Historical Nightmares
Not all treasures are meant to be found. These artifacts come with dark backstories—and maybe even a curse or two.
Annabelle The Doll
Annabelle is no ordinary Raggedy Ann doll. After all, what kind of doll would be locked up in an occult museum—one owned by the paranormal investigator Ed and Lorrain Warren, no less? A haunted doll—that's what.
She Was Possessed
In 1970, the doll belonged to a student nurse. After it began exhibiting odd behavior, a psychic medium claimed that the spirit of a girl named "Annabelle" possessed the doll.
They Moved Her To An Occult Museum
Although Annabelle's owner tried to respect the doll as best she could, its frightening behavior eventually led to a consultation with the Warrens. From there, Anabelle earned herself a one-way ticket to The Warrens' Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut, until it eventually closed its doors. But that wasn't the end of her story.
Prisencolinensinainciusol, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
She Inspired Hollywood
Thanks to Annabelle, horror lovers get to watch films based on her. She plays a big part in The Conjuring Universe: Annabelle, Annabelle Creation, Annabelle Comes Home, The Conjuring 2, and more.
software algorithm, Wikimedia Commons
The Crying Boy
When Giovanni Bragolin painted The Crying Boy, he had no idea his work would become one of the most infamous images in the world. By the 1950s, it hung in countless homes—and soon, a string of unexplained disasters made it clear something wasn’t right.
It Was Fire Resistant
In 1985, a chilling rumor about The Crying Boy began to circulate. In the British tabloid The Sun, a firefighter reportedly noted that he often came across the painting in the rubble of destroyed homes. The creepy part? The prints were always in pristine condition.
Zastolskiy Victor, Shutterstock
They Were Burned En Masse
The story about the cursed print captivated the minds of tabloid readers everywhere—so much so that they sent their prints into The Sun, who organized to have them all burnt en masse.
Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Anguished Man
The Anguished Man is one of the most terrifying painting to behold—and it also comes with a chilling backstory. The owner of the painting, Sean Robinson, inherited the frightful piece from his grandmother.
Dejan Krsmanovic, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
It Caused Paranormal Activity
In possession of The Anguished Man, Robinson began experiencing odd sounds in his home, including crying and moaning. He also claimed to see a "figure of a man".
The Painter Took His Own Life
When an unnamed artist created The Anguished Man, he poured more than emotion into it—he allegedly mixed his own blood into the paint. Tormented by inner demons, the artist took his own life soon after finishing the piece. Decades later, the painting’s eerie reputation only grew, inspiring a 2016 film deal that tried—and failed—to capture its true horror.
Busby's Stoop Chair
Busby's stoop chair, also known as the Dead Man's Chair, has a dark history. As the story goes, Thomas Busby placed a curse on the oak chair before he was hung in 1702 in North Yorkshire.
Maigheach-gheal, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Don't Sit On It
Following Busby's demise, the chair took up residence at the Busby Stoop Inn. But those who sat on the chair often met unfortunate ends.
The Airmen Didn't Survive
Allegedly, during WWII, a group of Canadian airmen visited the pub. Unfortunately, the men who sat in Busby's chair didn't escape the war alive. Then, in the 1970s, even more accidents were attributed to the haunted chair. Something had to be done.
The Busby Stoop, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
It Was Stored Out Of Reach
In 1978, the landlord of Busby Stoops Inn donated the chair to Thirsk Museum. However, nobody was allowed to sit in the chair from then on. Hung from the ceiling, not even maintenance workers could get their hands on it.
Tim Green from Bradford, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond is stunning but perilous. Weighing 45.52 carats and insured for $250 million, it now rests safely behind glass at the Smithsonian—where it can’t cause any more trouble.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
Those Who Wore It Perished
Allegedly, the Hope Diamond's curse dates back to the 17th century. Many who have worn the heavy necklace have met terrible misfortunes. There were many cases of owners taking their own lives or meeting gruesome ends.
It Was Taken Without Permission
According to the myth, the original Hope Diamond came from a statue of the Hindu goddess Sita. However, after it was stolen, the reports of bad luck began.
Mbalotia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
James Dean's Car
It's widely known that the young James Dean passed in a tragic car accident on September 30, 1955, but some believe that his crashed car was cursed.
A Chilling Prediction
A week before his accident, Dean actor showed the silver Porsche to fellow actor Alec Guinness. Reportedly, Guinness told Dean, "Please, never get in it. It is now ten o'clock, Friday the 23rd of September, 1955. If you get in that car you will be found dead in it by this time next week". He was right.
Kirill Borisenko, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
There Were Mysterious Accidents
In 1956, a man named George Barris acquired James Dean’s wrecked Porsche and decided to display it, billing it as a cursed car. Between 1956 and 1960, Barris claimed, several bizarre accidents were connected to the vehicle’s salvaged parts—each one seeming to prove that the so-called curse was all too real.
Others Met Fiery Ends
In Barris's book Cars of the Stars, he writes that the man "driving a car powered by the engine from Dean's car, was killed when his vehicle went out of control and struck a tree in the first race in which the motor had been used since Dean's mishap".
Alexandre Prévot, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Porsche Disappeared
In a bizarre twist, Dean's car also disappeared in 1960. Barris claimed hat the porsche had been transported in a sealed boxcar, traveling from a traffic safety exhibit in Florida. However, when it reached LA, there was nothing inside the boxcar. The car was gone.
The Woman From Lemb
The Woman From Lemb is a limestone statue dating back to 3,500 BC—and it was discovered in 1878 in Cyprus. But this statue cursed any family who owned it.
Héctor Ochoa 'Robot8A', CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Its Owners Met Dark Ends
Reportedly, the first family who owned the Woman From Lemb only lasted six years. By the end, all seven members had lost their lives. But that was just the beginning.
She Went On A Rampage
Ivor Menucci, the statue’s second owner, met a grim fate just four years after acquiring it. Following his end, the Woman From Lemb vanished without a trace—only to resurface years later, bringing its deadly curse back with it.
Héctor Ochoa 'Robot8A', CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
They Washed Their Hands Of Her
The third family to lay claim to the Woman From Lemb also saw so tragedy—but finally came to their senses and gave the unlucky artifact to the Royal Scottish Museum.
The Dark Mirror
The Dark Mirror is an artifact that belongs to the Traveling Museum of the Paranormal and Occult. However, the mirror's original owner supposedly bought the piece from a psychic fair.
It Shows You A Nightmare
The original owner of the cursed mirror reported seeing terrible things in the artifact's reflection. Even now, it is common for visitors to see their own deceased bodies when looking into the mirror's depths.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia Commons
The Dybbuk Box
The Dybbuk Box is such an infamous object, it helped inspire the horror flick, The Possession. Allegedly, it is a wine box that has been possessed by a malevolent demon known as a dybbuk. This spirit comes from Jewish mythology.
KennyBiddle, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
A Terrifying Auction
In 2001, the Dybbuk Box shot to infamy after being listed on eBay. The seller claimed it once belonged to a Holocaust survivor and that he’d acquired it at an estate sale. But soon after, strange occurrences began—leading many to believe the small wooden box was haunted by something far darker than history.
It Caused Bad Dreams
The seller also claimed that paranormal activity came hand in hand with the Dybbuk Box, and that he'd been the victim of terrifying nightmares.
Today, the artifact belongs to the paranormal enthusiast Zak Bagan, who became its owner in 2017. It can be found in Zak Bagan's The Haunted Museum.
Alejamte, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Tomb Of Tutankhamun
In 1922, the archaeologist Howard Carter and a group of excavators made the fantastic discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. It quickly became the most renowned pioneering moment in Egyptology's history. But dark rumors swirled around the occasion.
Maynard Owen Williams, Wikimedia Commons
Rumors Flourished
During the excavation, disaster struck. One of Carter's patrons—the Earl of Carnarvon—lost his life to an infection. Many began whispering that his demise was the result of the tombo's curse. This was only reinforced when other bizarre and tragic events became linked to the historical site.
Harry Burton, Wikimedia Commons
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