‘Haunted’ doll Annabelle's Gettysburg tour ended tragically this weekend with the unexpected death of one of the tour's primary organizers, reigniting panic and fear among the locals. Dan Rivera, the 54-year-old lead investigator for the New England Society for Psychic Research and a US Army veteran, died unexpectedly on Sunday, July 13, 2025, during his visit to Gettysburg, the society stated on Monday evening. With his death, one question that comes to everyone's mind is if 'Annabelle' is behind Dan Rivera's sudden demise.
Did Dan Rivera attend Annabelle's Gettysburg event before death?
Rivera was one of the main organizers who led the sold-out tours for visitors to see the Annabelle doll at the Gettysburg event on Saturday.
According to the Evening Sun, which was in attendance, Rivera was full of charm as he joked with guests about the tour's popularity and craze and underlined his focus on keeping their visitors tour enjoyable before escorting them into the room to see the doll.
He said to the people assembled at the orphanage, “I want you guys to have a good time.”
During the event, Rivera, who received mentoring from renowned paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren, explained to the attendees the measures he implemented to "protect them" from the doll, including the case containing the doll he had constructed himself.
Rivera informed the gathering, he constructed a structure that was stained with holy water and featured three crosses, symbolizing the holy trinity.
{{/usCountry}}Rivera informed the gathering, he constructed a structure that was stained with holy water and featured three crosses, symbolizing the holy trinity.
{{/usCountry}}Rivera quipped during his remarks that "we did not burn down that plantation," and “we did not free those prisoners,” alluding to some of the stories that went viral and were attempted to be connected to the doll's tour on social media.
He went on to mention that “Annabelle had not caused a 911 outage that sent wireless emergency alerts blaring across cellphones in Pennsylvania, including inside of the doll's first showings a day prior.”
In reference to his late mentor, Rivera told the audience that her advice on warding off “evil spirits” was similar to meditation.
“What Lorraine would say to protect yourself,” Rivera continued, “is to close your eyes and envision yourself in a halo of white light.”
While Rivera's cause of death has not been revealed by officials, several netizens on X wondered if he was killed by Annabelle.
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Here's what netizens are saying on Dan Rivera's demise
Expressing outrage and anger at the Annabelle tour organisers, one X user wrote: “This was bound to happen.”
“I don't know why people are still playing with Annabelle,” another commented.
“I had a ticket to the last timeslot Sunday & didn’t go bc my daughter had a terrible gut feeling. *Never* ignore gut feelings. Glad I stayed home,” third person said.
“Keep that doll locked up,” a fourth person chimed in, while the fifth said, “Y’all should never mess with Annabelle.”
“The curse is real,” one more added.