List of reportedly haunted paintings

The following works of art have been described as being haunted or cursed in some way.

Painting	Title	Artist	Year	Location	Nature of haunting or curse
	Portrait of Bernardo de Gálvez	?	?	Hotel Galvez, Galveston, Texas	The painting of the Spanish General Bernardo de Gálvez (1746-1786) at the end of a hallway in a hotel that bears his name is said to have supernatural influence over photographs taken of it. Some claim to see a skull in flash photography of the painting, and according to local folklore, visitors must politely ask permission of the ghost to take a picture of the portrait, or else the photo will be ruined upon development.
	Portrait of Henrietta Nelson	?	?	Yaxley Hall, Eye, Suffolk	Henrietta Nelson (1734-1816) died by falling down a flight of stairs in her home at Yaxley Hall, and was buried in a mausoleum on the property, according to her wishes. However, years later, new owners moved in and destroyed the mausoleum, moving her remains to a nearby church. According to legend, she's been haunting the grounds ever since, trying to return home to her desired resting place. Her portrait has also purportedly become imbued with her spirit, with her ghost following it even when moved out of the house. Viewers have reported her face in the painting changing shape, and a pale figure with identical clothing walking the grounds.
	Man Proposes, God Disposes	Edwin Landseer	1864	Royal Holloway, University of London	The painting is believed to be haunted, and a bad omen. According to urban myth, a local student once committed suicide during exams by stabbing a pencil into their eye, writing "The polar bears made me do it" on their exam paper. There is, however, no university record of a death in the picture gallery. A slightly less morbid legend among students dating back to at least the 1960s is that anyone sitting in front of the painting during an exam will fail it. This has led to teachers covering the painting with a Union Jack when student examinations are ongoing.
	Mi Novia, or Portrait of a Lady	Juan Luna	1890	National Museum, Phillipines	Legend says the portrait is of the artist's wife, Paz, who Juan Luna murdered, possibly while working on the portrait. Juan was acquitted on grounds of temporary insanity. According to the legend, the painting is now possessed by the spirit of Paz, who brings misfortune upon its owners. Past owners have died in car crashes, been forced into bankruptcy, and experienced miscarriage, among other reported sorrows. Unfortunately for the legend, the women depicted in the painting is believed to be Angela Duche, a French women who was not in fact murdered by, nor married to, the painter.
	The Dead Mother	Edvard Munch	1899	Munch Museum, Oslo	Edvard Munch's mother and sister died of tuberculosis when he was a child, and memories of that trauma were a recurring motif throughout his work. Munch was also influenced by the nihilist Hans Jæger, who urged him to paint his own emotional and psychological state (described as 'soul painting'), leading to his distinctive style. According to urban legend, Munch's painting The Dead Mother is cursed. Purportedly, viewers have described the horrified girl's eyes following them as they move, hearing a soft rustling sound (usually attributed to the eponymous mother's bed sheets) when near the painting, and occasionally, the girl disappearing altogether from the canvas.
	The Crying Boy	Giovanni Bragolin	1950s	Multiple locations	Paintings of crying children were blamed for a series of house fires in the 80s, after prints were found undamaged amidst the ruins of multiple burned houses.
	The Hands Resist Him	Bill Stoneham	1972	Perception Gallery, Grand Rapids, Michigan	Characters in the painting are said to move or leave the painting during the night.
	The Anguished Man	Un­known	?	Privately owned	The owner recorded scraping, banging, crying, and moaning noises on YouTube, described the manifestation of fog in the house, and the appearance of a figure of a man. Guests reportedly had nosebleeds and experienced extreme nausea while looking at the painting.
	The paintings of Arshile Gorky	Arshile Gorky	1904-1938	Multiple locations	Gorky's paintings are rumored to be cursed, with paintings reportedly falling from walls, catching on fire, and being visited by a black-haired ghost in a blue overcoat. On March 1, 1962, A plane with 87 passengers, 8 crew members, and 15 abstract paintings by Gorky crashed into a swamp two minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board and destroying the paintings. According to Anthonie Holslag, a researcher studying the aftermath of the Armenian genocide, the painter's work has come to symbolize "everything we lost" for many Armenian survivors, as well as offering identity and a source of strength.
	Love Letters	Richard King	1990s	Driskill Hotel, Austin, Texas	The expression of the girl in the painting (Samantha Houston) is said to change whenever one looks away. Guests have also reported dizziness, nausea, and feeling like they are floating or falling while viewing the painting.
	Pogo the Clown	John Wayne Gacy	1990s	Privately owned	A signed self-portrait by the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, depicting his alter-ego, "Pogo the Clown". Musician Nikki Stone purchased the painting for $3,000 in 2001, but began to regret the purchase when his dog died and his mother got cancer, which he attributed to the malicious influence of the painting. A friend offered to keep the painting, and soon after the friend's neighbor was killed in a car crash. A second friend then took it for storage, and later attempted suicide. The painting was never hung up, and was given to a local art dealer.
	The Stagecraft or The Hanging Man	Laura	1994-1995	Privately owned	Claimed to be responsible for a series of unexplained and dangerous incidents.
	The Rain Woman	Svetlana Telets	1996	Hidden	For six months prior to the creation of the painting, the artist Svetlana Telets felt like she was being constantly watched. One day she was sitting in front of a blank canvas, when a clear vision of the final painting appeared to her. Feeling like "someone was controlling" her hand, she sketched the composition for five hours, then spent another month refining the details. After displaying it in a local art salon, multiple people successively bought the painting, only to return it to the seller after describing a figure following them in their homes and dreams. One temporary owner described white eyes appearing everywhere he looked, and returned the painting with an offer to pay back half the purchase price, fearing he might drown in the eyes if kept for any longer. The piece was eventually purchased by the musician Sergei Skachkov in 2008, though reportedly his wife later hid the painting, after seeing a ghostly figure walk around their apartment at night. According to Archpriest Vitaly Goloskevich, Priest of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Vinnytsia, "A person has a spirit and a soul. There are truly spiritual works of art, and there are soulful ones. And the painting you are talking about represents just such soulful art. And it doesn't come from God.... The artist puts into the work the mood in which he was at the time of his writing. And it is not known who led the artist at that moment."
	"The Scariest Picture on the Internet (REAL)."	Un­known	2000s	YouTube	An early internet creepypasta, the video claimed to show a portrait painted by a Japanese woman shortly before committing suicide, saying that anyone who stared into its eyes for more than five minutes would also kill themselves.