How the curse of the crying boy evolved...

The Spanish artist J Bragolin (who also went by aliases Franchot Seville and Bruno Amadio)was said to have painted a deaf and dumb Spanish street urchin by the name of Don Bonillo, who would have been between three and five years old at the time.

It is thought that Bragolin found the child wondering around the streets of Madrid.

The orphan boy had run away after seeing his parents die in a blaze and never spoke again. And because wherever he settled, fires would mysteriously break out, he became known to the locals as Diablo or devil.

Warned by a Catholic priest that the boy was jinxed, Bragolin nevertheless insisted on painting the boy and is rumoured to have tried beating the curse out of him.

When the artist's studio burnt down in a blaze he blamed the orphan boy, and Bragolin's career was likewise jinxed for evermore. For nobody would buy his paintings again after this.

It is thought that 19-year-old Don Bonillo later died in a car accident when the car he was in exploded into flames. Nobody came forward to claim his body.

These crying boy paintings were later mass reproduced in the 1980's and were readily available in places like Woolworths and Boots.

The curse of the crying boy began in Yorkshire, September 1985 when over 50 mysterious house fires were thought to have been caused by the paranormal painting. In most cases the houses were completely destroyed and only the painting remained untouched. There are a lot of myths surrounding the curse but what we do know for sure is the crying boy was a mass produced painting thought to be popular with the kind of people who left chip pans on and who discarded lit cigarette ends. It is thought that the paintings didn't burn becasue they were printed on compressed hardboard and hard to ignite. Even so, there is not a firefighter in Yorkshire who will allow one in his/her home.

Cursed Crying Boy Painting...

That's right, another crying boy painting by J Bragolin (different to the one already shown on this blog) is on its way, bought from E-Bay.

Rumour has it somewhere, that ten crying boy paintings hanging together will abolish the curse and make a house safe. However, I'm not planning on going that mad. I have my eye on one more painting and then I'm going to be calling it quits.

May the curse be with you...

As promised, here are the pics of my 'cursed crying boy' painting by J Bragolin, purchased for 99pence from E-Bay.

It now hangs above desk in office.

Coming soon...

Bought from E-Bay for 99pence, the screenwriter of 'Curse Of The Crying Boy' was successful in nabbing an original Bragolin reproduction framed print of The Crying Boy.

Apparently it has lived 20 + years with a Scottish family and hasn't (so far) caused any harm.

Can't tell you how excited I am. Looking forward to hanging it on my wall. Though, it has to be said, hubby is not too happy about it and is checking out his house buildings/insurance documents as we speak.

This one has got legs...

'This one has got legs' the infamous words used by the then editor of The Sun Newspaper, Kelvin Mackenzie to describe the phenonemom of the curse of the crying boy.

My own parents inherited one of these portraits, and as a child I remember being fascinated by the myths and folklore that surrounded it. being a superstitious type, my mother was one of the thousands of anxious owners who sent their copy to The Sun newspaper for a mass bonfire.

I love the fact that the paranormal activity surrounding the portrait created such a stir in the UK and even made worldwide news as mass hysteria, generated mainly by the tabloid press, grew. Due to its history, I think it's fair to say the story of the Crying Boy belongs firmly to the nostalgic eighties era and working class Britain.

What the curse inadvertently does is explore human nature in its simplest literary form:- the need for storytelling, the desire to embellish facts and a craving to create legends. hence the well-documented 'eye witness' accounts that hold the portrait responsible for many deaths and supernatural occurrences as well s the mysterious house fires.

He's a Firestarter

As featured in The Sun newspaper