Close Call: Annabelle is NOT Being Stored in a Roadside Box in New Milford

For a second, I actually thought Annabelle was being stored in a roadside box in New Milford.

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I was on the way back from my doctor's appointment in New Milford on Tuesday (10/11/22) when I passed the infamous annual Halloween display on Grove Street. I pulled into Addis Park and decided to walk over, get a close look and snap some photos.

After all, I'd been told by New Milford State Rep Bill "Mo" Buckbee that this would be the last year this Halloween display would be there. He told me that the family that puts it together was moving. Plus, the pumpkin butt always gives me a chuckle, so why not?

It was sunny and quiet, except for the homeowner's dog barking at me. The peace of the sunshine and nature did not last long, and I jumped back in terror when I saw the display included a box with "Annabelle" in it!?.

I knew Annabelle was coming to New Milford to be displayed at a special event on October 30, 2022.

I knew that the town of New Milford officials were really excited about this.

I also know New Milford folks have a tendency to be risk takers. So, for one brief moment I thought I was face-to-face with Annabelle, a situation I swore I'd never find myself in. Just to be certain I texted "Mo" and asked where Annabelle was.

He thought it was funny and "adorable." Not me man, call me what you want but I don't play with demons homie. Anyway, it turned out to be an "adorable" accessory to the rest of the roadside attraction, named the "Cheeky Tiki Bar" this year.

As usual, the homeowners put a ton of detail into their October setup.

It's a full bar setup.

With an unreasonable amount of orange butt cheeks on display.

A creepy bartender.

And patrons that look like they just left a Jimmy Buffet contest.

The Annabelle box is all the way to the left, so my attention was fixed on getting good pictures and I had my back turned to the box. Then, I turned around to see what else, and.......

BOOM! Awful, murderous, demon-doll staring me right in my face-piece. That was an unpleasant surprise, and a close call for sure.

We talked about this on the I-95 Morning Show on Thursday (10/13/22), listen below.

For more information on Annabelle's appearance in New Milford, click here.

If you think it's funny that I am scared of this doll, you should probably listen to the interview (below) we did with her handler some time ago.

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WHO IS ANNABELLE?

Annabelle was a Raggedy Ann Doll that somehow became, so much more.

Paranormal experts will tell you the doll is one of the world's most haunted objects. Let's back up in case you don't know Annabelle's story.

Annabelle was a Raggedy Ann doll that was gifted to a student-nurse in the 1970's according to the Hollywood Reporter. The doll began to act up, displaying paranormal behaviors and was brought to a psychic medium. The medium determined that the doll was the host to the spirit of a girl named Annabelle who was deceased. The nurse tried to live with the doll and its possession but its evil behavior became too much to handle and was turned over to paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren of Monroe, CT.

Ed and Lorraine were famous to occult fans in their day, but have become internationally known in recent years. Their ghostly investigations have been turned into Hollywood films like "The Conjuring", "The Conjuring 2", and "The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made me Do it." The Annabelle doll also got the silver-screen treatment with "Annabelle", "Annabelle Creation" and "Annabelle Comes Home."

The infamy of the doll, and the Warrens, increased as tales of the dolls deeds spread around the country. It's said that peril would land on anyone who confronted or challenged the doll. The Warrens displayed the Annabelle doll at their Monroe Occult Museum for years. They would tell guests not to taunt Annabelle because she would take vengeance when she was angry.

There is a famous Annabelle story that always gets told first and Halloween Year Round published it in 2019. One one occasion, it's said that a young man challenged the doll, despite a warning from Ed and Lorraine, not to. He and his girlfriend were thrown out of the museum for ignoring instructions, and as the legend goes, they were killed in a motorcycle accident on the way home.

Ed Warren died in 2006, Lorraine passed away in 2019 and the Warren's son-in-law Tony Spera took over as the Governor of the Occult Museum and Annabelle.

To hear more about what is going on in New Milford, and the rest of the Greater-Danbury area, be sure to listen to the I-95 Morning Show from 6-10 am (95.1FM). You can listen to the show on-demand with the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.