The Annabelle movie is a spin-off/prequel to The Conjuring. Other than in the opening scene, it doesn't feature any of the human characters from The Conjuring. It instead focuses on the backstory of the doll that was in the possession of paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) in The Conjuring movie. The story includes a fictionalized explanation of how a demon became attached to the doll. It also somewhat reveals how the doll came to be named after a deceased young girl named Annabelle, though the 2017 prequel Annabelle: Creation clarifies this further. Lorraine Warren is pictured below with the real Annabelle doll.
Did a husband really give the Annabelle doll to his pregnant wife as a present?
No. In the Annabelle movie, husband John Form (Eric Laden) gives the doll to his pregnant wife Mia (Annabelle Wallis) as a present. Through our research into the Annabelle true story, we learned that John and Mia Form are fictional characters. The real Annabelle doll was given as a birthday present by a mother to her daughter, Donna, a nursing student who was turning 28. Donna's mother purchased the Raggedy Ann Doll from a hobby store in 1970. Given the style of the real doll, it was most likely purchased new since that particular Raggedy Ann Doll with the calico dress does not predate the 1970s. Most of the Annabelle movie focuses on the vintage doll's existence prior to Donna's mother purchasing it at the hobby store, offering a fictional account of how the demon could have entered and stayed with the doll. Donna, her roommate Angie, and Angie's fiancé Lou are depicted at the beginning of the movie telling demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren about their experiences with the doll.
Were the previous owners of the doll really attacked by members of a satanic cult?
No. As we investigated the Annabelle true story, we discovered that the doll's former owners, nursing students Donna and Angie, had never been attacked by members of a satanic cult who intruded into their home and subsequently passed a malevolent entity into the doll. This part of the movie is pure fiction, which takes place in 1969, the year before Donna comes into possession of the doll (which was likely purchased new). It was created to provide a fictionalized explanation as to how the demonic spirit became attached to the doll. In real life, the spirit pretends to be that of an innocent young girl named Annabelle, who supposedly died when she was still a child. This correlates more with what happens in the prequel Annabelle: Creation.
