The Hands Resist Him

If you feel sick, full of dread, or uneasy looking at this picture then you are not alone.

This  painting was created by artist Bill Stoneham in 1972. It depicts a young boy stood next to a sinister doll against a glass door, if you look closely you can seen small hands behind the door reaching towards the boy. According to the artist, the boy in the painting is based on a photograph of the artist when he was 5 years old.

The painting was originally purchased by actor John Marley, and sometime after Marley’s death, the painting was found on the site of an old brewery by an elderly Californian couple. Shortly after, the painting then appeared on the auction website eBay in February 2000.

According to the seller the painting carried some form of curse. The eBay description made a series of claims that the painting was haunted. Included in those claims were that the characters in the painting moved during the night, and that they would sometimes leave the painting and enter the room in which it was being displayed. Also included with the listing were a series of photographs that were said to be evidence of an incident in which the female doll character threatened the male character with a gun that she was holding, causing him to attempt to leave the painting.

A disclaimer was included with the listing absolving the seller from all liability if the painting was purchased.

News quickly spread about this haunted painting and the eBay page received over 30,000 views and the painting eventually sold for $1,025.00. The buyer, Perception Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, eventually contacted Bill Stoneham and related the unusual story of its auction on eBay and their acquisition of it. He reported being quite surprised by all the stories and strange interpretations of the images in the painting. Stoneham recalls that both the owner of the gallery in which the painting was first displayed, and the art critic who reviewed it, died within one year of coming into contact with the painting. 

Now, when i was doing some research about this painting i entered ‘The Hands Resist Him’ into google and my computer froze. Then the internet wouldn’t work for me and disconnected, even though my partner was on his computer next to me and his internet was working fine. 

Quite a bizarre painting to look at, not something that i would particularly want in my house for decorative purposes. Think i will just stick to some flowers or  some candles.