What actually happens
A birthday party for a girl whose parents keep a locked room of cursed objects
Demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren take the Annabelle doll from two nurses, Debbie and Camilla. On the drive home the doll summons spirits that attack Ed, so the Warrens lock it in a sacred glass case in their artifacts room, with Father Gordon's help. A year later Mary Ellen arrives to babysit their daughter Judy while the Warrens are away on a case. At school Judy sees a ghostly priest trailing her, and her classmates turn down her birthday invitation because they think her parents' work makes her a freak. Mary Ellen plans an early celebration. Her friend Daniela arrives uninvited, hoping to speak to her dead father and apologize for the car accident that killed him. She sneaks into the artifacts room, handles almost everything in it and opens Annabelle's case.
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The guest list now includes a ferryman and a board game
Opening the case releases the Annabelle demon, which releases other spirits from the room, including the Ferryman, the Bride, a Feeley Meeley board game and the Black Shuck. They start wreaking havoc through the house. Bob, whom Mary Ellen likes, shows up and gets attacked by the Black Shuck. Daniela sneaks back in to return the keys and gets locked in the artifacts room with the haunted objects. Upstairs the Ferryman torments Mary Ellen, and his last victim looks a lot like her. She runs to Judy's room, where the doll and the demon are attacking Judy. The phone rings, and the girls think it is Lorraine until the voice tells them Annabelle needs a soul. They go to the artifacts room and rescue Daniela.
The closet is locked, the key is in the board game and Mary Ellen has to go in
This is the scene people dread most, and it comes near the end of the night. Judy says the doll has to go back in its case before the other spirits can calm down. Bob protects Judy from the Black Shuck while she gets Mary Ellen's asthma inhaler, and the Bride possesses Daniela. The ghostly priest, who acts as Judy's guardian, leads them to the Ferryman, who has locked the doll away in a closet. The key to the closet is inside the Feeley Meeley game, and Judy finds it. Mary Ellen goes into the closet to get the doll. Hands then come out of the game and grab at them, and Daniela attacks. Judy stops Daniela by projecting Ed's recorded footage of the Bride's exorcism onto her.
One last door that will not close
Judy and Mary Ellen bring the doll back to the artifacts room and put it in the case, but the demon uses telekinesis to keep the door from closing. Daniela, now free, comes in to help them shut it, and she still has the key to lock it. Once the door is locked, the disturbances stop. Ed and Lorraine return the next morning, and at Judy's birthday party all of her classmates show up. Lorraine takes Daniela back to the artifacts room, and Daniela says sorry. Lorraine then passes along a kind message from Daniela's father.
The ending, explained
Judy and Mary Ellen put the doll back in its glass case, and the demon uses telekinesis to keep the door from closing. Daniela, freed from the Bride, helps them shut it, and she has the key to lock it. The disturbances stop. Ed and Lorraine return the next morning, and every one of Judy's classmates arrives for her birthday party. Lorraine takes Daniela into the artifacts room, where Daniela says sorry. Lorraine passes along a kind message from Daniela's father.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there's a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: no dog dies, though a chicken does off camera.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Annabelle Comes Home scary?
Somewhat. Annabelle Comes Home is a 4 out of 10 with low dread: it is mostly jump scares in one house over one night, and the gore is light.
How does Annabelle Comes Home end?
Judy, Mary Ellen and Daniela lock the Annabelle doll back in its glass case and the disturbances stop. Ed and Lorraine return in the morning, and Lorraine gives Daniela a message from her father.
Does the dog die in Annabelle Comes Home?
No. No dog dies in Annabelle Comes Home. A spirit called the Black Shuck attacks people, and a chicken is killed off camera.
Is there a post-credits scene in Annabelle Comes Home?
Nobody has confirmed whether Annabelle Comes Home has a scene after the credits.
Who are the Ferryman and the Bride in Annabelle Comes Home?
They are spirits released from the artifacts room when Daniela opens Annabelle's case. The Ferryman torments Mary Ellen, whose looks match his last victim, and the Bride possesses Daniela until Judy projects Ed's recorded exorcism footage on her.
