‘Cursed’ painting of a little girl has been returned twice after owners were creeped out by her eyes ‘following you across the room’
- The ‘cursed’ portrait was sold to two different owners and returned twice
A ‘spooky’ portrait of a stern-faced little girl was twice returned to a charity shop in Hastings, leading the store managers to label it ‘cursed’.
The raw painting, which depicts a young girl in a red dress staring haughtily into the distance, was donated to the Hastings Advice Representation Center (HARC) shop in St Leonards-on-Sea.
That reports the Telegraph that the painting was originally donated by a middle-aged man, along with some frames.
The store’s manager, Steve, noted that the “creepy” little girl had “eyes that follow you around the room.”
Originally priced at £25, it was soon sold to its first owner, but their union was short-lived, as she returned less than two days later.
When selling the statue, the store warned: ‘She’s back!!! Sold twice and returned twice! Are you brave enough’
Steve explained, “She said ‘I need to get rid of this picture’ and that it had an ‘aura’ to it, so we put it in the window (with a sign) that said ‘possibly cursed’.”
The marketing tactic worked and the image was soon sold again to a new woman, who immediately returned “shaky and sad” and said, “She never wanted to see the damn thing again.”
This led to the store again posting a warning on the photo: ‘She’s back!!! Sold twice and returned twice! Are you brave enough?’
After an image of the sinister girl was shared on social media and attracted attention, the second owner returned to the shop and repossessed the painting.
Steve explained, “The last person was terrified, she couldn’t get it, but when she saw there were so many opinions about it, she changed her mind. She thinks it has some kind of monetary value now.
“She called me this morning and said, ‘I bought your picture, can I have it back?’ She has decided that she is no longer afraid and that she can bear it.
“She wanted to buy it back and she got it back for free.
“None of them (the photo’s former owners) wanted a refund. We have priced it at €25 and €20. It said ‘cursed’ and that’s what we thought, so it did exactly what it said on the tin.’
The creepy kid was compared to The Others starring Nicole Kidman
It also drew parallels to the ghost puppet from 2013’s The Conjuring
Reactions to the eerie painting have been mixed on social media, with some fearful and others eager to make new friends
Since the post was shared on social media, many users have compared it to the cursed doll Annabelle from 2013’s The Conjuring and the haunted ghost children from 2001’s The Others – starring Nicole Kidman.
Others have still said the painting was reminiscent of their own dating profiles.
One wrote, “Me, I’m reopening my hinge profile.”
Another said: ‘I’m not brave enough. I’m not going to be kidnapped by a Polly Portrait Poltergeist.”
However, not everyone was against the presence of a ghost painting in the house.
An obviously lonely man said, ‘I’ve always wanted a ghost painting. I feel like I could align with the spirit and we’d just be friends, you know.”