Matt Rife Is the ‘Legal Guardian’ of the Real Annabelle Doll

Matt Rife may be known for his comedy, but he’s a horror lover through and through — and now he’s got the haunted collection to prove it.

On Friday, Aug. 1, the comedian announced on TikTok that along with his friend, YouTube creator Elton Castee, he has “officially purchased” the home and museum of Ed and Lorraine Warren. This includes the famed paranormal investigators’ “entire haunted collection,” Rife said — including the infamous Annabelle doll. 

In the TikTok, Rife sat down to explain his “super random” purchase of the Monroe, Conn. home and museum, called the Warrens’ Occult Museum, as well as the collection of haunted artifacts, which have been fodder for modern horror hits like Annabelle and the Conjuring films.

“This might be the most important and prominent piece of paranormal history in the world. Ed and Lorraine Warren are who took demonology and ghost hunting and paranormal investing and made it mainstream,” Rife said in the TikTok. “I know a lot of you guys don’t know [what] any of this means whatsoever, but if you follow ghost stuff, this is about as big as it gets.”

The comedian went on to explain that he and Castee are now the “legal guardians and caretakers” of the Warrens’ home, as well as the museum and its collection of 750 artifacts. But they don’t have permanent ownership, he clarified.

“I must go on record and say we do not legally own the items, but we are the legal guardians and caretakers of the items for at least the next five years,” Rife said.

A rep for Rife confirmed the purchase as “legit” in a statement to PEOPLE on Saturday, Aug. 2, while reps for the museum did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The comedian also shared big plans for the Warrens’ Occult Museum, whose doors have been closed for several years. (The museum was closed in 2019 due to a zoning violation, The Monroe Sun previously reported.)

“Soon,” the comedian teased in the TikTok, the house will be open for guests, with options to visit for a day, night or entire weekend. The museum, meanwhile, will be opened up for tours, he added in the caption, “so you yourself can experience and learn all the haunted history surrounding this amazing place.”

“This is the most random hobby ever, but it’s so f—— cool, man,” the comedian said. “I should probably collect stamps or something — might be a little safer.”

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Rife also revealed that he and Castee have been in the Annabelle doll’s presence, sharing a photo of the pair with the horror icon, a real antique Raggedy Ann doll supposedly possessed by an inhuman spirit. The New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), which was founded by the Warrens, previously described it as “demonically possessed.”

Since the Conjuring films thrust Annabelle into the spotlight, the doll, which has been housed at the Connecticut museum since the 1970s, has left its longtime home — in its glass case — to make appearances at events and conventions.

In May, Annabelle hit the road for the nationwide Devils on the Run tour with Dan Rivera, a senior lead investigator for NESPR. Months into the tour, Rivera died at a hotel in Gettysburg, Pa. At the time, Adams County Coroner Francis Dutrow confirmed to PEOPLE that the doll was not present when he arrived at the scene on July 13, when authorities were notified about Rivera’s death.