Although 2014’s Annabelle was far from the end of the haunted doll’s story, The Conjuring spinoff did offer a clear explanation for the title character’s origins. Annabelle was a spinoff from 2013’s successful horror movie The Conjuring. While The Conjuring movies focus on the exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the Annabelle movies center on a supposedly possessed doll that the couple encountered during their careers as paranormal investigators. The Conjuring’s opening scene featured a creepy vignette starring Annabelle and the haunted doll proved so memorable that she soon spawned a movie spinoff of her own.

While the real-life Annabelle doll isn’t as scary-looking as the fictional version of the villain, it still managed to inspire a trio of creepy movies. Annabelle opens with a happily married couple, John and Mia, preparing to welcome their first child into the world. Their plans are interrupted when a pair of murderous cultists kill their neighbors and break into John and Mia’s home, attempting to kill them. The police shoot one cultist before the other takes her own life. John and Mia move from Santa Monica to Pasadena to process their trauma but are plagued by paranormal events.

What Happens To John & Mia After Annabelle’s Ending

Both John And Mia Are Saved By Evelyn

John and Mia eventually realize that Annabelle the doll is central to their misfortunes as the cursed toy continually reappears whenever they try to rid themselves of it. The local priest, Father Perez, and their kindly neighbor Evelyn discovers that the cult who attacked the couple were devil worshipers who intended to summon a demon with their killings. In Annabelle’s ending, Evelyn sacrifices her life to Annabelle and the demon so John and Mia can live without fear. The demon takes the form of Father Perez and chases Mia out onto the apartment building’s ledge, but Evelyn takes her place.

When Evelyn jumps from the building and dies, the demon and the doll itself both vanish. John and Mia live happily ever after in the wake of Evelyn’s death with Annabelle’s ending saying that the couple never saw the doll again. Although their daughter Leah was almost killed by the demon, she seemingly lives a normal life judging by her safety in Annabelle’s final scenes. The demon’s attempts to use Annabelle the doll to access Mia and Leah’s souls ultimately failed as Evelyn was willing to sacrifice herself to stop their plan while Father Perez was hospitalized by the demon.

How Evelyn’s Death Stopped Annabelle

Evelyn Jumps From The Apartment Building To Save Mia’s Life

Evelyn’s death ensured that John and Mia could rid themselves of the demon in Annabelle. When the second cultist bled on the doll, she completed the ritual to summon a demon and put the couple in peril. The demon demanded a human sacrifice before it could be appeased, which is why it took the form of Father Perez and threatened to kill Mia and Leah. The Conjuring’s Annabelle movies all feature this demon who remains a restless spirit for the rest of the trilogy, never succeeding in killing its intended sacrifice despite Evelyn’s death in Annabelle’s ending.

Evelyn stopped Annabelle from killing Leah or Mia when she sacrificed herself instead, but this didn’t necessarily satisfy the demon’s demand for a soul. It is tough to imagine Evelyn being sent to hell after sacrificing herself so heroically, so it seems possible that her sacrifice instead overpowered the demon and effectively tricked it into submission. This would explain why the sequel Annabelle Comes Home features the same demon still trying to capture a sacrificial soul. Annabelle wouldn’t need to do this if the demon had been sated when Evelyn died, implying her sacrifice might have spared her from hell.

Why Evelyn Sacrificed Herself To Save Leah & Mia

Evelyn Wanted To Atone For Her Daughter’s Death

Mia and John’s neighbor Evelyn died when she jumped from their apartment building, but she had good reason to make this sacrifice. Evelyn sacrificed her life to atone for her daughter Ruby’s death in a car accident years earlier, with Alfre Woodard’s character solving John and Mia’s predicament to make up for her greatest mistake. While the other Annabelle movies focus on young characters who play with the doll as a toy, Annabelle centers instead on the older Evelyn and her relationship with John and Mia. Evelyn sees something of her younger self in the optimistic pair of newlyweds.

At first, it seems obvious that Father Perez will be the one to sacrifice himself to save Leah and Mia. After all, he is a priest and has theoretically devoted his life to serving God and resisting the devil. However, Evelyn’s backstory reveals that she has a more compelling reason to sacrifice herself. The demon demands a soul, but Evelyn’s selflessness may mean that Annabelle and her resident demon didn’t get to drag her soul to hell. There is a possibility that Even’s kindness and willingness to sacrifice herself resulted in the demon being overpowered and getting no soul.

How Annabelle The Doll Became Possessed Explained

The Killer Cultist From Annabelle’s Opening Scene Cursed The Doll

The reason that Annabelle became possessed in the first place is that the cultist bled on the doll in the opening scene. Although she died soon after, she still managed to complete the demon summoning ritual that the cult centered their killing spree around. Annabelle’s curse came from the cultists summoning a demon, a process that was left unresolved until Evelyn later offered her life in exchange for Mia and Leah’s safety. This gesture overpowered the demon’s influence.

How The Doll Returns After Disappearing In Annabelle’s Ending

Annabelle’s Closing Scene Proves The Doll Can’t Be Destroyed

Although Annabelle vanished after Evelyn died, she then reappears in an antique store in the next scene. Viewers shouldn’t worry about missing a scene between these moments. Annabelle’s return is never explained in concrete terms and is presumably facilitated by the same ageless demon that possessed the doll throughout the movie. Much like Annabelle reappeared in John and Mia’s apartment after their pair tossed the doll out in Santa Monica, the toy showed up in an antique store to seek out its next victim.

How Annabelle’s Ending Sets Up The Conjuring’s Opening Scene

Debbie’s Mother Buys The Doll in Annabelle’s Ending

In one of many connections between The Conjuring universe’s movies, Annabelle’s ending sets up the opening scene of The Conjuring. 2013’s The Conjuring begins with a pair of nursing students seeking out the Warrens because they are terrified by the seemingly possessed doll Annabelle. Annabelle’s closing scene establishes this plot when one of the student’s mothers enters the antique store and sees Annabelle. Thus, Annabelle’s story leads directly into The Conjuring’s opening scene.