Paranormal Investigator Dies While Touring With ‘Demonically Possessed’ Doll: Weird News & Oddities

The final leg of the “Devils of the Run” national tour of the supposedly “demonically possessed” Annabelle doll last weekend in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, ended in tragedy with the sudden death of paranormal researcher Dan Rivera.

Rivera, 54, had just finished a sold-out show Saturday and was found unresponsive in his hotel room Sunday, July 13. An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death. Results are expected in several months.

The doll was not found in the hotel room and may have already been packed in a van, according to investigators.

Annabelle is usually kept at an occult museum in Monroe, Connecticut, founded by the famous late paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The doll and the Warrens inspired multiple horror films, ranging from “Annabelle” to “The Conjuring.”

The Warrens moved the doll out of their house to the museum in the 1970s. Over the years, the Warrens have attributed various horrors to the doll, including inflicting “psychic slashes” and forcing a detective to stab himself.

• Read more: Paranormal Investigator Dies While Touring With ‘Demonically Possessed’ Annabelle
• And here’s another story: CT Paranormal Researcher Involved With Famous Annabelle Doll Dies

Stuffed With Nightmares

Wait. Aren’t teddy bears supposed to be comforting?

Not so much with a novelty teddy bear made to look like it was wrapped in human skin that prompted police in Victorville, California, to cordon off a gas station and call in the coroner’s office to inspect the gruesome-looking thing.

Officers had described it as “a teddy bear patched together from flesh.” A closer forensics examination gave everyone involved reason to sigh in relief. The teddy bear was constructed of man-made materials and contained no human tissue.

The bear is the creation of Robert Kelly, a South Carolina horror artist and designer who sells the bears on Etsy. He told Patch he had no idea that the customer would place the macabre bear at the bus stop at the ARCO gas station as a prank.

• Read the Patch Exclusive: Inside The Mind Of Horror Artist Who Crafted ‘Human-Skinned’ Teddy Bear
• Also: What To Know About Bear ‘Wrapped In Human Skin’

Bear Scare Of A Different Sort

A Granby, Connecticut, family had a bear scare of a different sort late last month.

As if they owned the place, three bear cubs got in through a screen door in the basement, helped themselves to some food and then left, eluding wildlife officials who responded to the family’s call for help.

Bears are common in the area, so much so that the local high school sports teams compete as the Bears.

• Read more: Bears Snag Food Inside CT Home

Elmo Would Never Say That

The always cheerful Elmo, the beloved red monster from the children’s television show “Sesame Street,” did not unleash a torrent of hate speech on his X account.

Elmo’s verified account, despite security precautions, was hacked.

Instead of the usual posts of encouragement and kindness, Elmo’s 650,000 followers were given antisemitic threats and a profane reference to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the TV show and its characters, called the screed “disgusting.” The tweets were quickly deleted, and the account has been restored.

“We strongly condemn the abhorrent antisemitic and racist content, and the account has since been secured,” Sesame Workshop said in a statement on X.

• Read more: Elmo Hacked With Antisemitic Screed

Earthquake? Sonic Boom? Guess Again.

When some people reported an earthquake rattled north Georgia in late June, the National Weather Service initially dismissed the concerns and said what they’d heard was a harmless sonic boom.

But then reports began pouring in about fireballs and light streaking across the sky.

NASA had the final word. The object that fell from the sky — and through the roof of a Henry County home — came from “an asteroidal fragment weighing about a ton.”

The rock left a hole in the ceiling about the size of a golf ball and a crack in the laminate flooring.

• Read more: Apparent Meteor Crashes Through Georgia Home

How Windy Was It?

It was windy enough on Monday to topple a large canopy on its side at a Norwalk, Connecticut, gas station.

Fortunately, gas pumps were closed when the canopy toppled and no one was injured. There were no gas leaks, according to the Norwalk Fire Department.

• Read more: Large Canopy Tips Over At Gas Station

Parting Shot

The tacos may have been the main act at a taco festival in New Lenox, Illinois, last weekend, it was the chihuahuas who stole the show.

Ten contestants strutted the red carpet at New Lenox's Food Fight: Taco Fest. With tacos and margaritas in hand, the audience enjoyed the show, cooing as the pups showed off skirts, a lion’s mane, a tutu—and even a Santa suit.

• More photos in the Patch Exclusive: Chihuahua Couture Steals The Show At Taco Fest