Is Annabelle based on a true story? Explained

Annabelle is partly based on a true story, then supercharged by cinema. The 2014 film Annabelle, directed by John R. Leonetti, starring Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton, and Alfre Woodard, spun off from The Conjuring and kicked off its own trilogy with Annabelle: Creation (2017) and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). On screen, Annabelle is a porcelain nightmare tied to a demon; in real life, “Annabelle” was a 1970 Raggedy Ann in a case file publicised by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

Their account, preserved via the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), says two nursing students found the doll moved on its own and left notes. The Warrens concluded that an “inhuman” presence used the doll as a conduit and locked it in their Occult Museum. The museum later closed to the public, but the doll remains with the Warren family. The movies fictionalise key beats (porcelain prop, a cult break-in, and the named demon “Malthus”), while the starcast and timelines grow the franchise around Annabelle’s lore.

Meanwhile, The Conjuring: Last Rites is now in theaters, reuniting Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga under director Michael Chaves and expanding the same universe that spawned Annabelle.

The real Annabelle: a 1970 Raggedy Ann, two nurses, and the Warrens’ “inhuman spirit” theory

What the nurses reported: In NESPR’s telling (echoed by contemporary coverage), the doll allegedly shifted positions, appeared in different rooms, and “Help us” notes were found on parchment the roommates didn’t own. The Warren account frames the “Annabelle Higgins” name as information obtained during a seance, not proof of a child’s ghost. Smithsonian’s overview puts it succinctly: As per Smithsonian Magazine's report about the history of creepy dolls dated July 15, 2015, the outlet noted,

“Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren claimed that Annabelle the Raggedy Ann doll, whose original owners frequently found her in places they hadn’t left her, was being used by a demonic spirit in its quest to possess a human soul; she now lives in a specially-made demon-proof case marked “Warning: Positively Do Not Open” at the Warren’s Occult Museum in Connecticut..”

Why the Warrens intervened: The conclusion in their case write-ups is not “possessed doll,” but “inhuman presence” manipulating an object and seeking a human host. In a public talk, Tony Spera (the Warrens’ son-in-law) emphasized the risk. As per the New Haven Register report dated October 4, 2014, Tony Spera stated,

“that doll is what I’d be most frightened of....Never take things like this lightly, thinking it’s a joke.”

Where the doll is now: The artifact was taken to the Warrens’ Occult Museum and displayed in a locked case. Local reporting notes the museum’s public closure years later, with items, including Annabelle, now appearing only at controlled events.

Annabelle’s real-world look (a soft Raggedy Ann) contrasts sharply with the film prop. Culturally, the story sits where paranormal folklore and pop-horror marketing meet. That contrast, Raggedy Ann versus movie porcelain, helped fuel the IP’s reach far beyond the original file. In Annabelle (2014), the demon’s goal is a soul. Neighbor Evelyn sacrifices herself to save Mia and her baby, the doll vanishes, and months later, an antique-shop customer buys it for a nursing student, an invented bridge back toward the Warrens’ lore.

What demon “possesses” the doll in the movies? The franchise answer is Malthus

On-screen canon treats the doll as a conduit for a demon, the fandom and coverage identify it as “Malthus.” Certain sources' coverage spells out the tether: Annabelle traces the origins of the doll’s link to the demon Malthus.

This is not in the historical case file. The Warrens never named a specific demon in their Annabelle report. “Malthus” is a Conjuring-universe label that simplifies the threat for storytelling. The Annabelle movies focus on the demon Malthus, while The Nun films follow Valak.

The films also invent a break-in by cultists and the figure “Annabelle Higgins,” and redesign the doll as porcelain for visual impact, divergences repeatedly noted in mainstream rundowns of the true story behind Annabelle. The doll threads through The Conjuring timeline: debuting in The Conjuring (as an artifact), starring in Annabelle (2014), origin-focused in Annabelle: Creation (2017), and re-caged chaos in Annabelle Comes Home (2019).

Who or what is "Malthus"?

Within the films, Malthus is the named demonic entity attached to Annabelle. Within the Warrens’ case, the most specific language is “inhuman presence,” not a proper name. That boundary matters: it separates real-world lore from screen canon. As per People.com report dated October 6, 2024, Judy Spera remarked,

“I was terrified there, in their house, so I just didn’t sleep there. I couldn’t sleep in a room by myself,”

Illustrating how the family treats the artifacts seriously, while public coverage distinguishes Hollywood from history. For production flavor, the Creation director outlined how he balanced showing/not showing the demon. As per Bloody Disgusting report dated August 10, 2017, David F. Sandberg said,

“There weren’t really guidelines … it was just let’s see what it winds up as,”

and added,

“it’s kind of a hard balance … it can get silly if you see too much of it.”

There’s no studio-side, primary sourcing that “Malthus” is lifted from classical demonology. Coverage generally treats the name as a franchise device to personify the evil around the prop and unify Annabelle’s appearances.

Stay tuned for more updates.