Mum Sells “Cursed” Portrait After Close Call with Fire
Zoe Elliott-Brown, a 36-year-old carer from Hastings, East Sussex, has decided to part ways with a supposedly “cursed” portrait she purchased in July. The eerie painting, which had already unsettled a previous owner, became a source of distress for Zoe’s family after bringing it home.
The portrait depicts a young girl in a red dress and has garnered quite a reputation for causing trouble. Zoe initially placed it in her living room, where it seemingly captivated her mother, Jayne Elliott-Brown. Jayne confessed to stroking the cheek of the painting and hearing mysterious “knocking” noises at night.
Zoe, along with her partner Ben, reported witnessing a large, shadowy figure during a stormy walk. Even their pet dog appeared to be frightened by the cursed artwork. Despite attempting to cleanse the painting with sage, Zoe remained convinced that the eerie curse still lingered.
The breaking point came when a potentially catastrophic incident occurred in their home. Zoe recalls, “My mum’s internet router started smoking and blew up – it’s quite new as well. There was a very nasty hot smell. We unplugged it, and the router and wiring were too hot to touch. That just really freaked me out. If we hadn’t been there, like if that had happened a day or so later, the whole place would’ve probably burnt down. It was just so lucky we were there. There’s just this really strong smell of burning plastic now.”
This near-miss with disaster prompted Zoe to take action. She promptly listed the painting for sale online and is determined to rid herself of the item. The family eagerly anticipates the day when the portrait will be gone from their home.
Zoe stated, “My mum was really skeptical, and she’s even 100 per cent convinced now. The dog still won’t sleep in the house with it. I can’t wait to see the back of it. Opening [the picture] up has definitely increased whatever’s going on. The house nearly burning down was not ideal.”
Zoe is resolute in her decision to remove the “cursed” painting from her life, selling it on eBay to the highest bidder willing to take on the alleged curse. The artwork has already garnered substantial interest, with 34 bids and a current highest offer of £986. Zoe holds no guilt about passing on the supposed curse to the next owner, expressing, “I wanted to sell it so it wasn’t my problem anymore, and I can be cleared of whatever’s been following me around. People know what they’re buying – it’s in the ad. I’m not going to have a guilty conscience – I just want it out of my life. I’ve had it to the back teeth with this picture. I bloody well hope I’ll rid myself of this curse when it sells. I don’t care who it goes to; I just want it gone.”
Zoe has even received interest in the painting from as far as the United States and offers to display the artwork in a ghost museum. The portrait gained national and international attention last month after being returned twice to a charity shop due to fears that it was “possibly cursed.”