Hands Resist Him / eBay Haunted Painting

About

The Hands Resist Him, also known as The eBay Haunted Painting or The Creepy eBay Painting, is a popular urban legend about a supposedly haunted painting sold on eBay. Owners of the painting as well as shoppers on eBay who came across the listing would frequently report illnesses, fainting and possession by an "unseen entity." Owners of the painting would also report that the boy in the canvas would frequently escape at nighttime.^[1]

Origin

In 1972, artist and writer Bill Stoneham painted "That Hands Resist Him."^[2] The painting was a recreation of a family photo of him and a neighborhood girl with added Jungian and Metaphysic symbolism, where the door represents a gate to possibilities, and the hands represent "other lives." (shown below)^[3][6]

On February 2nd, 2000, eBay^[4] user mrnoreserve listed the item with an opening bid of $199. However, the listing's description included a cryptic warning about strange occurrences regarding the painting, including characters from the painting stepping out of the picture. It reads:

WHEN WE RECEIVED THIS PAINTING, WE THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY GOOD ART. A " PICKER " HAD FOUND IT ABANDONED BEHIND AN OLD BREWERY. AT THE TIME WE WONDERED A LITTLE WHY A SEEMINGLY PERFECTLY FINE PAINTING WOULD BE DISCARDED LIKE THAT. ( TODAY WE DON'T !!! ) ONE MORNING OUR 4 AND 1/2 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER CLAIMED, THAT THE CHILDREN IN THE PICTURE WERE FIGHTING, AND COMING INTO THE ROOM DURING THE NIGHT. NOW, I DON'T BELIEVE IN UFOS OR ELVIS BEING ALIVE, BUT MY HUSBAND WAS ALARMED. TO MY AMUSEMENT HE SET UP A MOTION TRIGGERED CAMERA FOR THE NIGHTS. AFTER THREE NIGHTS THERE WERE PICTURES.THE LAST TWO PICTURES SHOWN ARE FROM THAT 'STAKEOUT'. AFTER SEEING THE BOY SEEMINGLY EXITING THE PAINTING UNDER THREAT, WE DECIDED, THE PAINTING HAS TO GO.PLEASE JUDGE FOR YOURSELF. - BEFORE YOU DO, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING WARNING AND DISCLAIMER.

--WARNING: DO NOT BID ON THIS PAINTING IF YOU ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO STRESS RELATED DISEASE, FAINT OF HEART OR ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH SUPERNATURAL EVENTS. BY BIDDING ON THIS PAINTING, YOU AGREE TO RELEASE THE OWNERS OF ALL LIABILITY IN RELATION TO THE SALE OR ANY EVENTS HAPPENING AFTER THE SALE, THAT MIGHT BE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS PAINTING. THIS PAINTING MAY OR MAY NOT POSESS SUPERNATURAL POWERS, THAT COULD IMPACT OR CHANGE YOUR LIFE. HOWEVER, BY BIDDING YOU AGREE TO EXCLUSIVELY BID ON THE VALUE OF THE ARTWORK, WITH DISREGARD TO THE LAST TWO PHOTOS FEATURED IN THIS AUCTION, AND HOLD THE OWNERS HARMLESS IN REGARD TO THEM AND THEIR IMPACT, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. ---------- NOW THAT WE GOT THIS OUT OF THE WAY, ONE QUESTION TO YOU EBAYERS. WE WANT OUR HOUSE TO BE BLESSED AFTER THE PAINTING IS GONE, DOES ANYBODY KNOW, WHO IS QUALIFIED TO DO THAT? THE SIZE OF THE PAINTING IS 24 BY 36 INCHES, SO IT IS RATHER LARGE. AS I HAVE HAD SEVERAL QUESTIONS, HERE THE FOLLOWING ANSWERS. THERE WAS NO ODOR LEFT BEHIND IN THE ROOM. THERE WERE NO VOICES, OR THE SMELL OF GUNPOWDER, NO FOODPRINTS OR STRANGE FLUIDS ON THE WALL. TO DETER QUESTIONS IN THIS DIRECTION, THERE ARE NO GHOSTS IN THIS WORLD , NO SUPERNATURAL POWERS, THIS IS JUST A PAINTING, AND MOST THESE THINGS HAVE AN EXPLANATION, IN THIS CASE PROBABLY A FLUKE LIGHT EFFECT. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BID ON THE ARTWORK, AND CONSIDER THE LAST TWO PHOTOGRAPHS AS PURE ENTERTAINMENT, AND PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THEM INTO CONSIDERATION, WHEN BIDDING. AS WE THINK IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO BLESS ANY HOUSE, WE STILL WELCOME INPUT INTO THAT PROCEDURE.

Despite the warnings, the painting was sold for $1,025 to ionia7.^[5] The original listing has since been deleted but can be viewed below.

Spread

According to an update in the listing, as of February 11th, 2000, more than 13,000 people had viewed the listing.

The following month, on March 12th, 20000, the buyer of the painting, who wished to remain anonymous, gave an interview to the website Surfing the Apocalypse.^[9] In the interview, the buyer claims that they had experienced no bizarre events since purchase. They say:

"I wish I could report a bizarre happening or mind possession type of thing, but the unusual things started happening with the first email and counting. Prayers and quotes from the scriptures from a man of faith. Advice as how to cleanse my residence of this evil thing from a Native American Shaman in Mississippi. Reports of people being repulsed, made physically ill, or suffering from a black out/mind control experiences. I've been informed that over 34,000 people on Ebay alone have viewed this item. People want to know how can I live with this sort of " thing ", or want to buy a life size reproduction. If anything, this is the real story. I had never received an email before that wasn't from some on-line pornsite. And the only apparent reason I get these is because I fit the profile."

After the appearance on eBay, the haunted painting spread quickly through horror communities, spawning countless creepypastas with many of them gaining popularity.^[7]

On June 14, 2007, YouTuber ^[8] hezulla uploaded a video about the painting, which recieved more than 2.2 million views. (shown below.)Eight years later, YouTuber ^[12] williamdefalco published a video on the painting entitled Urban Legends: "'The Hands Resist Him' painting," which received more than 22,000 views in two years.

Several media outlets covered the public's interest in the haunted painting, including HuffPost,^[10] The Daily Dot,^[11] BBC^[1] and more. The Daily Dot reported in 2013 that documentary and a feature film were being produced about the painting, which now resides at the Smith’s gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Search Interest

References