Matt Rife & Elton Castee Snag America’s Most Haunted Home
Comedian Matt Rife and YouTuber Elton Castee have officially bought one of the most talked-about haunted properties in the United States, the Warren home in Monroe, Connecticut. This is the same house that holds the infamous Annabelle doll, the one that inspired The Conjuring movies.
The news came straight from Rife himself in an Instagram post. In it, he shared that he will now be the legal guardian of the Annabelle doll and the rest of the haunted collection for at least the next five years. “If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with the paranormal and all things haunted,” he said. “I’m incredibly honored to have taken over one of the most prominent properties in paranormal history.”
Rife and Castee say their plan is to open the Warren home for overnight stays and museum tours. Visitors will be able to get up close to the creepy collection and learn the eerie history behind the place. “We want people to experience and learn all about the building’s haunted history,” Rife explained.
The Annabelle doll’s fame comes from both the Warren family’s real-life paranormal investigations and its terrifying portrayal in the Conjuring Universe movies. In reality, Annabelle is a simple Raggedy Ann doll. But according to Ed and Lorraine Warren, it’s no ordinary toy. Back in the 1970s, the Warrens claimed they received the doll from a young nurse named Donna, who said it could move on its own and scared her with strange behavior.
A psychic supposedly told Donna that the doll had been taken over by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle. The Warrens believed it was something much darker, demonic, and locked it away in a special case in their Occult Museum.
Over the years, the doll has been blamed for bizarre incidents, from scratching people to causing accidents. Many scientists and skeptics have dismissed these stories as myth, but the doll’s spooky reputation keeps fans coming back for more.
The Warren Occult Museum, where Annabelle used to be displayed, closed in 2019 due to zoning issues. Since then, the doll has only been seen on tours and special events. In 2025, the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) even stirred up rumors that Annabelle had gone missing. But NESPR’s director, Tony Spera, later cleared things up, saying, “The doll was never missing. We had taken the doll on a brief tour to several locations so paranormal enthusiasts could witness the real Annabelle.”
The news of Rife and Castee’s purchase comes shortly after a tragic event in the paranormal community. Dan Rivera, a well-known investigator and Annabelle’s handler during recent tours, passed away suddenly in July, according to NESPR.
Now, with the house in the hands of two public figures who love the paranormal, fans will soon have a new way to meet Annabelle, face-to-face, if they dare.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!