The Curse of the Crying Boy painting

A writer from the north of England, Ann enjoys writing about the inexplicable and paranormal, as well as historical crimes and mysteries.

As a young child in the 70’s I was fascinated by a painting in my grandmother’s house. The painting was a cheap print of a well-known piece and hung on the living room wall of their small townhouse. The reason I was so fascinated was because the picture was of a child. The boy was my age and for some reason he looked sad and dejected, tears streaming from his worried eyes. I was so taken by the picture that I even gave the sad child a name.

A few years after the painting hung on the wall, the house suffered a devastating kitchen fire. While the kitchen was destroyed, the rest of the house remained undamaged. Despite this, the boy’s painting was removed and thrown into a bin along with the contents of the kitchen. For years I wondered why my grandmother did this until I read a series of articles about a cursed painting. This painting was The Crying Boy.

Giovanni Bragolin

The Crying Boy is one of a series of paintings by artist Giovanni Bragolin completed in the 1950s. The series featured young children with tears in their eyes. It may seem strange to have a picture of a crying child on your wall, but the pictures proved popular around the world. Over 50,000 copies were sold in the UK alone. The children depicted were often poor and very beautiful. The image of a boy is especially heart-tugging, his eyes a sad reflection of his soul. He became known as “The Crying Boy”. In all, Bragolin painted over sixty paintings, and prints and reprints of his paintings were mass-produced until the early 1980s.

The blazing curse is born

In 1985, the UK’s most popular tabloid printed a story that caused panic and ended the popularity of Bragolin’s work. The sun published an article entitled “Blazing Curse of the Crying Boy”. The story detailed May and Ron Hall’s horrific experience after their home in Rotherham was destroyed by fire. Similar to my grandmother’s, the cause of the fire was an overheated french fries pan that burst into flames. The fire spread quickly and destroyed everything on the first floor. Only one item remained intact – a print of “The Crying Boy” on her living room wall. Distraught at their loss, the devastated couple claimed that the painting was cursed and that the chip pan was not the cause of the fire.

A child is to blame

The story would have disappeared into the archives of the weird and mysterious stories that were peppered The sun, except one thing. A firefighter claimed he has attended at least 15 house fires that have destroyed everything. The only thing complete in each house was the picture of “The Crying Boy.” It didn’t take long for the story to gain momentum, and a series of fires across the UK were attributed to the cursed child. In subsequent articles The sun went to claim:

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• A woman in Surrey lost her home to fire six months after buying the painting.

• Two sisters in Kilburn had fires in their homes after buying a copy of the painting. One sister even claimed to have seen her painting swaying on the wall.

• A concerned woman on the Isle of Wight tried unsuccessfully to burn her painting and was unlucky.

• A gentleman in Nottingham who owned a print of the painting lost his home and his family injured.

• A pizzeria in Norfolk was destroyed, including all the paintings on the walls except “The Crying Boy”.

When The sun reports that even sane firefighters refused to keep a copy of “The Crying Boy” in their homes, the painting’s reputation forever damned.

A Halloween campfire

In all of these cases, and many others that have been reported, the painting “The Crying Boy” survived intact. When an artist showed a picture of a crying child in a house that was on fire, the painting was eventually blamed. Some claimed that they were unlucky if they tried to destroy or get rid of their paintings. Others were convinced that it was only a matter of time before disaster struck. After ‘The Sun’ printed more articles and horror stories, it offered a solution to a terrified public. On Halloween 1985, hundreds of the paintings were collected from the newspaper and burned under the supervision of the fire brigade.

The curse

So why should this seemingly innocent series of images be cursed? It didn’t take long for speculation to run rampant. Theories have ranged from the little boy being a gypsy child whose family cursed the artist. Some claimed the child died in a fire and his spirit was trapped in the painting. The most persistent story claimed that the crying boy accidentally set fire to the studio of the artist who painted him. The child’s parents also died in the fire. Wherever the little orphan went, fires mysteriously followed, earning him the nickname Diablo or Devil. The boy reportedly survived into early adulthood but tragically died when his car was involved in an accident and caught fire. From then on it was his image that continued his cursed fascination with fire.

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exposed

To debunk the stories that have developed around the painting of “The Crying Boy,” various experts have come up with their own theories. A frustrated fire brigade pointed out that in all cases where there have been fires there is a rational explanation. In almost all cases, the fires were caused by human negligence or electrical interference. What they could not explain was the evidence that the paintings often remained intact when everything around them was destroyed. In a 2010 video by Steve Punt, available on YouTube, a painting of “The Crying Boy” is set on fire to settle matters once and for all. When the fire burns out, the corner of the painting is burned, but it remains mostly intact and the face is untouched. Still The sun, who first published the story of The Crying Boy, had no trouble burning hundreds of copies. Perhaps the simplest explanation is that the image is printed onto fire retardant materials. Quite simply, the manufacturer of the print has created a fire resistant product that has fallen victim to its own success. The debate continues.

Punt PI tries to burn the cursed crying boy painting

My grandmother was not a superstitious woman. In fact, she had another, much worse fire a few years later when her refrigerator overheated. Was she right then to dump her picture of my little friend over baseless rumours? I think so. While there is probably a very rational explanation for the phenomenon of The Crying Boy painting, I believe it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to curses. Or is it? You decide.

Have fun while reading

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Sweet Fanny Adams is used by the British to describe anything worthless. It is also the name of a pretty young girl who was murdered in Victorian England. So Fanny’s name became colloquial for worthless. The Curse of the Delhi Purple Sapphire
In 1857, an insignificant gem was stolen from an Indian temple. The story that followed the theft is a fascinating tale of misfortune and tragedy. Has this stolen jewel been haunted by its true owner?

Answer questions

Ask: I recently received a framed “Crying Boy” print. Ever since I placed it in my house, I have been overcome by a deep depression. I tried to take my life. My state of mind was not the same. I don’t believe in old wives tales, but that’s very strange. Could this pressure have something to do with it?

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Answer: I am very worried about you. The painting didn’t cause your depression, but it shows a sad child. Take down the painting, donate it to charity and then forget about it. Replace the painting with a beautiful, happy image that makes you feel good. Please be sure to go to the doctor or at least call a friend. We all have dark times, but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I send you my very best wishes and I hope and pray that you get better soon.

Ask: I’ve had the curse of the crying boy twice with no problems. It seems people are just trying to make it sound creepy. I wonder how many are left?

Answer: I think you’re probably right. It seems to be a British phenomenon, I doubt there are many left here.

Ask: Is there a story to The Crying Boy or did the artist just think of painting it?

Answer: The picture is one of a series of paintings, all by young children. It has been suggested that many of the children are orphans or poor children whom the painter used as models. There is a story that the little boy depicted died in a fire when he was old, but this can only be a grand story.

Ask: Do you personally believe in the curse of the crying boy painting? I have a picture of this in my art book for school and have recreated it a few times. I’m sure? My mother says I should get rid of them as she swore to herself never to have a painting like this.

Answer: I think most fires are caused by carelessness. Personally, I don’t believe in curses. In this case, there is likely a rational explanation for the fires and chance plays a part. I think you’re safe.

Ask: I have a large framed picture of the one at the top of your article. It’s been in my loft for at least 15 years. I couldn’t let my mom just throw it away as it brings back so many childhood memories. I knew about the curse and no one wanted it because of it. Do you think that one day I’ll find a place to hang my cursed painting?

Answer: I feel the same. I don’t have a copy personally, but as soon as I see a picture I will go to my mother’s house and my…