10 Cursed Items That Reportedly Kill

If Child’s Play was enough to keep you up at night, you should probably stop reading this now. Cursed, possessed and haunted items have captivated the intrigued paranormal minds of humans for thousands of year, with still no proven determiner of how these situations occur and why. Whether this phenomenon is a result of another power or force inhabiting the human world or if it’s a result of pure coincidental misfortune, it’s still downright creepy.

10

The Orphan’s Story

Cursed book

You may have recently heard of The Orphan’s Story – the 400-year-old manuscript that has mysteriously claimed the lives of those who have attempted to publish it, only to be successfully published for the first time in 2018. The story was written by a Spanish Augustinian friar, Martín de León y Cárdenas between 1608 and 1615, but the manuscript never made it to the printing press, potentially out of fear that it could destructive to his career.

The adventurous story follows that of a 14-year-old Spaniard who leaves Granada and ventures to Peru to seek his fortune. Romance, pirates, shipwrecks and a desperate mission, this story doesn’t seem to have a sinister origin or contain any hidden black magic. So why has it taken centuries to print? It has been said that every person who has ever worked on the manuscript has curiously died in some way. Belinda Palacios, a Peruvian academic who decided to work on the book as part of her PhD, was warned of its sinister nature. One person died in a car crash, another from a strange disease, etc. However, Palacios survived to publish the book with the José Antonio de Castro Foundation.

9)

James Dean’s ‘Little Bastard’

Cursed Car

The silver Porsche 550 Spyder was infamously owned by actor, James Dean for 9 days … before an oncoming vehicle struck him. Actor, Alex Guinness told Dean that the car had a “sinister” look to it, telling him, “If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.” A week later, he was pronounced dead as a result of the accident. Within the year, the car was loosely involved in 2 more fatal accidents and 2 additional injuries. Mechanic, George Barris purchased the car after Dean’s death. Whilst getting a tune up, the car fell on Barris’ legs, breaking them. 2 men purchased the engine and transmission of the car; one was killed and the other was seriously injured – though it’s not confirmed this misfortune occurred in cars that contained Little Bastard’s parts. Another person purchased the tires, all of which blew up at the same time, sending the driver to the hospital.

The car disappeared sometime in the 1960s. Speculation is that the truck carrying it had crashed, killing the driver and the car had disappeared before the authorities had arrived. Some rumors suggest that it had been stolen. The cursed vehicle remains missing to this day.

8)

The Hands Resist Him

Haunted painting

Known as the infamous haunted painting by William Stoneham, this eerie depiction of a younger version of the painter himself, standing next to a lifeless hollow doll with hands reaching out behind them reportedly has strange powers that has brought misfortune to whoever comes in contact with it, in some instances, even death. Completed in 1972 and hung in the Feingarten Gallery in California by 1974, the painting attracted moderate attention. It was reviewed by art critic, Henry Seldis for the Los Angeles Times and ended up being purchased by actor, John Marley. However, after a few years of the painting being sold, Seldis died. Then, the gallery owner passed away. Shortly after, John Marley died and the painting disappeared, only to reappear in 2000 on Ebay.

These new owners were convinced it was haunted and were trying to sell it, as it disturbed their 4-year-old daughter, who claimed that the boy and the doll in the painting often fought. 30,000 viewers were drawn to the listing, some reporting they couldn’t look at the picture without feeling very uneasy, disturbed and sometimes even ill or blacking out. Kim Smith purchased the painting for $1025, where it remains in a storage pocket in his gallery.

7)

Women from Lemb

Cursed statue

A limestone cruciform statue dated as old as 3500 BC was unearthed in 1878 in Lemb, Cyprus. It is considered to be a cross-like statue signifying fertility or potentially replicating a Goddess whose name has been lost in time. A Lord Elphont was recorded as being the first owner of the statue in the age when Cyprus was a British colony. However, his ownership didn’t prolong, because within six years of purchasing the statue, seven family members and himself curiously passed away. An Ivor Menucci became the next owner, and again, his entire family died within four years. The exact same fate was the same for the third owner, Lord Thompson-Noel, whose family all passed away within four years. Finally, it came into Sir Alan Biverbrook’s possession, before him, his wife and his two daughters died shortly after.

Biverbook’s remaining two sons ended up donating the statue to the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, where the museum curator died within a year of handling the statue. It is now stored in a glass case, safe from human touch.

6)

The Hope Diamond

Cursed gem

The walnut-sized, 45-carat blue diamond is estimated to be worth $250 million, but it has given its owners less than good fortune. The diamond is rumored to have been plucked from an Indian temple idol, and then sold to a French merchant. Before being mauled to death by a pack of dogs (a bizarre and gruesome way out), the merchant sold the diamond to King Louis XIV, where it remained in the royal family until the French Revolution in 1792, when it was stolen. Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette were infamously beheaded – some regarding them as victims of the curse.

The diamond went missing for some time before it landed in the hands of Henry Thomas Hope (which is where the diamond earned its name) in 1839. After his death, the diamond was passed on through several more owners. It is known as the most famous cursed diamond in the world, with owners facing devastating misfortune, including committing suicide, being murdered, becoming broke, having marriages fail, having their children die at young ages, a dependency on drugs, and in some cases, mental health problems. The Hope Diamond is now located at the National Museum of National History in Washington D.C.

5)

The Black Angel

Cursed statue

The Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City has attracted daredevils and supernatural skeptics for many years. Not at the chance of seeing a ghost, but to challenge death by touching the Black Angel statue. It is said that touching this statue promises an early or instant death.

The statue was originally gold, placed in the cemetery as a symbol of Teresa Doleful Feldevert’s melancholy over the death of both her young son and her husband. She died 12 years later in 1924. It was then that blackness clung to the gold body of the statue. Some believe that Feldevert was a witch; others believe she had been unfaithful, with the black coloring acting as a curse over the statue. Since then, stories of certain death have revolved around the Black Angel of Oakland Cemetery. A young woman visited the statue on a full moon and kissed her feet. She reportedly died within six months. A skeptical man visited the statue with a group of friends, dissing the legend. He touched the statue and he died on the spot of a heart attack. Pregnant women have been said to miscarry after walking underneath the wings of the statue.

4)

Conjure Chest

Cursed chest

150 years ago, Jacob Cooley ordered Hosea, one of his African American slaves to build a chest in honor of his first son whom he was expecting. Unfortunately, Cooley was unimpressed with the crafted wooden chest and beat Hosea to death. The other slaves on the property vowed revenge for the murder of their friend, inviting a ‘conjure man’ to curse the chest and Cooley’s future generations to come.

Cooley’s first born died during infancy with the chest in his nursery. Cooley’s brother inherited the chest and was stabbed to death by his personal servant. Over the forthcoming years, 17 more lives that had been associated to the chest and Cooley’s family had been lost, with many of the chest’s successions suffering great depression, including breakups, freak accidents, and serious injuries. It is said that a ‘conjure woman’ eventually lifted the curse and the chest is now located in the Kentucky History Museum in Frankfort.

3)

The Busby Stoop Chair

Cursed chair

In the late 1600s, Thomas Busby had the reputation as being a petty crook, with his father in law, Daniel Awety being his partner in crime. After an argument, a drunken Busby clashed with his wife’s father, who threatened to take his daughter, Elizabeth away. Furthermore, when Busby saw that Awety was sitting in his favorite chair at the local pub, his temper soared and he threw Awety out of the house. By nightfall, Busby decided to finish the fight – by grabbing a hammer and bludgeoning his father in law to death. In 1702, Busby was tried for his murder and sentenced to death. As he was journeyed to the place of his death, he cursed the chair at his favorite pub (which is also reportedly haunted), ensuing death to come shortly to anyone who sat in his beloved furniture.

Almost 200 years later, the first victim to be associated with the cursed powers of the chair met an untimely fate. He was a chimney sweep who, along with a friend, sat in the chair whilst have a drink one evening. However, the chimney sweep never returned home, and was instead found the next morning, hanging from the post next to the gibbet where Busby had died. His friend later confessed that he had robbed and murdered the chimney sweep. The chair has continued to be a legend throughout the centuries, with WW2 RCAF airmen daring each other to sit in the chair. Those that did never returned from their missions. In the 1970s, many more victims were added, including a hitch-hiker who was ran over after leaving the pub, a local man suffering a heart attack shortly after sitting in it, and a cleaning lady diagnosed with a brain tumor simply from knocking into the chair. After many more strange and very coincidental deaths (more than 60) owner of the pub, Tony Earnshaw donated it to the Thirsk museum, where it hangs on the ceiling today to ensure no more victims will plant their backsides in the chair.

2)

Annabelle

Cursed doll

Horror film fanatics are probably well acquainted to the true story of Annabelle, as featured in the movies of the same name and The Conjuring series. However, the real Raggedy Ann doll lurks beyond the films, locked in a case at The Warrens’ Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut. Student nurse, Donna had been given the doll by her mother who found Annabelle in a hobby shop in 1970. It didn’t take long for Donna and roommate, Angie to notice the eerie nature of the doll. The girls would leave with Annabelle sitting on Donna’s bed to coming home and finding the doll on the couch. Strange notes with the words ‘help us’ appeared around the house. The doll once was found with wet red hands … that looked very similar to blood. The famous Ed and Lorraine Warren were called in to take the doll away. As they drove, the engine would keep cutting out. When Annabelle arrived in her new home, she would be found levitating, and again, moving from room to room by herself.

Bad fortune has been promised to those who mock the doll. A priest who came to exorcise the doll pronounced, ‘you can’t hurt anyone.’ He was in a serious car accident on the way home, lucky to survive. However, others have not been as fortunate. A man visited the museum where Annabelle is kept in a safe box, which he banged on and dared her to scratch him if she was real. On the drive home, the man and his girlfriend were joking about the doll when he lost control of his bike and crashed head-on into a tree. He was killed instantly and his girlfriend was hospitalised for a year. As being the ‘worst thing in the whole Museum’ (Lorraine Warren), you have been warned.

1)

Tutankhamun’s Tomb

Cursed coffin

Discovered in 1922 by a team of archaeologist led by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s intact tomb which dates back to 1323 BC, when he died approximately aged 18, still remains to be significant in Egyptian archaeological findings. The tomb was one of the first to be found completely undisturbed, surrounded by religious objects, art and inscriptions, and objects believed to be necessities in the afterlife.

Though the discovery made headlines around the world, glory didn’t come to all those who opened the tomb. Urban legend decrees that the deceased Pharaoh can unleash dire punishment upon all who dare to interrupt the mummy’s sealed resting place. No curse was scripted on the tomb, but the team who unveiled the young dead king became victims to unfortunate events and curious deaths. Lord Carnarvon died just after 4 months since the opening of the tomb. How? From an infected mosquito bite. Legends even suggest that at the time of his death, the lights mysteriously all switched off in his house. Howard Carter died 16 years later to cancer – which didn’t genetically run in the family. Other victims suffered houses burning down, pets eaten by cobras, blood poisoning, blindness and suicide. Coincidence or cursed? We’ll leave this for you to decide.