Annabelle: Creation ending explained — What happens to the doll?

Annabelle: Creation is a horror film that works as a prequel to Annabelle, establishing how the demonic doll came into existence. Directed by David F. Sandberg, Annabelle: Creation is written by Gary Dauberman and is the fourth entry in The Conjuring universe.

The film was released on August 11, 2017, and grossed over $300 million at the box office. Here's the official synopsis:

Twelve years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll-maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, where they become the target of the doll-maker's possessed creation, Annabelle.

What is the plot of Annabelle: Creation?

A still from Annebelle: Creation (Image via YouTube/Warner Bros.)

Annabelle: Creation is about Samuel Mullins, a dollmaker. Samuel and his wife Esther have lost their young daughter Annabelle in an accident. More than a decade later, they let six orphans and Sister Charlotte stay in their house. The kids discover a possessed doll in the house.

How does Annabelle: Creation end?

The Mullins Toy Company is the owner of the possessed doll, Annabelle, in Annabelle: Creation. After the Mullins' daughter dies in a car accident, her ghost asks her parents to let her live in the doll. The family soon realizes it is actually a demon named the Ram, who was looking for a host.

Towards the end of Annabelle: Creation, Janice escapes the Mullins' house after the doll makes multiple attempts on the lives of the residents. The cops take away from the doll and the story moves to 1969, or 12 years after the main events. A grown-up Annabelle murders her adoptive parents, the Higgins.

The ending of the film connects it to the 2014 film, Annabelle, which unravels how the doll got in the possession of the Warrens. Annabelle begins where Creation ends, with the titular character killing the Higgins family.

John gives the doll to his wife Mia and the same night their neighboring couple is attacked. One of the attackers is Annabelle Higgins who kills herself with the doll in her hand. A drop of her blood goes into the doll. Later, it is revealed that they belonged to the Ram's cult. This incident brings the Ram to Annabelle. Higgins is essentially Janice in a possessed form. The doll has a new home now and, in this way, the opening scene ties Annabelle: Creation with Annabelle.

The plot point that connects it to The Conjuring universe revolves around how the Ram possesses Janice by spitting black tar inside her mouth. This scene echoes how the mother is possessed in The Conjuring. In the last scene, we see the doll being given to Janice, where she comes across the Higgins family.

That doll is identical to the doll of Annabelle. In the mid-credit scene, we see a closeup of the scary doll. The post-credit scene drops a hint of the demon Valak, which is explored in another spin-off called The Nun.

What do you think of Annabelle Creation's ending?