Is the Crying Boy Painting Cursed?

Regardless of the truth of the stories that surround this painting many families that have owned a print of this painting state that at least one member of their family found the picture to be “creepy.”

An Italian artist or Spanish artist by the name Bruno Amadio—no one seems to know for sure--did the original painting. The picture depicts a young boy, an orphan, of around 4 years of age who is crying. Other versions of this original painting have been done since.

One version of the print.

A print of the Crying Boy was mass-produced and distributed in the UK starting in the 1950s. In the mid-1980s the many prints of this painting gained the reputation of being cursed and sometimes even haunted.

This story took shape when the British tabloid The Sun published an article in September of 1985 that shared a story that a firefighter from Yorkshire, Peter Hall told. According to Hall unscathed Crying Boy prints were found in 40 to 50 homes that had burned down.

Hall went on to state that a fire had even ravaged his brother’s home but that his print of the Crying Boy remained undamaged. This story also stated that because of these fires other firefighters would not place a print of this picture in their homes.

The Sun * kept this story alive by having readers send in their Crying Boy prints. They then made a big deal of burning these pictures in a large bonfire in November of 1985.

Another version of the print.

* Other British sensation tabloids that picked up on this story were The Daily Mirror and The Daily Star.

Original Sun story.

To add fuel to the fire-- pun intended—The Sun circulated the untrue story that while some of these “sent in” prints were being stored in a warehouse--they caused this structure to burn down.

This story then took on a life of its own with tales circulating that the original artists’ studio had burned down and shortly after the young boy depicted in the picture was killed in a car crash.

Thousands of prints of this picture have been bought—the curse is said to affect all of these prints but with the caveat that the owner must be aware of the curse first.

Yet another story stated if the owners of the prints “were kind to it” it would actually bring them good luck.

In a departure from the curse story, others stated the young orphans’ ghost haunts all the prints because of the tragic way he died.

Steve Punt, a British writer, and comedian investigated this curse for the BBC. This production concluded that these prints did not burn because a fire resistant varnish was used on them.

But many people who have experienced these fires do believe in this curse. They state this BBC production did not explain why the wooden frames and string that held these prints on the wall also did not burn.

Here is a link to an article that maps how this story became so huge.

The video below shows a “test” presented on Steve Punt’s show entitled, Punt Pl. An attempt is made to burn a Crying Boy print.

Haunted Mirrors

Recently, a haunted mirror sold on eBay for 150 American dollars. The two British men who sold it claimed it had brought them bad luck. 

It seems their landlord threw it out, and they fished it out of a dumpster near their London home and placed it on a wall. A short five months later, they were trying to get rid of it--with the disclaimer that it was haunted.

These two claimed that they had experienced financial difficulties and illness since acquiring this mirror. They had both been awakened in the middle of the night by “screaming pain.” Both of them had felt a strong “sense of impending doom.” They saw flickering shadows reflected in this mirror, and one stated he had woken up covered in “deep red scratches.” 

Of course many supposed “haunted items” are sold on eBay each year, but this story is fascinating because it actually is similar to several documented cases involving haunted mirrors.

Here is a link to a news story about this haunted mirror.

For generations, people have been fascinated by reflective surfaces. Because of this, many folktales and legends have been created. Mirrors are connected to “portals.” I wrote about this connection in another post here. 

Here are more superstitions or s in relationship to mirrors. For mirrors are believed to pose dire risks.

If a person is in bed and ill in a room, all the mirrors should be covered. The reason for this is when a person is vulnerable to a mirror, if it is a portal, it can take their soul.

People should never look into a mirror at night or by candlelight. The reason for this is because you might see a ghost or even your own death.

This one I mentioned in my other post. When a person dies in a room, all the mirrors should be covered or turned toward the wall. The reason for this is so the dead person’s soul does not become lost in a portal.

When a person is sleeping, they should cover all the mirrors in the room. The reason for this is so negative energy cannot attack them. Along with this, it is said that a person should never place their bed in a way that a mirror can reflect it.

Finally, a person should move their mirrors to different areas of the room. The reason for this is so spirits or ghosts cannot use it as a portal.

The above beliefs above are, of course, superstitions. But here are some documented cases of how people acquired mirrors--that then caused them paranormal problems. So there are mirrors that should be avoided.

Here are some suggestions that people should avoid.

Don’t buy or place old mirrors in your home.

If a previous owner to the home you rent or buy leaves a mirror or mirrors behind--get rid of them.

If a mirror has been used for any kind of spiritual work e.g., divination or scrying, get rid of them because these practices supposedly open portals. 

People who do this professionally-- often cleanse or do a ritual with these mirrors to protect themselves.

Using a Ouija board can open a portal as well. If there is a mirror nearby, it can become the host for this portal.

Finally, many places that are reputed to be haunted, such as old hotels, have mirrors that are portals. I have never encountered “a portal,” but I find this information interesting.