psychic Research, clarified to Today.com that he and his wife Judy still own the Annabelle doll and the Warrens' other supposedly haunted artifacts but are leasing them to Rife and Castee. "We have no plans to ever 'sell' the artifacts," he told the outlet.
Ed and Lorraine Warren investigated more than 100 cases during their time as paranormal investigators, according to the New England Society for Psychic Research, the organization they founded. Ed Warren died in 2006, at age 79, while Lorraine Warren died in 2019 at age 92.
The latest "Conjuring" film based on their lives, "The Conjuring: Last Rites," is set for release in September.