Initially, the Mullins were overjoyed at the sight of their daughter, but they eventually realized that they had been deceived by a malevolent spirit that was searching for a human host. The demon then requests permission to transfer its essence into one of Samuel's porcelain dolls, in order to use it as a temporary vessel. As a result, they unknowingly summoned a demon, who masqueraded as Bee's spirit. Out of grief, the Mullins couple prayed to anything that could bring their daughter back. One day, on the way back from church, when Samuel and his wife, Esther, pull over their car to fix a tire, Bee runs onto the road and dies when she is hit by a passing car. The film opens in 1943, with successful toy maker Samuel Mullins creating his very first porcelain doll, which he would give to his daughter, Annabelle, nicknamed "Bee". Terror soon strikes when one child sneaks into a forbidden room and finds a seemingly innocent doll that appears to have a life of its own.
Years earlier, the couple's 7-year-old daughter Annabelle ( Samara Lee) died in a tragic car accident. Former toy maker Samuel Mullins (Anthony La Paglia) and his wife Esther (Miranda Otto) are happy to welcome a nun (Stephanie Sigman) and six orphaned girls into their California farmhouse.