Dan Rivera’s Gettysburg Death Had No Annabelle Twist, Coroner Confirms
It turns out that even haunted dolls sometimes have a day off. The day after paranormal investigator Dan Rivera was found dead in a Gettysburg hotel room during his national tour with the infamous Annabelle doll, Pennsylvania coroner Francis Dutrow told CNN on July 17 that the Raggedy Ann toy alleged to be possessed by a little girl was not in the room at the time of Rivera’s death. That confirmation quashes one of the most sensational theories swirling online, according to the official police report filed on July 16, which labeled his passing “natural” and noted there was nothing unusual or suspicious at the scene.
Rivera, a 54-year-old Army veteran turned ghost hunter, spent decades chasing spirits and collecting stories. Yet this time, investigators say, the spook factor was strictly figurative. E! News reached out to Dutrow for further comment but has not received any additional details beyond his CNN statement. Those hoping for a supernatural explanation will have to take their chills elsewhere.
Not everyone browsing the internet was satisfied with the coroner’s findings. Ghost Hunters alum Jason Hawes slammed conspiracy mongers in a July 15 Facebook post, calling it “disgusting” that some fans were exploiting Rivera’s death for clicks and ounces of fright. Hawes—who starred on the paranormal series from 2004 to 2016—reminded followers that Rivera was first a devoted father of four and a husband, not a horror franchise. “Dan cared about people,” Hawes wrote, “so let’s remember him for who he was, not turn his life into a supernatural horror show.”
While the Annabelle doll took the night off, some celebrities have still managed to rack up real-life ghost encounters that make their tour stops look tame. Courteney Cox once revealed on the Howard Stern Show that a delivery man warned her front door was haunted because he saw someone standing behind her. She later recounted jet-lagged visions of ancient faces and floating plants during a London stay, only to politely ask the apparitions not to RSVP to her next sleepover.
Pop star Demi Lovato, recalling her Texas childhood on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2013, admitted she was caught mid-conversation with an unseen guest. Her mom walked in to find Lovato chatting as if addressing thin air, which only fueled the belief that her family home had an active spirit or two living in the walls.
None of those encounters ended with a coroner’s report, but they remind us that sometimes the real terror is in everyday life rather than a cursed plaything. Dan Rivera’s case stands as a sober example: supernatural skeptics can rest easy knowing that the only thing haunting that Gettysburg suite was the unanswered question of what really happened behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, let us lower the volume on the spooky soundtrack and call it a night.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and CNN, E! News, Pennsylvania police report, Facebook, Howard Stern Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
