Don't be fooled: her pigtails and smile mask an evil that no child or adult should ever be near. Earlier this year, we reported that production was moving forward on Annabelle, a movie featuring the creepy doll that appeared in 2013's The Conjuring. Now the film's official release date has been revealed, and its spot on the calendar is on the forefront of the Halloween season.

Warner Bros. and New Line have slated Annabelle for an October 3rd, 2014 release. Earlier this year it was reported that The Conjuring‘s Director of Photography, John R. Leonetti, would take on directing duties for this movie. The script was written by Gary Dauberman, and the film is produced by Peter Safran, with James Wan involved as an executive producer.

Neither a sequel nor a prequel (at least in the direct sense), Annabelle features Annabelle Wallis (The Tudors) and Ward Horton (One Life to Live) in lead roles, with Alfre Woodard (True Blood) co-starring.

The Conjuring 2 will hit theaters on October 23rd, 2015, and it's unknown at this time whether the events of Annabelle will directly affect the plot of the horror sequel. We'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on any developments.

Source: Deadline
  • Derek Anderson
    About the Author - Derek Anderson

    Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

    When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.