Annabelle, The Cursed Doll

Dolls scare the hell out of me so this story gave me nightmares. I'm not entirely sure why, but cursed dolls are particularly scary to me.  This is the story of an over sized Raggedy Ann doll named Annabelle. Annabelle was a gift given to a young nurse named Donna by her mother. It wasn't long after Annabelle was given to Donna that Donna began to notice Annabelle moved about the apartment on her own. Donna and her roommate, Angie, began to notice that they would leave for work and when they came home the doll would be laying on the bed in a different position. The women started arranging the doll purposely in one position and they would find it with its arms crossed or legs moved. This went on for some time and after a while the doll became more active. It would change rooms. Once, they even found the doll kneeling. This is a position that is impossible for a raggedy anne doll on its own.

Over time the doll began to leave messages. The messages were left in pencil on parchment paper. The women had never owned parchment paper so its origin was as mysterious as the messages themselves. The notes usually said "help us" or "help lou". The women began rigging the apartment to check for intruders. They thought that maybe someone was tricking them, but there was no evidence of break ins. One night they came home to find blood on the doll's hand.

Finally, the women contacted a medium to talk to the doll. The doll said that she was a little girl who had died on the property who was lonely. After this, the women contacted paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Warrens believed the story about the little girl was trickery to gain sympathy and that Annabelle was really possessed by a demon. This belief was confirmed when Angie's boyfriend was attacked physically by some unseen spirit in the apartment. The attack left a series of deep marks on Lou's chest.

After this, a priest was called in to do an exorcism. The exorcism seemed to work and the Warren's offered to take Annabelle home with them. On the way home, Annabelle caused the car to veer off the road almost killing the Warrens. The Warrens dosed the doll in Holly Water and the activity stopped for a time. Soon after, Annabelle began to be active in the Warrens' home and they had to move her to their Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut. They keep a website that documents their experiences with Annabelle at http://www.edandlorrainwarren.com/. The doll has remained active since its placement in the museum and is even thought to be responsible for some deaths since that time.

The Island of The Dolls

There is an island just South of Mexico City called Xochimico. Xochimico  is famous for its beautiful gardens, scenic canals, and ancient history.  Thousands of tourists travel through the canals of this beautiful island to gaze in wonder at the hanging gardens of Mexico.  Hidden deep in these canals, far away from the normal tourist routes is a swamp with that is thick with scraggly trees that are all hung heavy with with the broken and shattered remains of an army of dolls.

 According to travelocity,  it is the creepiest place on earth.   Although I have never seen this island,  I tend to agree.  Fifty years ago,  a little girl drown in the extensive canals that innervate the small island.  At the time the island was occupied by a man named Don Julián Santana Barrera.  Shortly after the little girl drowned,  Barrera found a doll in the swampy waters of the isolated island.   A few days later,  he found another doll.   Several days later he found another doll.   Berrera became convinced that the dolls were a sign from the netherworld.  He believed that the dolls were  vessles that had been sent to keep the little girl company and prevent evil from seeping out through the swamp.   Berrera took this message seriously and began to collect dolls from all over and hang dolls from the trees. 

Berrera died mysteriously some time later and from that point the mystery grew.  Many people said that the dolls had come to life and killed Berrera.  Others insisted they had seen the dolls wandering the island at night.   Some believe that the dolls have come to life to replace Berrera as the island's keeper.  Whatever the case, the pictures of this location are terrifying.  It is an island hung with decaying, glass eyed dolls that stare out vacantly at those that pass by in boats.