Have you ever felt breathless and overwhelmed by beautiful paintings? Besides that, the mysterious and strange stories behind them also make them more famous.
Art is a reflection of the soul, but can an artist put too much of their own personal element into a work? Or worse, could something else be attached to a work of art? Whether you believe it or not, there are some works of art that evoke only strange, terrifying feelings. Perhaps, some might say, these paintings are truly haunted.
1. The Isleworth Mona Lisa
Most people visit the Louvre Museum in France just to admire this painting. The Mona Lisa is familiar to everyone in the world; Leonardo da Vinci’s famous work still holds many unsolved mysteries. One of the most famous is Stendhal Syndrome, a condition that causes viewers to experience hallucinations, as if they are living inside the painting, and can even lead to suicidal thoughts.
There is also another version of the Mona Lisa, believed to have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci, even several years earlier. This version was found in a private collection about a century ago and is now managed by the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain. Hopefully, this painting will help solve the mysteries of the Mona Lisa.
2. The Stagecraft
Artist Laura P. painted this picture from a photograph taken by James Kidd. James Kidd claimed that when the photograph was taken, there was no man on the left side of the picture; this man suddenly appeared after the photograph was developed.
The painting was later considered haunted, frequently turning upside down unnoticed and causing terrifying supernatural phenomena that led people to burn it.
3. The Crying Boy
Italian artist Bruno Amadio painted 65 versions of the “Crying Boy” painting and sold them to tourists after World War II. The painting is believed to be cursed in some areas of England. Legend says the artist lit a match in front of the boy’s eyes to make him cry before painting the picture. To date, prints of the “Crying Boy” painting have been found in over 50 fires across England.
4. The Rokeby Venus
The painting itself is a mystery, as the reflection of Venus in the mirror is not as beautiful and saintly as one might imagine. The painting also possesses some mysterious supernatural power. All its owners have been plagued by misfortune and have tried to get rid of it. In the early 20th century, the painting was housed in the National Library of London, where it continued to cause strange occurrences. In 1914, a feminist activist stabbed the painting five times with a butcher’s knife, and since then, the curse has completely ended.
5. The Rain Woman
The Rain Woman, painted by Ukrainian artist Svetlana Telets, is a very strange image. The painting was created in just five hours, and the artist firmly believes that her hand was controlled by someone else to paint it. All those who have purchased the painting have reported experiencing anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, and the belief that someone is watching them.
6. Portrait of Bernardo de Galvez
The Galvez Hotel in the US is a fascinating destination for those who love ghost stories and horror. Here, the painting titled “Portrait of Bernardo de Galvez” has become a topic of much discussion due to its many unexplained phenomena. Many people claim to always see the eyes in the painting following them, no matter which angle they are looking at. And strangely, photographs of the portrait are always blurry or incomplete.
7. The Hands Resist Him
Bill Stoneham, the artist behind the painting, says he painted it based on his childhood memories. There have been claims that the painting is haunted; owners say they see the children in the painting moving and fighting at night. Many people say the painting causes them headaches, anxiety, and restlessness.
8. Pogo The Clown: A self-portrait of serial killer John Wayne Gacy
John Wayne Gacy was one of the worst serial killers in US history, known as the “Killer Clown” because he performed as “Pogo the Clown” during the day. However, at night, he roamed the streets of Chicago and murdered young men.
John Wayne Gacy’s first murder gave him a “paralyzing orgasm” which he described as “a feeling of extreme thrill.” This triggered a six-year killing spree that claimed the lives of 33 young men, all while Gacy presented himself as an upright member of society, performing at parties and hospitals as “Pogo the Clown.”
Gacy also created a range of paintings, from Walt Disney’s Seven Dwarfs and portraits of Elvis to landscapes and illustrations of Jesus Christ. But none were as terrifying as Gacy’s self-portrait, Pogo the Clown, depicting him in a clown costume during the day.
Of course, those with paranormal inclinations believe that the spirits of particularly evil individuals can cling to their belongings. In that case, the painting of Pogo the Clown certainly seems fitting for a potentially haunted object.
In 2001, musician Nikki Stone purchased Pogo the Clown for $3,000. However, shortly afterward, Stone reported that his dog had died and his mother had been diagnosed with cancer—events he believed might be linked to Gacy’s haunting painting.
Hopefully freeing himself from the cursed object, Stone lent the painting to a friend for safekeeping. That friend’s neighbor died in a car accident shortly afterward, and another friend who had offered to keep the painting attempted suicide.
“I just wanted to get rid of it,” Stone said of Pogo the Clown in 2005.
According to Newsweek, the infamous self-portrait now belongs to Ghost Adventures star and paranormal investigator Zak Bagans, who owns and runs his own haunted museum. Along with Gacy’s painting, Bagans possesses several other items that once belonged to serial killers, including Jeffrey Dahmer’s glasses, Charles Manson’s hospital gown—and his bones, along with John Wayne Gacy’s brain.
9. Love Letters: The haunted painting of the Driskill Hotel
The Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas, USA, has a long history. Throughout its history, the hotel has hosted presidents, rock stars, and all sorts of famous guests. There are also claims that the Driskill Hotel may have a resident ghost girl, but her abode isn’t a fixed room; instead, it’s a painting.
The painting above is a modern reproduction of Charles Trevor Garland’s *Love Letters*, created by Richard King. The painting depicts a little girl with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a love letter in the other.
According to Texas Hill Country, the story goes that in 1887, Samantha, the four-year-old daughter of Temple Lea Houston, tragically died at the Driskill Hotel. She was chasing a ball and fell down the hotel’s staircase.
It is believed that the girl in the painting resembles the girl depicted in the Love Letters, leading paranormal enthusiasts to believe her spirit is now residing within the artwork.
Visitors to the Driskill Hotel have claimed to have witnessed the girl’s expression change as they stared at the painting, or felt as though her eyes were following their movements. Some have also reported feeling unwell while looking at the painting, or experiencing strange sensations like being lifted off their feet.
Of course, the girl in the painting is not Samantha Houston, and since the artwork is a modern reproduction of an older work, it didn’t actually exist in Samantha Houston’s time.
10. The Anguished Man: A haunted painting by an unknown artist
Often referred to as one of the world’s most haunted paintings, the story behind The Anguished Man is straight out of a horror movie. Its current owner, Sean Robinson, detailed how he acquired this terrifying painting in an email to Dread Central.
“The Anguished Man was given to me by my grandmother,” he wrote. “The original artist is unknown, but we do know that the artist mixed their own blood into the paint and committed suicide shortly after the painting was finished… I can assure you that the original painting is kept in a safe place, and I have no intention of selling it.”
Robinson added that selling the painting would be “dangerous” because “it’s truly alive and really strange things will happen to people who share a room, or even the same house, with the painting.”
Blood-stained paint and suicide are certainly great material for a ghost story, but what exactly are the “really strange things” Robinson is referring to?
Robinson has detailed these alleged hauntings on his YouTube channel, where he claims to hear crying and moaning in his house. He also claims to have seen the “ghost of a man” stalking him.
However, it’s worth noting that in 2016, the rights to a film based on the story about the painting were acquired – and if no one else verifies Robinson’s claims about the painting’s origins and the alleged curse, it’s highly possible the story is entirely fictional.