Goodbye to the man who gave tea parties to the spirits
It seems that the beyond decided to collect a debt from Dan Rivera, the paranormal investigator who spent a decade trying to prove that ghosts exist (and, according to him, he succeeded). The guy who looked after Anabelle, the most famous possessed doll since Chucky (but with better marketing), died on July 13 in Pennsylvania. Cause of death? A mystery as big as the ones he used to investigate. Irony? Absolute.
The New England Society for Psychical Research (NESPR, because they obviously needed dramatic acronyms) announced their departure with a message on Facebook that mixed pain and spirituality, as if it were a script for a low-budget horror movie. “We are heartbroken,” they wrote, which is understandable, because losing the caretaker of your star demon doll is not something that happens every day.
From soldier to ghostbuster: a career that not even Hollywood would dare to invent
Rivera, a native of Bridgeport, began his adult life in the U.S. Army, but soon traded bullets for EVPs (those voices from beyond the grave that only true believers—or those with too much static on their tape recorders—can hear). According to what they say, some “personal experiences” led him to the world of the paranormal. What kind of experiences? No one knows, but we bet they involved shadows moving on their own and doors slamming (classic).
In his more than ten years of career, Rivera became a kind of Indiana Jones of the esoteric: he investigated unexplained phenomena, learned spiritual rituals (probably by watching tutorials on YouTube) and even advised Netflix for the documentary 28 Paranormal Days, which explored the idea that objects can absorb tragic energy. That is, basically, the plot of all horror movies since 1982.
But his greatest achievement was, without a doubt, being the official guardian of Anabelle, the doll that inspired horror movies and thousands of nightmares. Rivera exhibited it at events such as Devils on the Run, where it combined history, mystery and a touch of macabre merchandising. Because, let’s be honest, what better deal than a doll that is (supposedly) possessed?
Did he die of supernatural causes? The NESPR has not confirmed it, but it would be the perfect plot twist. After all, if you spend your life playing with the paranormal, sooner or later, the paranormal might play with you.
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