"Cursed" Painting Sells for $1,750 on eBay

This purportedly cursed painting sold for $1,750 on eBay. *(dbas / eBay)*

A man operating under the pseudonym Dan Smith sold a purportedly cursed painting for $1,750 on eBay last Monday after initially asking only $50 for it.

The painting, listed under the title “BEWARE CURSED Vintage Painting Dolls Art Creepy Eerie WARNING 1967,” was said by Smith—a self-described “collector of weird stuff”—to have been purchased from a haggard woman at a flea market who reportedly warned him about the piece prior to selling it to him.

Although Smith said the painting first reminded him “of spring, of rebirth,” he quickly decided instead that it “only represents the ends of things.”

"It didn’t take long," he said, "before I hit what seemed like an epic losing streak."

Among the calamities that Smith reported befell him after purchasing the painting were a persistent cold spell that caused the temperature in his house to plummet and a sudden invasion of unnamed insects.

After searching for one such insect that had accosted him in bed, Smith said he noticed a crack had formed in the plaster of his wall.

"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," he said. "I looked down and realized they were not in fact pieces of the wall, but maggots wriggling around. Above them, adult insects emerged through the crack—an infestation lingering behind it."

Smith also claimed that the curse had cost his pet hamster her life.

After a sleepless night, Smith said that he arose in the early morning ours to begin his day.

"I visited my hamster, who is typically asleep when I’m awake, but since it was technically still nighttime, my nocturnal pet would be active, though when I went to her cage, she was still in her bed and not scurrying around on her wheel as expected," he said. "Something felt off but as I approached, I saw the subtle rise and fall of her tiny breathing body. I brought my face close to my furry rodent but drew back aghast as one of the insects from my room pushed its way out from under her, no, from inside of her. Others were in there too, squirming in the cavity where her innards were housed. Distraught, I immediately tossed the cage and everything in it into a large garbage bag and disposed of it all in the bin outside."

Following five days of “sickness, loneliness, sleeplessness and uneasiness,” Smith said he decided to sell the painting to be rid of it.

And for those asking why he didn’t simply destroy the painting, Smith explained that he was worried "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," so he would "rather sell it to some poor soul who doesn’t believe this story, or, even scarier, some brave soul who does."

Which is why, he said, that he decided to sell the painting for what he paid for it, $50.

However, after amassing 39 bids, the painting actually sold for 35 times that.

Smith said he was surprised by the final bid of $1,750, but that he plans on donating the profits to charity.

"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 said.

Smith can be contacted through his seller page on eBay by anyone with a charity they would like to suggest.

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