Doll that inspired Annabelle movie coming to San Antonio paranormal festival this weekend

The purportedly haunted doll that inspired in the 2014 horror movie Annabelle is coming to San Antonio this weekend for a paranormal gathering at Victoria’s Black Swan Inn.

The fourth annual Psychic & Spirit Fest, which kicks off at 3 p.m. Saturday, also will include guest speakers, demonologists, psychic readings, mediums and more, according to event organizers. Victoria’s Black Swann Inn, reported to be a paranormal property itself, is located at 1006 Holbrook Road, near Salado Creek in Northeast San Antonio.

Tickets run $99 for general admission and a chance to see the original Annabelle doll, or $45 for general admission minus the chance to come face-to-face with the terrifying toy. Online tickets are sold out, but 100 will be available at the door, according to organizers.

The festival is hosted by Curious Twins Paranormal & Ghost Tours, which holds a variety of spooky happenings in the Alamo City.

Annabelle is one of the best-known objects collected by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, whose adventures inspired numerous now-classic fright flicks, starting with The Amityville Horror and more recently extending to The Conjuring franchise and its spin-off, The Nun.

The 2014 movie Annabelle, also spawned a series of its own, including Annabelle: Creation and Annabelle Comes Home.

The real-life Annabelle is a Raggedy Ann doll, as pictured in the Curious Twins Facebook announcement for the event. Two other haunted objects from the Warrens’ Occult Museum will travel to San Antonio for the exhibit.

Victoria’s Black Swan Inn also will open up museum access 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday for another chance to view Annabelle and browse its regular Sunday market. A 3 p.m. haunted property tour will follow.

The event venue is has a supernatural history in its own right, if one asks local acolytes of the occult and paranormal. The house is believed to be built on an ancient Native American burial ground, according to details on its webpage.

The property was later the site of the Battle of the Salado, during which more than 80 Mexican soldiers lost their lives in an invasion to retake Texas. Roughly 60 of the dead were “left to rot where they fell,” according to the inn’s proprietors.

Spirits of former residents of the property, once known as Prescott House, also are said to haunt the grounds, the website maintains. One such resident reportedly hung himself from a tree on the grounds. Even though his death was ruled a suicide, his hands were mysteriously tied behind his back.

Victoria’s Black Swan Inn also holds weddings for those who want a special occasion steeped in history. But for those who are wed to the weird, this may be the optimum weekend to visit.

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This article appears in May 14-27, 2025.