Dan Rivera's death: Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans' haunting experience with the Annabelle doll is still creeping people out

Time of India

17-07-2025

Dan Rivera's death: Paranormal investigator Dan Rivera, 54, has died suddenly while touring with the infamous Annabelle doll, believed by many to be haunted. His unexpected death has left everyone in shock. As news of his passing spreads, many are recalling a chilling account shared by American paranormal expert Zak Bagans, who once described the disturbing impact touching the doll had on him. Here's what he said.
Zak Bagans' haunting experience with the Annabelle doll
Back in 2017, Zak Bagans took to his Facebook account to address the backlash he received for touching the haunted Annabelle doll. In response to the outrage, he shared a detailed account of how he felt in the doll's presence and described the unsettling experience he had during that time.
Responding to criticism, Bagans emphasized that many viewers simply don't understand what it's like to be in such intense paranormal situations. He explained that he is a 'sensitive' not a psychic medium but someone who has always been highly receptive to energies, whether from living beings, objects, or spirits.
He described his experiences around Annabelle as overwhelming, explaining that the doll was infused with a complex mix of layered energies. According to Bagans, a dark entity had latched onto the doll, using it as a host to influence and manipulate the living. He also believed that both past and present owners had contributed their own energies, both good and bad, to the doll. Its long stay in a cursed and haunted occult museum, surrounded by other possessed artifacts, only intensified the entity's strength. On top of that, the doll's Hollywood fame had brought greed, lawsuits, and negativity, further fueling the energy surrounding it.
So many of you in outrage because I touched "Annabelle" so here's my response. While so many viewers think they know...
Initially skeptical of Annabelle, Bagans said his doubts vanished once the doll arrived and his team began documenting significant evidence using various pieces of paranormal equipment. He and his colleagues, Billy and Aaron, felt extraordinary sensations around and beneath the doll. They captured spirit box voices saying "Annabelle," "Anna," and 'Grab leg,' among other messages. SLS camera evidence reportedly showed two figures entering Bagans when Annabelle's figure would leave the doll's body and go into his.
How touching the Annabelle doll affected him
He recounted becoming emotionally affected during the encounter, feeling inexplicably sad as the spirit box emitted phrases like 'you' and 'us,' which he interpreted as signs that the entity within Annabelle was attempting to manipulate him. He described going into a trance-like state, feeling freezing cold, while one of his team members was drenched in sweat. The event even stunned Tony Spera, curator of the Warren Occult Museum and the doll's custodian, who witnessed the evidence firsthand.
Bagans admitted to touching Annabelle but claimed it was not a stunt for television. He said he felt compelled, as though something had taken hold of him. He expressed regret for upsetting Tony Spera and the late Lorraine Warren, acknowledging that the act of touching the doll seemed to trigger a series of strange events in his life. Despite the risks, he stood by the investigation, proud that his team was the first to investigate Annabelle on television and that they had captured what he described as 'incredible evidence.'
What investigators have to say about Dan Rivera's death
As reported by the New York Post, Dan Rivera, a U.S. Army veteran and paranormal investigator, passed away suddenly while on his sold-out "Devils on the Run Tour" in Pennsylvania. The incident occurred on Sunday, shortly after he concluded a three-day event in Gettysburg, hosted by "Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Tours" at the historic Soldiers National Orphanage, according to the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR).
Rivera had been touring the country with the reportedly haunted Annabelle doll, visiting various paranormal sites. Emergency responders, including firefighters and medics, were called to his Gettysburg hotel that evening following a report of CPR in progress. However, by the time they arrived, Rivera had already passed away.