12 Cursed Objects That Nobody Wants To Touch

Every now and then, we'll run into something that makes us feel uneasy. Sometimes the reason is obvious, like when we're dealing with a creepy doll. There's just something about their soulless, unblinking eyes that sends a chill down people's spines. Bonus points if the doll is broken or depicts an unsettling clown.

Yet there are some objects that don't look like anything special, but when people hear the stories behind them, they'll happily accept the creepiest broken clown doll you can find instead.

Sometimes, it's because the object is tied up with a horrible tragedy or it was apparently stolen from a sacred place. In either case, the item is supposed to carry a curse that brings terrible misfortune to whoever gets a hold of it.

Some of the mysteries behind these 12 objects are easier to explain than others, but all of them would make for a difficult resell if you somehow got your hands on them.

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1. The Croesus Treasure

This is a collection of artifacts from the reign of King Croesus, who ruled part of what is now Turkey in 560 BC. His treasure was illegally dug up during the 1960s and spent decades being passed around before finally returning to Turkey in 1993.

In that time, the seven people involved in digging it up supposedly met with violent deaths or great misfortune. The former director of the museum where it now lies also blamed the curse for his problems when he sold one of the treasures to pay off gambling debts.

Yeah, that defense didn't seem to help his case any, and he was jailed for 13 years.

2. The Hope Diamond

This famous diamond's curse apparently began when it was stolen from an Indian temple and eventually sold to King Louis XIV in 1642. While nothing happened to the Sun King, the guy who sold it to him was killed by a pack of wild dogs and the original thief also died a slow, painful death.

After it was stolen again during the French Revolution, every owner since was said to experience death, tragedy or financial ruin as a result. However, this part was drummed up to sell newspapers in the 1800s and only some of these owners can even be confirmed to exist.

3. The Unlucky Mummy

Despite the name, this isn't a mummy so much as aslab of ancient Egyptian coffin wood. It was said to bring death and freak accidents to anyone who owned it, but many of these rumors can be traced back to two publicity-hungry writers from the late 19th century.

However, when a journalist named Fletcher Robinson died suddenly after writing about the piece, the curse's legend seemed to be reborn.

4. The Hands Resist Him

This painting by Bill Stoneham appeared on eBay in February of 2000, and the seller claimed it was haunted and changed form at night. As the painting spread across the internet, reports started cropping up of viewers becoming ill, children screaming once they saw it, and others feeling the presence of an "unseen entity."

Considering the item's price shot up from $199 to $1050 by the time the bidding was over, it's hard not to see this "curse" as a ploy to get a better price for the painting.

Yet that's not the only painting with legends of a curse attached to it. Apparently, there's a whole collection of cursed artwork out spreading terror.

5. The Crying Boy Paintings

In the mid-'80s, a series of stories in British tabloid The Sunsuggested that prints of paintings featuring only a crying child were responsible for a rash of house fires. In each fire, only the paintings remained undamaged, which gave the impression that the paintings were cursed.

Since at least 50,000 households would have owned similar prints at the time, this prompted panicked residents to send letters in about their own paintings. How convenient for The Sun...

6. James Dean's Porche 550 Spyder

Actor Alec Guinness famously told Dean, "If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.” Sure enough, he died seven days later while driving it.


Yet the legend of the cursed car doesn't end there. Not only did the remains break a mechanic's leg when it fell off its trailer, but even the parts taken off it were involved in three different accidents. The California Highway Patrol wanted to display it as a safety exhibit, but the garage they stored it in burned to the ground, and it kept falling off the transport trailers they tried to put in on.

The car's current whereabouts are unknown.

7. The Dybbuk Box

This wine cabinet is supposed to be haunted by a spirit in Jewish folklore called a dybbuk, and an eBay seller in 2004 apparently blamed it for an insect infestation, hair loss, and "mysterious odors." 

Undaunted, a Texas man named Jason Haxton purchased the box and started experiencing welts, bloodshot eyes, and unexplained choking. He had the box tested for various heavy metals and biohazards, but the box doesn't seem to contain either.

At last report, Haxton buried the box in a shockproof container and has apparently stopped feeling sick.

8. Robert the Doll

Robert was the childhood toy of Florida artist Gene Otto, who always said "Robert did it" when he had a tantrum. After Otto died, visitors to his home reported changes in the doll's expression and staff at the Fort East Martello Museum apparently noticed "a shift in energies" when he first arrived.

If you were to visit Robert, you'd notice a wall of letters of apology. It seems the doll doesn't like getting his picture taken "without permission.

While it's hard to figure out what's going on with Robert here, this next "cursed" doll is a little more open and shut.

9. Annabelle

This Raggedy Ann doll was blamed for mysterious injuries and blood stains and even supposedly tried to strangle someone As the doll's tale got bigger and bigger, it went on to inspire several horror films including The Conjuring and Annabelle. However, it's worth noting that the doll apparently stopped moving around when the chief witness to its behavior started taking medication.

To really put this legend to bed, author Ray Garter was asked by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren to write a book about the mysterious goings-on. When he told Ed Warren that nobody in the family could keep their stories straight, he was told, "All the people who come to us are crazy, that's why they come to us. Just use what you can and make the rest up."

10. Blarney Castle

While kissing the famous Blarney Stone is supposed to make you a charming speaker, taking any stones away from Ireland's Blarney Castle is supposed to bring about bad luck. In particular, Linda Kelly from South Carolina noticed that her job opportunities dried up and she became depressed until she mailed the stone back to Blarney Castle.

This apparently isn't an uncommon story since staff at the castle reported getting about four or five of these stones a year with similar explanations enclosed.

11. Maori War Artifacts

According to Maori tradition, a pregnant or menstruating woman risks awakening a curse if she comes into contact with artifacts used by past warriors. In response, New Zealand's national gallery put an advisory warning these women against coming near the artifacts.

Critics described this warning as "imposing religious and cultural values on people" and forbidding pregnant and menstruating women from visiting public exhibits. However, the nation's Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage the museum replied that it's only an advisory and people can "make up their own minds." 

12. The Mirror at Myrtles Plantation

The legend behind this mirror begins with the sad story of a slave named Chloe, who had her ear cut off after eavesdropping on a conversation. She apparently intended to win her master's favor back by secretly poisoning his family and nursing them back to health but ended up killing them by accident.

At the time, it was believed that mirrors should be covered when a loved one dies to keep their spirits from getting trapped inside. One wasn't, so that mirror is supposed to contain the spirits of that master's wife and children. 

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