[imagesource:londnbridgeexperience]

A seemingly innocent painting of a blank-faced young girl wearing a red dress with a matching bow has become the subject of controversy in the art world after several owners claim that ‘abnormal’ events seem to happen to whoever possesses it.

Currently in the property of The London Bridge Experience, an immersive horror attraction, the portrait has garnered considerable internet and tabloid attention in the last six months as stories over delayed flights, malfunctioning Wi-Fi, and even a fatality have surrounded it.

The painting was discovered in a charity shop in St. Leonards-on-Sea, a small town on England’s south coast. According to the shop manager, the photograph was donated together with several other pictures and frames which all sold quickly.

The buyer however returned the image within two days, alleging it had a “strange atmosphere”. The manager probably laughed at this and hung the image in the window once again, albeit this time with a message that read “possibly cursed”.

A second woman purchased the painting but then returned it, claiming it startled her and “left her distressed”. The manager replaced the young girl in the shop window once again, this time with a note that said, “She’s back!!! Sold and returned twice! Do you have the guts?”

Following the attention the painting received after the owner posted about it on social media, the second buyer changed her mind and returned for it. The London Bridge Experience then purchased it from her on eBay for $2,042 (R38,000).

 

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But the story of the haunted painting doesn’t end there and the unusual events around the image kept happening, according to The London Bridge Experience’s manager, James Kislingbury.

Firstly, his car broke down when he was picking up the portrait. The young girl was then placed at the entrance to The London Bridge Experience, and soon the Wi-Fi went out, the security cameras stopped working, the washing machine broke, and the televisions went dark. The faults could not be rationally explained by tech support.

Kislingbury claims the haunting became “more personal” after he went on vacation. In a weird waterslide mishap, he dislocated his shoulder, someone died on a ship where he was a passenger, and his flight was delayed.

“As the U.K.’s top scare attraction, nothing normally scares us,” he says. “We’ve had previous paranormal experiences – but this has been off the scale. We’re hoping that she will finally be able to rest here with us.”

So is the painting really haunted? You can check it out for yourself next time you are in the UK. The London Bridge Experience is located under London Bridge and takes visitors on a tour of the ‘dark side’ of England’s capital with actors introducing figures such as Jack the Ripper and Guy Fawkes, and events such as the Plague and the Great Fire of London.

This does remind me of another well-known South African painting my grandmother once had depicting a boy with a tear running down his cheek. The painting was rumoured to cause the owner’s house to burn down eventually. Fortunately for us, it was just a print, so no threat.

If you believe in such things.

[source:artnet]