Haunted doll tour turns tragic as paranormal investigator Dan Rivera dies at 54

Paranormal investigator Dan Rivera died just hours after wrapping up a sold-out event featuring the infamous Annabelle doll in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Fox News Digital confirmed Rivera’s “sudden and heartbreaking” passing with the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR). He died after being found unresponsive in his hotel room on Sunday. He was 54. 

First responders attempted CPR, but were unable to revive Rivera, according to reporting from the Evening Sun.

The Gettysburg event was the final stop of the “Devils on the Run” tour, which showcased haunted artifacts from NESPR’s collection. Ghostly Images of Gettysburg, that hosted the stop, said in a Facebook post, “Dan was a great man and a good friend of ours. He will be missed by all who knew him.”

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Rivera, a U.S. Army veteran, a husband and father of four, was the lead investigator for NESPR. He appeared on Travel Channel’s “Most Haunted Places” and consulted on Netflix’s “28 Days Haunted.” 

NESPR said his work was driven by “a genuine desire to educate, help, and connect with others,” calling him “a deeply compassionate, loyal, and dedicated friend.”

At the center of Rivera’s final tour was Annabelle, the Raggedy Ann doll believed to be demonically possessed. Annabelle inspired “The Conjuring” series of films beginning in 2013 and became a global horror icon in the process.

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In 1970, a Connecticut nurse reported that the doll moved on its own, left disturbing notes, and physically attacked her friend.

At the time, a psychic claimed the spirit of a 7-year-old child named Annabelle Higgins was inside the doll, but Ed and Lorraine Warren didn’t buy it. The Warrens, seasoned paranormal investigators and founders of NESPR, concluded the presence wasn’t a lost child at all, but a “malevolent entity” using the guise of innocence to manipulate and ultimately harm. 

According to their case files, the spirit’s activity escalated from movements to disturbing notes, then to physical attacks. The Warrens had the doll removed from the home into their museum.

Since the museum closed in 2019, the doll has traveled across the country only under strict NESPR supervision. “She is never out of our control,” NESPR director Tony Spera told Newsweek back in May.

“[Rivera] cared for Lorraine towards the end of her life,” said Paranormal State’s Ryan Buell in a tribute posted online. “When I got clean, Dan believed in me. He wanted me to come back home. He believed in me when I struggled to believe in myself.” Buell also shared some of Rivera’s work behind-the-scenes, writing “He helped haunted families. He carried the Warrens’ mission forward. I also mourn his unfinished dreams and ideas for the future.”

Officials say Rivera’s death is not considered suspicious. The Adams County Coroner has confirmed there are no signs of foul play. An autopsy is pending, which is standard for deaths outside a hospital.

NESPR said the tour will continue in his honor. NESPR shared Rivera’s own words in its statement: “In life we leave a piece of ourselves with loved ones and friends. So, I say I will never die. My journey has only begun.”