In what appears to be a segment right out of a horror film, Dan Rivera, 54, a senior lead investigator for the Connecticut-based New England Society for Psychic Research, died on Sunday, July 13. Dan was in the midst of his Gettysburg visit in Pennsylvania as part of the Devils on the Run tour. The main attraction of the tour per se was the wildly infamous Raggedy Ann doll, Annabelle, believed to be "demonically possessed", shared a PEOPLE report.
Emergency crew responded to a Gettysburg hotel where CPR was performed on a man believed to be Dan, shared a The Evening Sun report. It was confirmed to be Dan following an update from the New England Society for Psychic Research on Facebook which read, "We are heartbroken and still processing this loss,” the society said. “Dan truly believed in sharing his experiences and educating people on the paranormal. His kindness and passion touched everyone who knew him. Thank you for your support and kind thoughts during this difficult time".
Why was Dan Rivera touring with Annabelle?
The lore of Annabelle, literal as well as fictional, has spread far and wide, even amongst those who don't particularly take to the horror genre — the reason being, it's very trying history shared by American paranormal investigators and authors, the late Edward Warren Miney and Lorraine Rita Warren, later cinematised to create the wildly successful Conjuring franchise, now a complete cinematic universe in itself.
All this to say, why would one be out on the road with Annabelle, especially as someone who believes in the power of the occult and dark arts? The reason was the Gettysburg leg of the Devils on the Run tour, hosted by tour group Ghostly Images of Gettysburg at the Soldiers National Orphanage, over the last weekend. Dan was directly involved in the same. A long-spanning effort, the tour is set to conclude this September, around the same time that the next Conjuring chapter, The Conjuring: Last Rites, will hit theatres.
{{/usCountry}}All this to say, why would one be out on the road with Annabelle, especially as someone who believes in the power of the occult and dark arts? The reason was the Gettysburg leg of the Devils on the Run tour, hosted by tour group Ghostly Images of Gettysburg at the Soldiers National Orphanage, over the last weekend. Dan was directly involved in the same. A long-spanning effort, the tour is set to conclude this September, around the same time that the next Conjuring chapter, The Conjuring: Last Rites, will hit theatres.
{{/usCountry}}An official cause of death is yet to be ascertained.