Haunted Thrift Store Painting Goes Viral After Being Bought And Returned Twice For Petrifying Buyers With Its Creepy Aura — 'Oh My God, Look At Her Face'

A sinister portrait of a young girl wearing a red dress can't seem to find a permanent home. 

Visitors to the Hastings Advice Representation Centre, a thrift shop in St. Leonards-on-Sea, England, find the painting unsettling, and buyers return it quickly. 

The painting's journey began when a middle-aged man bestowed it on the shop along with a batch of other framed artworks. In August, the shop's owner, Steve, recalled his initial reaction to the portrait. 

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When he first saw the artwork, he exclaimed, "Oh, my God, look at her face," he told The Telegraph.

Soon after, its unsettling aura caught the eye of a curious patron. The portrait's first buyer returned it in haste, unnerved by what she described as a creepy aura. The portrait was sold again, only to be returned by another petrified customer.

This bizarre cycle of sale and return turned into a playful yet eerie marketing gimmick. A note on the portrait read, "She’s back! Sold twice and returned twice! Are you brave enough?"

But this gimmick took a turn when the portrait started gaining traction online, morphing into a social media sensation. The viral attention changed the perception of the once-feared portrait, as its last owner reclaimed it, enticed by its newfound fame and potential value.

Haunted art isn't a novel concept. The infamous paintings "The Hands Resist Him" and "The Anguished Man" are well known in paranormal circles. "The Hands Resist Him" depicts a boy and a doll-like figure standing before a glass-paneled door. Hands are pressed against the glass behind them. The artwork is known for its eerie ability to unsettle viewers, with some claiming to witness movement within the painting.

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"The Anguished Man," an eerie portrait said to be painted with a mixture including the artist's blood, carries a tale of distress and hauntings. The unsettling imagery and dark history add to the mystique that surrounds such pieces, drawing a fine line between art and the arcane.

The creepy portrait at the thrift store encapsulates the bizarre crossover between art and the supernatural, a narrative that seems to resonate throughout history. The allure of haunted paintings like "The Hands Resist Him," "The Anguished Man," and the little girl in red, play on the human fascination with the unknown.

The allure of such artworks continues to captivate and horrify, raising questions about the valley between creativity and eerie phenomena. Whether it's the spectral aura of a thrift shop painting or the dark legends that envelop famous haunted artworks, the fusion of art and the supernatural continues to enthrall audiences, leaving an indelible mark on the canvas of the curious mind.

While owning a haunted painting might provide a thrill, investing in fine contemporary art through platforms like Masterworks offers a potentially lucrative venture. Masterworks is an alternative investment platform that gives investors and avenue to acquire fractional shares in works of fine art crafted by illustrious artists​1. Unlike the chilling unpredictability surrounding haunted artworks, Masterworks targets art pieces with a historical annual return ranging from 9% to 39%​.

With high-profile art often exhibiting substantial returns, many billionaires cast their eyes toward this asset class. The investment allure is magnified with reported returns soaring as high as 300%, making it an enticing arena not just for the affluent but for a broader range of investors. Through Masterworks, owning a slice of contemporary art is no longer a far-fetched dream but a tangible reality, sans the eerie hauntings of cursed paintings.

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