Man Puts “Cursed” Painting Up for Sale, Warns That It “Ruined His Life”

After making a seemingly ordinary purchase at a flea market, one man ended up in his very own nightmare. From bizarre occurrences to bad luck, he soon decided to part ways with the "cursed" item. Here's his story.

A Strange eBay Listing

Anyone who's ever sold personal belongings on eBay knows how practical the site can be when it comes to getting rid of things we no longer use. But sometimes, it can save us from rather desperate situations.

Like this one man, who ended up creating an eBay listing for a purchase that only ever brought him misfortune. Little did he know, putting it up for sale would turn out to be one of the best decisions he ever made. And after learning his story, it's easy to see why...

Where It All Started

Our extraordinary tale began when one man decided to stop by a flea market to have a quick look at what was for sale. After a few minutes of walking around the several stands, he stopped in his tracks. Suddenly, one particular item stood out to him.

In the corner of the lot, between several other frames, was one painting that caught the man's attention immediately. Knowing deep down that he'd just made an extraordinary find, he made his way over to the stand. There, a woman sat behind one of the tables, watching him.

The Painting

When he got to the stand where the strange painting was, he nodded to the woman with a smile and indicated that he was interesting in finding out more about the painting. But then, she told him something he wouldn't have expected to ever hear about a work of art.

The woman didn't offer much explanation about the painting itself or the artist behind it. Instead, she had a few words of warning for the intrigued man. She told him that making this purchase was likely something he would end up regretting - though she didn't say why...

“I Was Struck by the Strangeness”

The man took a good look at the painting he was about to purchase. "[The painting] looked adorable, with two innocent-seeming dolls portrayed in it," he later explained on eBay. But of course, to the man, there was more to the masterpiece than just that...

"As a collector of weird stuff, I was struck by the strangeness of the painting. One doll has the face of a grandmother but the body of a baby. Her stare is unique – forever not making eye contact, instead, giving off the feeling like there is always someone behind you with whom she's colluding," he added.

It All in the Details

"It was made even more eerie since her hands are positioned so gently like she is asking for a hug, but in retrospect, she might be posed that way to lure her victims in," the man surmised. Funny how our perception of things tends to change with time…

"Meanwhile, her counterpart, a rag doll whose hair is pulled straight off the Cowardly Lion, smiles like she is unaware of how she resembles an unfortunate mutation of Raggedy Ann, with a verdant apron-like dress oddly tied directly under her chin. They sit on a pea-colored floor that reminded me of spring, of rebirth."

Taking It Home

But before all the bad luck this painting brought him, it appeared to be nothing more than a harmless piece of vintage artwork that he could proudly add to his collection at home. And so, he decided to ignore the woman's words - for now, at least...

The curious man paid for the painting and made his way toward his car. The frame was just small enough to fit through the back door, so the man rested it against the back seat. And off he drove, heading home, completely unaware of what he was getting himself into.

The Strange Events Begin...

As he crawled into bed that night, he couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right. "A cold spell came in that night, and for every degree of warmth there was during the day, two were lost to the coolness of the air," he later recalled in his eBay listing.

"It was worsened by a draft that descended on my house, an invisible river of chills swirling around the interior, breezing past my new painting as it leaned against the wall in my living room." But soon enough, it wasn't just the cold draft that was the problem...

A Sudden Visitor

For hours into the night, the man tossed and turned in his bed, struggling to get any sleep. And when he finally began to drift off, he was jerked back to consciousness by a faint tickling feeling on his forehead. He brushed it away, thinking it was a strand of hair - but boy, was he wrong about that...

To his horror, he discovered it wasn't a strand of human hair - but the leg of a very different type of creature. "An insect had breached the sanctity of my bed. Reflexively, I swatted it off my forehead, but then, knowing I could never even doze with a live creature crawling around nearby, I had to locate it and dispose of it."

On the Other Side of the Wall

Now wide awake, the man began to search the room for the intruder. " I turned on my lamp and began to hunt, goosebumps rising on my arms because of the draft, but also because of my hatred of bugs. Behind my closet door, I noticed a crack had formed in the plaster of the wall," he said.

"My house is old with no insulation, and as I put my finger on the fissure to feel the cold air behind it, crumbs of plasterwork dropped to the floor." There, he found a crowd of maggots and other insects crawling around inside the wall. "Disgusted, I emptied a bottle of bug spray into the wall," he shared.

Unwrapping the Painting

By the time he was done sealing the crack in the wall, the night had already turned to dawn. Knowing there was no point in going back to sleep now, he opted to start his day early instead. So he decided to go ahead and hang his new painting on the wall of his living room.

"It's something I typically find challenging – a chore I either rage-quit or complete with a band-aid around a finger that is still throbbing from having recently been struck by a hammer. This time though, I hung it on the first try, perfectly even, like the painting wanted to be displayed," he wrote.

A Tragic Discovery

When the painting was finally sitting nicely on the wall, the man moved on to his next task. He went to check on his hamster, who would typically be awake at this time of the day. "Something felt off but as I approached, I saw the subtle rise and fall of her tiny breathing body." But again, he was wrong...

"I brought my face close to my furry rodent but drew back aghast," he revealed. Much to his surprise, his beloved pet hamster had suddenly died. Instead, several insects were found alongside her, squirming around her secluded cage. But that's not where his horror ended.

The Aftermath

Completely shocked by what he'd just discovered, the man shared that he "immediately tossed the cage and everything in it into a large garbage bag and disposed of it all in the bin outside." He was so distraught over the loss of his pet, he went to sit on the couch for a few moments - right across from the new painting.

He stared at the framed work of art, realizing that his initial excitement about his unique purchase had worn off. "Shocked by the events of the previous few hours, I lost myself in a daze as the rag-doll peered at me. Time rolled on, and I don't even remember blinking," he shared.

Another Sleepless Night

"I somehow made it through my workday and that night, was able to lose myself in some binge-watching, but a spider in one scene brought everything back," he wrote. "In my bedroom, the tape still adhered to the wall. It didn't matter though - I would not be sleeping in that room again, not after what I'd witnessed."

So he decided to spend the night in the living room instead. "The couch felt safer, but I still couldn't get the rest I needed," the poor man recalled. Although he knew he was safe from the creepy crawlers he found living on his bedroom wall, he still felt uneasy as he lay on the couch that night…

Tossing & Turning

"The dolls watched as I laid there," he continued. "First on my back, then my side, the other side, my stomach, and then sitting up, accepting that sleep wouldn't come." This would be his second night in a row without getting the proper sleep he needed. How much longer would he suffer like this?

Unfortunately for this man, his sleepless nights only paved the way for even worse problems to happen. "The lack of sleep has wreaked havoc on my immune system, and I've been struck down by a terrible cold that's accompanied by an incessant, throbbing headache."

Connecting the Dots

Five days later, his situation still hadn't improved - if anything, the "sickness, loneliness, sleeplessness and uneasiness" he was experiencing had gotten even worse. He had to get to the bottom of what could be behind all the strange things happening to him.

After thinking long and hard, he realized it could only be one thing: the painting. "Something has to change, and because the only difference in my life since everything grew so dark around me was buying that painting, I feel the only remedy to all of this is to rid myself of it," he confessed.

A Race Against Time

The poor man thought about how excited he'd been to finally get home that day after he bought the painting. And then he remembered the woman who sold it to him - she had warned him: "no good can come from this painting." Turns out, she was right...

But it was too late to change any of that now - the damage had been done. He paced around the living room, trying to think of the best way to dispose of the sinister art that hung on his wall. A few thoughts occurred to him, but none of them seemed satisfying enough.

Passing It On

Should he throw it away? Try to destroy it? "Who's to say that by burning it, I'm not just going to make things ten times worse? No, I don't want to risk that, I'd rather sell it to some poor soul who doesn't believe this story, or, even scarier, some brave soul who does," he wrote.

No, there had to be another way. And soon enough, he found it: He created a listing on eBay, where he would sell the painting to whoever was willing to buy it. He predicted he'd receive several questions about his decision. "But why pass it on and continue such a terrible legacy, you ask? Why not destroy it, you wonder?"

Sharing His Story

"Well sure, setting the painting on fire could rid the world of the wickedness brought about by the piece, but it could just as easily unleash the evil," he explained in the listing. So the man got to work taking photos of the evil painting, so he could then post them on eBay.

And that's where our story was first recollected. The man sat down, revealing everything that had happened to him since the moment he laid his eyes on the painting at the flea market. He also made sure to tell everyone he'd been given a warning regarding the purchase - the same warning he himself was now giving others.

Determining the Value

By the time he finished writing his story, the sun had already gone down. All that was left to do was decide how much to charge for the painting. He didn't expect anyone to pay a high price for it, especially after the horrifying events he'd just put into words for everyone to read.

So he set the price at $50 - a fair amount, he reasoned. Cheap enough to actually convince someone to make the purchase, but not so cheap that it wouldn't refund his unfortunate decision. But although he asked for $50, the offers he received instead were mind-blowing.

A Surprising Revelation

According to the man, the painting ended up selling for $1,750! "You guys are pretty bold to want something that can mess your lives up, but maybe you just like the piece. Perhaps MNP is a well-known artist whose work has great value!" he later revealed in an update.

When he first listed the painting on eBay, he wasn't sure how many people would be willing to even buy it - let alone that he'd make a profit from it. Overwhelmed by the enthusiasm people were showing after reading his story, he decided the money should be put to good use.

Appreciating the Art

"Because of the already-higher-than-expected top bid, I plan on donating a majority of the proceeds from this sale. I'm not sure yet of the charity, probably one that helps artists. Please let me know if there is a good one," he announced in the update.

It seems, despite all the trouble the man had had with this painting, his feelings towards the artist weren't all that bad. After all, he couldn't deny that he'd initially had a lot of appreciation for the work of art before all the unfortunate events that later unfolded...

Not the Only One

So, the sale of the painting ended up being a huge success. And while that does say a lot about the talented artist behind it, some credit also must be given to the person who purchased it. After all, it takes a lot of courage to welcome that much bad luck into one's home with open arms...

But it turns out, there's a huge market for "haunted" collectibles online - and this sinister painting was only one of them. Apparently, several online users pay a lot of money for objects with spooky and eerie stories behind them - and it's not just paintings...

Haunted Collectibles

See, eBay has a strict policy that prohibits the sale of "intangible items" - that means people aren't allowed to sell "ghosts" or jars that they claim "contain human souls." But that doesn't rule out objects that are haunted - and so, the platform is filled with listings like these.

Most commonly, people opt to sell sinister-looking dolls - like the one pictured above of a famously haunted doll, Annabelle. Sellers usually provide a backstory that could scare even the most fearless buyers. But surprisingly, many remain interested in obtaining these objects - despite the cautionary tales they boast.

Dakota the Haunted Spirit Child

One example is a listing titled, "Haunted Doll Dakota Spirit Child *Very Active* *Experienced Only*," with a description that explains the doll is embodied by the spirit of a child named Dakota, whose mother harmed him. This item also had a word of warning to those considering buying it...

According to the person who created the listing, viewers shouldn't be fooled by the doll's calm features. Dakota "can be quite angry at times," reads the warning, before it adds that its new owner needs to be careful of where to place it: "He cannot be positioned near any mirrors, or he will break them."

Harper the Witch

Another doll that sold for a high price on eBay was a haunted doll named Harper, who wore a white dress. "Harper was a very beautiful woman. She was involved in the occult and got in a little too deeply, she suffered from depression," read the listing.

"She very sadly ended her own life in a ceremony where she gave herself to the dark one. She wore this dress in a bid to become his bride and left this realm. The ceremony left Harper trapped within the walls of the building that the ceremony was held," it continued. But that wasn't all...

Always Watching

"Harper enjoys being present for any occult or witchcraft ceremony and will get involved to help bring through the dead or to contact the dark one. She does present herself to you mainly around the witching hour or on Halloween, which is the night she took her life as it is the night the dead can rise," it said.

The listing even claims that the spooky doll can communicate with those around her. "She speaks well through EVP and ouija board. She's been seen in reflective surfaces and also has communicated through knocks," it read. One daring user paid £40 for the allegedly-supernatural object.

George the Haunted Horse

But the spookiness doesn't end here. Not only can haunted dolls be found on eBay, but haunted stuffed animals as well. Like this horse named George. "George has been with me for a while now, and I keep him in the open as I have noticed when I put him I'm dark spaces, a lot of paranormal activities come along..."

The listing mentions the sound of "light footsteps coming up and down my stairs," as well as "noises of a boy laughing going up and down my hallway. This happened at around the same time, around 1-2 p.m." Still, the seemingly possessed stuffed horse named George sold for £13 on eBay.

Witch's Jewelry

But of course, this list wouldn't be complete without a few pieces of haunted jewelry. One example is a necklace that allegedly once belonged to a witch named Enid. "When Enid was alive, she was an outcast in her community. She wore old raggy clothes and loads of jewellery," the listing explained.

"It is said that a brave group of teenagers went round to ask for their ball back, and she cursed them with illness and failure. The boys went through horrendous times. Their house flooded. One was struck down with awful influenza, and another boy was even killed in a motor vehicle accident all within weeks apart," the story warned.

Her Spirit Lives On

"It soon got round the community, and they called it the curse of the hunchback witch. Enid passed away in her house when she was around 87. She had this necklace on. Her body had decomposed as she wasn't found for over a week." And all that was left of the wicked witch was her cursed necklace.

The listing went on to describe Enid as a "very grumpy spirit" who "will still try and curse the living." It added that her new owner should keep her away from other spirits. "She is angry and will shut doors when you are about to pass through them. You can also hear her grunting when you are laughing about something."

Only for the Brave

After seeing all the allegedly paranormal objects that can be found for sale online, the story about the cursed painting likely doesn't seem too uncommon. At least the man who bought it was able to get his money back (and even make a profit) to make up for the haunting consequences of his purchase.

And for our readers who may be feeling an increased curiosity about these haunted items for sale on eBay - by all means, have a look! After all, what's life without a little danger? We just hope whoever does make a brave decision like our story's protagonist has a spooky tale to share when it's all over...