The Horror of the Internet

Ed and Lorraine Warren looking at the real Annabelle doll

I was reading the post sent to the class by Dr. Vrooman about how people were buying possessed dolls on eBay and these dolls weren't being sold for cheap money either. These dolls were getting sold for over 1,000 dollars which was absolutely crazy to me. Why would people take such interest in buying dolls that are possessed for that much money? Reading this made me realize that people might go however far to possess residual things. I've never thought about how residual things can be worth so much to people. I think this might mainly be because it's something that is slowly "dying" or becoming less and less valuable everyday but depending on the item, it could be worth a lot.

Vinyl records have brought up many questions to me as to if something truly dies or if it's just something that's in the back of our minds because some new crazes have arisen. We got my mom a vinyl right around the time they were becoming a hot buy. My mom is one of those people who likes going to small towns and going to antique stores to see what classic stuff she can buy. She is one of those nostalgic people that likes to hold onto and remember the things of the past. Both my parents like bringing things back like 80s music and old tv shows they watched when they were a kid. It's crazy because when I look at social media and the internet I realize that they both make the residual more accessible. Even places like Amazon allow us to access things that we probably wouldn't be able to otherwise access. I think even though people are constantly moving on to the latest trend, we still like to remember the thing of the past and be aware that they at least once existed. With technology as a whole, it's now so much easier to hold onto those things to where they can never be lost.

I think that might go in some depth but some of these dolls might not even be that old and some of these haunted things be purchased on eBay are not dolls, but something as simple as a dresser. Some people might find these things simply fascinating (like myself) and it gives some people some sort of superiority because they possess a one of a kind artifact. Yes, I did admit to having some fascination with possessed things but I enjoy watching videos about it, I am not so interested in buying things that are haunted, that goes a little too far. The intrigue to purchase something really rare and hard to access by the public is what makes this worth it to people. But how does someone even see that these dolls are for sale? Well with the internet and social media it's almost too easy nowadays. Ads on a website or on Facebook is really all it takes to get the word out that some possessed doll is being sold.

Photo provided by the Heinzens

I had watch the horror movie "The Conjuring" a couple months ago and had been curious as to if somebody decided to actually purchase the house it was based off of and to my surprise, it had been purchased just this past year. Cory and Jennifer Heinzen bought this house at close to $440,000. Not a bad price all things considered but listening to what this couple had to say about why they bought this house and how they found it just goes back to what I have been saying this entire time. They bought it because of its historical background and they found it on a paranormal Facebook group. The couple even knows it's haunted but yet still is living in the home. But that's not even the best part of this humorous story. The Heinzens plan to turn this house-that is haunted- into an Airbnb. The thing about it is I truly believe that somebody will rent the place despite all the signs saying otherwise. This is just a prime example of something residual, but also historical and haunted that somebody has bought so that they can have something "of paranormal history" as Cory Heinzen stated.

The reason this house is known today can be credited entirely to the internet. How I even knew the story behind this house and about the movie they created in 2013 (The Conjuring) was all made known by the internet. With the internet and social media, all it takes is an interesting topic and sources to get it out and in seconds, it is seen and known by millions. With this house, all it took was a simple post on a paranormal group page on Facebook to get this couple interested in buying it. (Although I think it will end like every other story: them moving out with nothing but terrible horror stories to tell.) This also shows that the residual and spreadability pretty much go hand in hand. People are always looking for that rare find or that one thing nobody owns yet. With spreadability, the word gets out and you are more than likely to have lots of people at your doorstep wanting what you have and doing every means necessary to ensure they steal it from the competition. This is why I think eBay is so successful without much effort at all. This is how they get people paying lots of money for random stuff like possessed dolls.