There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who would be afraid to own a “cursed” picture, and those who would immediately bid on one. This is evident with one online auction that’s gone viral.
As you can see below, a painting of a young girl went viral after its previous owners claimed it was haunted. As noted via Indy100, “it had been bought and returned to the Hastings Advice Representation Centre (HARC) charity shop in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, by two different buyers who claimed it was haunted.” Additionally, they note that “the first buyer said it ‘ruined her life.'”
It’s not surprising to see why so many would be interested in such an eerie painting. Especially with Halloween right around the corner. A photo shared on X captures a look at the painting, with sticky notes added for a “£20” price tag and the warning that it’s “Possibly Cursed?” as you can see below:
Buying! What’s the worst that could possibly happen? pic.twitter.com/LcHABdgvO0
— Jayne Sharp (@Jaynesharp) July 22, 2023
As of this writing, the painting which was originally priced at £20, is currently going for £900. This price translates to $1,124.10 in USD. Furthermore, the auction doesn’t end until September 12, so it’s possible that this number goes even higher.
The current owner of the painting, Zoe Elliott-Brown, claims that the family dog would growl at the painting and “wouldn’t go anywhere near it.” Soon after, he mother had sudden health changes before becoming obsessed with the picture.
“I’ve never seen my mum want something so much,” Elliott-Brown began. “She was fascinated by it, but not in a positive way. She was weirdly protective over it.”
She continued to describe her mother’s fascination:
“She was continually staring at it. She was running her figures over its cheekbones, she polished it even though it didn’t need polishing.”
Elliott-Brown adds that her mother did not want to get rid of the picture:
“Any mention of getting rid of it… she got really snappy. It’s like some family heirloom she’s become protective over. My mum was point blank refusing to get rid of the picture.
“I guess it is a bit like the power in Lord of the Rings. It’s definitely really enchanting – it kind of draws you into it but then you don’t really want to be near it at the same time. It is almost a bit like Gollum in Lord of the Rings.”
As such, the painting is now for sale. Though Elliott-Brown notes that 50% of the net profits will be donated back to the charity shops where it was purchased. A final note about the picture’s popularity was included in its description:
“This picture, allegedly cursed, became world famous over the summer of 2023, featuring in news, radio, television and papers as far as Australia and New Zealand.
“It made the front cover of the Daily Star, and was opened live on ITV’s This Morning. When opened the temperature in the studio dropped by 4 degrees instantly.”
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any potential updates regarding this “cursed” picture as we may have them. For now, this looks like a solid opportunity for a collector to acquire they very own piece of allegedly haunted material.