Annabelle Gets a New Home: The Warren Collection Opens in Salem

What happened

NBC Boston reported on 21 May 2026 that “one of the most infamous dolls in the world is officially coming to Salem.” The doll is the Annabelle doll, made famous by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.

The announcement came during a livestream walk through downtown Salem by YouTuber Elton Castee and comedian Matt Rife. The two now oversee the Warrens’ collection after buying the Warrens’ house and museum in Monroe, Connecticut, in 2025.

The Haunted Warren Museum held a ribbon-cutting and pre-opening party on Wednesday 19 August at 8 pm. It opened for tours on 27 August, in the former Haunt Blackcraft space at 259 Essex Street.

The footage

This is an opening, not a sighting, so there is no paranormal footage. The museum doesn’t allow “phones, video or audio” inside, the New Haven Register reports, so there are no visitor recordings from inside either. Video of the event comes from the organisers:

• NBC10 Boston, May 2026: an exclusive look at the outside of the building with Castee, who points out the space: “This! Right here!”
• Matt Rife on TikTok, late August 2026: a clip captioned “The wait is over! THE HAUNTED WARREN MUSEUM is now open in Salem, MA… Last week we had our ribbon cutting ceremony and today the museum is officially open for tours to the public.”
• Attendee posts on Threads describe “over a thousand people” at the ribbon-cutting, with a crowd that “wrapped around several blocks.”

Timeline

• 1970s: The Warrens say they were given the Raggedy Ann doll by a student nurse in Hartford, and that they placed it in their Occult Museum in Monroe.
• 2014–2019: The Conjuring films turn “Annabelle” into a horror franchise character.
• 2025: Castee and Rife buy the Warrens’ Monroe house and museum.
• 12 March 2026: The Salem City Council holds a hearing on the museum’s request to open 10 am–2 am, seven days a week.
• 26 March 2026: The council rejects an amended 90-day schedule running later at night, by 3 votes to 8. It adopts a 90-day trial of 6 am–10 pm Sunday to Thursday and 6 am–midnight Friday and Saturday, starting from the certificate of occupancy.
• 21 May 2026: NBC Boston reports the move.
• 28 July 2026: The New Haven Register reports that tours will run from 27 August to 1 November, at $50 a ticket.
• 19 August 2026, 8 pm: Ribbon-cutting and pre-opening party.
• 27 August 2026: The museum opens to the public.

What believers claim

According to the Warrens, the doll was possessed and was locked in a case for safety. “It is a demonic doll that posed to be this Annabelle Higgins’ spirit,” Castee told NBC Boston. Fans see the museum’s arrival as the doll’s most significant move since it left Monroe.

What the research found

1. The council minutes are the main paper trail. The Salem City Council minutes for 12 March 2026 record a request from Haunted Warren Museum, LLC to run “an indoor, ticketed entertainment experience” from 10 am to 2 am. Attorney Brian Grossman named Elton Castee as the LLC’s owner.