Elton Castee (left) and Matt Rife (right), Annabelle’s new guardians. | Screenshot from Matt Rife’s Instagram

Was Ed and Lorraine Warren’s Connecticut home, which still contains the Warren Occult Museum, for sale before Dan Rivera’s death? Rivera was the senior lead investigator with the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR). He died on July 13 while in Gettysburg for the “Devils on the Run” tour.

Some outlets reported that Annabelle was in the room where Rivera died. However, officials pointed out the 54-year-old’s death didn’t look suspicious. His cause of death still remains to be determined, with a full autopsy expected to reveal the cause of his death in the coming months.

It’s not even a month later, and now news has broken that comedian Matt Rife and TikTok ghost hunter Elton Castee bought the Monroe, CT, home and occult museum. It’s shocking for many reasons.

For one, as I noted above, Rivera only recently passed. Not that he owned the house, though. Ed and Lorraine’s son Tony Spera did. And not that Spera deciding to sell had anything to do with Annabelle or Rivera’s death.

However, it seems very out of the blue. Then again, I’ve been gone, so I could’ve missed the announcement that “one of the most prominent properties in paranormal history” (Rife’s words) was for sale. (I Googled it, but nothing came up. If you have any info, please share in the comments below.)

But the most shocking thing is the buyers. I would’ve expected Spera to sell to someone equally prominent in the paranormal community, like Jason Hawes or Zak Bagans. I’m not on TikTok, though, so for all I know, Castee could be of comparable fame. Rife isn’t. He admitted to loving the paranormal in his Instagram announcement, but his day job’s comedy.

Plans for Annabelle and the Occult Museum

On his Instagram account, Rife announced he will also be “the legal guardian for at least the next 5 years, of the entire haunted collection including THE ANNABELLE DOLL.”

Today reported that Spera made it clear he still owns the allegedly haunted doll that his parents made famous. Rife and Castee will just be leasing Annabelle and all of the other spooky items in the Warren Occult Museum.

Rife also noted that he and Castee plan to open the house for overnight stays and museum tours. I like that he framed it so that others can “experience and learn all the haunted history” surrounding the property and its former occupants.

Oh my. Some say Ed and Lorraine Warren were jokes. All of this has me wondering who the joke will be on in the end? Rife and Castee? The paranormal-loving public? Annabelle and all of her haunted friends? Or will it prove to be an amazing teaching moment?

As it always does, time will tell.

Check-In

Would you want to visit the Warren Occult Museum and say hi to Annabelle?