The Haunting Story Behind The Painting Of The Anguished Man
Avid fans of the paranormal know that there are certain items that are supposedly haunted, one of which, a doll called Anabelle, has even inspired "The Conjuring" movie franchise. Other haunted objects include a chair, a vintage box, and even a few paintings. One of the most popular ones that is allegedly haunted is a painting called "The Anguished Man" which is owned by a man from England named Sean Robinson.
The painting has been in Robinson's family for decades. According to him, his grandmother kept "The Anguished Man" in her attic, claiming that it was evil. His grandmother told stories of seeing a figure of a man and hearing cries and unexplained noises (via Live About). Per her grandmother's story, the painting's artist used his own blood and mixed it with paint to create the painting, and then he killed himself shortly thereafter.
After the death of Sean Robinson's grandmother, he inherited "The Anguished Man" and kept it in his basement for years. He eventually transferred the painting to one of the rooms in his house after a flooding incident in his basement.
Unexplained activities
Sean claimed to be a skeptic, but his views changed after supposedly experiencing paranormal activity in his home after "The Anguished Man" was removed from the basement. According to Horror News, Sean started having the same experience as his grandmother, hearing strange sounds and seeing a man's figure. Sean's wife and son experience the alleged hauntings as well. He claimed to have felt someone push him down the stairs, while Sean's wife said he saw a stranger beside her in bed.
In 2011, Sean Robinson decided to upload videos of "The Anguished Man" on YouTube on its own channel. To date, there are nine videos on the channel, with clips showing the allegedly haunted painting. In the clips, Sean was able to record the painting toppling over, light anomalies in the video, as well as strange sounds. The channel was last updated in May 2018. "The Anguished Man" painting became so popular that fake ones began to pop up on eBay. However, Sean warned collectors that those are fakes as he said he would never sell the painting, per Dread Central.
Haunted or hoax?
Although Sean Robinson provided his evidence of the haunted painting on YouTube, there are still skeptics who question its authenticity. "The Anguished Man" was even featured in an episode of "Weird or What?" on the Discovery Channel, and in it, a paranormal investigator offered his thoughts on the supposedly haunted painting. He said the videos Sean provided on YouTube were a hoax and could easily be done with trickery such as using a fishing line (via Horror News). Furthermore, there are no other people aside from Sean and his family who can corroborate the unexplained events that are supposedly associated with the painting as it has been owned by his family for years.
Despite many people questioning the painting as being haunted, Sean insists that the videos he uploaded are authentic and even said that he was a non-believer himself before the unexplained experiences he and his family had. "I was a skeptic myself and I still am. But, the footage is there for you to see. It wasn't faked. There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation but I haven't found it yet," he said. Until now, Sean is still in possession of "The Anguished Man" and as of 2019, there were reports of La Brea Pictures making a movie about the allegedly haunted painting.