The Anguished Man: The Painting That Should’ve Stayed in the Attic
FREAKY FRIDAY
Let me introduce you to one of the internet’s favorite haunted objects: The Anguished Man — a painting so deeply unsettling, it spent 25 years hidden behind curtains in an attic.
If you enjoy my deep dives into spooky stories, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps me continue this passion project and bring you even more chilling content!
Where it all began…
Current owner Sean Robinson inherited the painting after his grandmother passed away in 1999. Before that, she kept it tucked away in her attic, covered up and out of sight. No one really knows where she got it. It may have come from someone at her church, but nothing's confirmed.
She claimed the painting was evil. Not just bad vibes evil, but full-on shadow figure, hearing crying at night, artist-mixed-his-own-blood-into-the-oil-paint-and-then-died-by-suicide evil.
Sean, naturally, thought it was just a weird story.
After inheriting it, he stored the painting in his cellar. Then the noises started. First, moaning and crying. Then, the dark figure — a shadowy man — began appearing around the house. Oh, and in 2010, there was a major flood that damaged everything in the cellar except the painting.
Still skeptical, Sean chalked it up to coincidence. That is, until the disturbances got louder and closer.
“I never believed in the supernatural. I am now convinced there is something evil about this painting.” Sean later said.
He began filming the strange events and uploading them to his YouTube channel, The Anguished Man. You can watch the unsettling videos yourself — weird bangs, eerie orbs, and shadowy shapes abound.
But instead of burning it, locking it up, or (I don’t know) throwing it into the sea, Sean moved the haunted painting into his bedroom. Yes, really.
Sean leaned into the chaos.
“As a former skeptic, I’m very curious. I moved the painting into our bedroom… I recorded over three nights… On the second night at approximately 3:25 a.m., I recorded the painting suddenly falling over. Immediately afterward, a small orb is visible just above the painting.” - Sean
No drafts, no breeze, and the painting had been leaning securely. He also described a “strange mist” that surrounded him at the top of the stairs, making the air icy cold before vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
Oh — and his son? Said he felt a hand push him down the stairs.
Still, Sean kept the painting. When the family moved in with his parents, guess what came with them?
Three days later, the same noises started. On the third night, his father fell down the stairs — just like his son. At this point, Sean finally put the painting in storage.
Paranormal road trips and a haunted séance
Over the years, Sean has collaborated with several paranormal teams. One of the most dramatic nights occurred on May 18, 2013, at Chillingham Castle, one of the most haunted places in the U.K. If you’re interested, you can read my post about it here. During a séance with at least 20 people present, things got real.
According to investigator John Blackburn, the room turned icy cold and a large, dark figure appeared in the séance circle. A wooden bench began slamming the floor in response to questions directed at the painting. Then, it was flipped upside-down violently — believed to be the doing of John Sage, a spirit resident of the castle, angry at the painting’s uninvited energy.
“It was the strangest experience in all my years of investigation,” Blackburn said.
The painting today
Sean still owns the original. Despite the floods, figures, falls, and freak-outs, he refuses to sell it — claiming it’s simply too dangerous. Tons of replicas exist on eBay if you’re looking to add a cursed vibe to your own space.
In 2016, La Brea Pictures purchased the movie rights, but no film has surfaced yet. Maybe the project was shelved… or maybe the painting didn’t want its story told on the big screen.
What do you think? Haunted hoax or real-deal cursed canvas? Would you keep something like this in your house?