The Crying Boy Paintings

The Crying Boy paintings have been subject to much speculation, rumour, and imagination ever since a media frenzy during the 1980s catapulted them into the public spotlight. Thought to be the cause of supernatural fires across the UK, a wave of what can be interpreted as mass hysteria gripped the UK. The phenomena of these fires became known as a curse, and the media storm resulted in a mass burning of these prints on the Halloween of 1985. Since the 1980s, the story of this painting and the artist behind it have evolved through both the publication of a book and the creation of the internet. Today, multiple interpretations of the curse exist as do rumours about who the artist was and what led to these paintings alledgedly being cursed.

History

The original Crying Boy painting was painted by a 'G. Bragolin'. Very little seems to be known about this artist, and when researching him the results are quite muddied. His full name is said to be 'Giovanni Bragolin', but he has also been referred to as Bragolin, Angelo Bragolin, and Franchot Seville. It seems these were all pseudonyms, and the painter's real name was 'Bruno Amadio'. It's been said that he was Italian, but it has also been said that he was a Spanish artist. It seems he was born on the 9th of November 1911 in Venice, which is in Italy, and he died on the 22nd of September 1981 in Padua, which is in Spain. The change in location from Italy to Spain would explain why some sources refer to him as Italian and others refer to him as Spanish. It has been said that this particular artist doesn't appear to have a 'coherent biography'.

There are at least sixty-five paintings made under the Bragolin name and their reproductions are sold worldwide. He created a group of paintings known as 'Crying Boys', and apparently he was not always paid royalties for these reproductions of his work. These paintings have also been referred to as 'Gypsy Boys', although no one seems sure as to why aside from Bruno Amadio possibly dubbing them under the name 'Gypsy Cycle'. It's also said that Bruno worked in Venice as a painter and restorer. Apparently the Crying Boy paintings were first created during the 1950s, and they were produced by Bruno for tourists to remind them of the orphans of World War Two. It is an unconfirmed urban legend that he fled to Spain after the war, presumably World War Two, and he painted children from a local orphanage which then burned down.

The only other bit of information I've found about Bruno's life which doesn't relate to the Crying Boy painting is that he was found to be painting in Padua during the 1970s. There is a particular story relating to him painting children, but that will be discussed later in the article after context around the 'curse' is discussed. As for the Crying Boy prints in the UK, they were popular in the UK amongst northern working class communities. They were cheap prints which were sold in great number across the region during the 1960s and 1970s. Amongst the Crying Boy paintings, there were also Crying Girl paintings; but these didn't seem to gain media attention until after the initial Crying Boy media frenzy died down after 1985.

It's been said that the 'curse' of the Crying Boy painting dates back to 1973. It's been said that during this year, the fireman Alan Wilkinson started to make a log of how many fires he had attended where a Crying Boy painting had survived the fire unharmed. Only one source has pinpointed this originating in this year, but it is generally agreed that Alan did know of similar cases which featured an undamaged Crying Boy painting in homes which had been destroyed by fire. The real start of the curse is often cited as 1985 when Ron and Mary Hall, from Rotherham, England, had a house fire which left a Crying Boy painting undamaged. It has been said their house was destroyed, and that this painting was the only thing to survive, but this could just be overexagguration as other stories say only their kitchen was effected.

It was 'The Sun' which covered the story, and it's been said that at the time they were the most popular tabloid newspaper in the UK. The original story was published on page 13 within their 4th of September edition with the headline 'Blazing Curse of the Crying Boy'. The kitchen fire, which occured in the Hall's house of twenty-seven years, was a chip-pan fire. It's also been said that only the downstairs rooms were damaged, but the consistent detail is that the Crying Boy painting was left undamaged. Ron Hall's brother, Peter, was a fireman based in Rotherham and Peter's Colleague was Alan Wilkinson; the fireman who apparently had been logging these kinds of Crying Boy fires since 1973.

The Sun's article featured a photo of the Crying Boy painting, and it featured the caption 'Tears for fears... the portrait that firemen claim is cursed'. No firemen had claimed the painting to be cursed, but the fact the newspaper claimed otherwise gave the 'curse' a level of credibility. It was also The Sun which said the painting was 'by an Italian Artist' who signed it as G. Bragolin. The newspaper also added that an estimated 50,000 Crying Boy prints, signed G. Bragolin, had been sold in British shops; particularly in the working class areas of northern England. Apparently, one story even suggested that a quarter of a million of these prints had been sold.

Peter Chippindale and Chris Horrie in their history of The Sun titled 'Stick it up your Punter!', which was a book published during 1990, credit the editor Kelvin MacKenzie as the father of the Crying Boy curse. As for why the curse was created; it was to gain readers. During the mid-80s, The Sun was in a battle with their rival, The Daily Mirror, for newspaper readers. Due to this, The Sun published a series of articles focused around bizarre stories which had tenuous origins. An example of this kind of story was one with the headline of 'Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster'. This showed that Kelvin MacKenzie wanted exclusive stories which no one else would consider publishing before The Sun did; and so a story about a mass-produced Crying Boy painting which was cursed and so burned down unsuspecting homes was perfect.

On the 5th of September 1985, a follow up article by The Sun claimed 'horrified readers claiming to be victims of the "curse of the Crying Boy" had flooded (the paper) with calls... they all feared they were jinxed by having the print of a tot with tears pouring down his face in their homes'. Words such as 'curse', 'jinx', 'feared', and 'horrified' were all used to manipulate readers and create fear; and this definitely worked. Multiple newspaper stories from multiple outlets, not just The Sun, covered the Crying Boy painting over the next few years as it captured the public's imagination. Some of the various newspaper stories, with the format of DD/MM/YY, are as follows:

1. 05/09/85 - The Sun - Dora Mann, Mitcham, Surrey - Sandra Kaske/Craske, Yorkshire

This following issue from the original article reported on various calls and letters they had recieved about Crying Boy fires. Dora claimed that a fire occured six months after buying the painting. She said 'all my paintings were destroyed - except the one of the crying boy'. Sandra Kaske from Yorkshire, whose last name has also been cited as Craske, claimed that her, her sister-in-law, and a friend all had fires since getting copies of the painting. Apparently Sandra had also seen the painting swing from side to side on the wall, but there is a conflicting report here as apparently it was a London owner who saw this phenomena occur and not Sandra from Yorkshire.

2. 09/09/85 - The Sun - Brian Parks, from Boughton, Nottinghamshire:

Brian's wife and 2 children, some sources have said 3 children and that he lived in Nottingham, needed treatment for smoke inhalation due to a house fire. It's also been said his location was 'Boughtor', but only 'Boughton' exists in Nottinghamshire. Once Brian returned from hospital, he saw the Crying Boy painting hanging, undamaged, on the wall in the living room. Some sources say he then destroyed the painting as the fire had left the family homeless.

3. 09/09/85 - The Sun and The Daily Star - Grace Murray

Both papers reported that Grace was hospitalised at Stoke Mandeville with severe burns after a fire, but the Crying Boy painting was untouched by flames.

4. 21/10/85 - The Sun - The Parillo Pizza Place, Great Yarmouth

The Pizza Place was reported to have been destroyed by a fire, but the painting remained unharmed. The Sun also reported for readers to send their cursed paintings to the newspaper for disposal. MacKenzie wrote: 'If you are worried about a crying boy picture in YOUR home, send it to us immediately. We will destroy it for you - and that should see the back of any curse'.

5. 24/10/85 - The Daily Mail - Kevin Godber's family, Herringthorpe, South Yorkshire

It was reported thst Kevin's family were left homeless, and not only did the Crying Boy painting survive, but the pictures either side of it were destroyed in the fire.

6. 25/10/85 - The Sun - The Amos family, Heswall, Mersyside

An explosion destroyed the Amos family's home but two Crying Boy paintings were left unharmed. Mr. Amos then destroyed the paintings afterwards.

7. 26/10/85 - The Shropshire Star - Fred Tower, Telford

Fred was an ex-fireman, and his house burned down in a fire. He kept the Crying Boy painting, which had survived, and said he would keep it in his hallway 'unless there was a second fire' because he didn't believe in the curse.

8. 30/10/85 - Portsmouth News - Stella Brown, Portsmouth

It was reported that Stella burned her two Crying Boy prints as she blamed them for bad luck and family health problems. Apparently her son tripped while getting water to put out the fire.

9. 31/10/85 - West Briton - Richard Reynolds and his wife, Falmouth

Richard and his wife put their two Crying Boy paintings on a bonfire made for Bonfire Night, which is on the 5th of November. They tried giving away their paintings twice, but both were returned to them.

10. 31/10/85 - The Sun

This was a followup article which reported on the 'thousands' of Crying Boy paintings which they had recieved from people and burned under the supervision of the fire brigade. There are conflicting reports amongst sources regarding how involved the fire brigade was in this event. Over time, it was this event which through urban legend, faulty memory, or reporter, became a story about the warehouse, which the paintings were stored in at the time, suffering a fire which destroyed the paintings.

11. 01/11/85 - The Guardian - Kelvin MacKenzie

The Guardian reported that the editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, believed in the curse he had created and 'went bananas' when someone hung one up in his office as he claimed it was bad luck. The article also noted the accounts of several fire brigades who refused to join in the burning.

12. 12/11/85 - The Sun - Malcolm Vaughn, Churchdown, Gloucestershire

It was reported that Malcolm had destroyed his neighbors Crying Boy painting and then his own living room caught fire.

13. 24/02/86 - The Sun - William Armitage, Weston-super-Mare, Avon

It was reported that William Armitage, who was sixty-one years old, had died in a house fire. His body was reportedly found with a Crying Boy painting, which had survived the fire, near to it.

Another story, but without cited date or paper, is about a Paignton owner who claimed her eleven year old son 'caught his private parts on a hook' after she bought the Crying Boy print. Mrs Rose, from Farrington, Preston, wrote to The Sun in a letter which was published by The Sun and it said 'since I bought it in 1959 my three sons and my husband have all died. I've often wondered if it had a curse'. Apparently another reader also tried to destroy two prints by fire, but found they wouldn't burn. This could be the same as the 9th report listed above, but with different sources providing different details on the story.

The claim that the Crying Boy prints wouldn't burn was tested by a security guard called Paul Collier. Apparently, he placed one of two prints he owned onto a bonfire and found they were not touched by the flames despite him leaving them there for at least an hour. Some sources have said he left them for hours, and others have said only an hour. He's been quoted as saying 'it was frightening- the fire wouldn't even touch it' along with 'I believe it is jinxed, we feel doubly at risk with two of these in the house (and) we are determined to get rid of them'. Again, Paul's account could instead be the one where it was said a reader tried to destroy two prints by fire but with no luck.

As described above, hundreds of people contacted The Sun about their own issues and experiences with their own copies of the Crying Boy painting; these often including fires and family bereavements which were all attributed to the painting. In reality, fire service investigations found thst most cases were due to carelessly disregarded cigarettes, overheated chip-pans, and faulty electric heaters. Alan Wilkinson, who had personally logged fifty Crying Boy fires dating back to 1973, dismissed there being any connection to the supernatural. He had thirty-three years worth of firefighting experience and wasn't superstitious but, despite saying that the fires were caused by human carelessness, he couldn't personally explain how the paintings had survived.

Alan's wife said 'I always say it's the tears that put the fire out' and as The Sun wasn't interested in finding the rational explanation, they ignored what Alan had to say and wrote 'fire chiefs have admitted they have no logical explanation for a number of recent incidents'. Following this, it soon emerged that not all prints which people were attributing the curse to were of the same painting or even by the same artist. Other Crying Boy images involved in fires included some which were part of a series of studies called 'Childhood'. These images were painted by the Scottish artist Anna Zinkeisen who died during 1976. Regardless, they were all still cheap prints which had been mass-produced.

Continuing to ignore the rational explanations for the fires, journalists wanted to embrace a paranormal reason as it made for a better headline. They 'went off in search of " a witch" or "somebody into the occult" who might make a better headline'. Roy Vickery, the secretary of the Folklore Society, was quoted saying 'all these fires could be child's curse, his way of getting revenge'. This quote implied that the artist could have mistreated the child model, and so this is seemingly where the rumours of the curse, and the prints potentially being haunted either by this child or the bad intent from the artist, have grown from.

The widespread anxiety caused by The Sun's headlines led to the South Yorkshire Fire Service issuing a statement. The Chief Divisional Officer, Mick Riley, said 'any connection with the fires is purely coincidental... fires are not started by pictures or coincidence, but by careless acts and omissions'. He also said 'the reason why this picture has not always been destroyed in the fire is because it is printed on high density hardboard, which is very difficult to ignite'. Potentially inspired by seeing how much of a frenzy they had created, The Sun requested for readers to send in their prints and the newspaper company would hold a mass burning to rude the UK of the curse.

MacKenzie's original plan was to burn the paintings on the roof of The Sun's Bouverie Street offices, but this was vetoed by the London and Thames Valley fire brigades. Apparently both brigades refused to cooperate and called The Sun's campaign a 'cheap publicity stunt'. The reporter Paul Hooper, along with a photographer and page three girls, ended up taking the paintings to a pyre located near Reading to be burned. The Sun reported the story of their burning on Halloween with the headline 'Sun nails curse of the weeping boy for good'. It was the page three girl Sandra Jane Moore who started the burning, and it's said over 2,500 copies of the painting were burned. It was believed that this burning exorcised the curse and the tabloid stories began to decrease.

Along with it being reported that MacKenzie may have ended up believing in his own curse, apparently Alan Wilkinson and the Chief Officer Mick Riley had both refused to take a Crying Boy print as a gift. When Mick refused to take it, he said the reason was that his wife wouldn't like it. Alan apparently admitted that he had hung one up as a joke in the station, but he was told by his superiors to take it down. He is quoted as having said 'the same day an oven in the upstairs kitchen overheated and the fireman's dinners were burned'.

As time passed from the newspaper reports of the 1980s, the stories turned into various myths and legends. One such myth says that being kind to the prints awards good luck, and another says that you can prevent bad look and bring good luck by placing a Crying Girl print beside a Crying Boy print. With the creation of the internet, the Crying Boy story gained a new life beyond the initial rumours and newspaper stories. One web-source claims that during the 90s, the Crying Boy fires were reported for the first time in other parts of the world. The story also gained the attention of paranormal investigators as the source said 'a medium claims the spirit of the boy is trapped in the painting and it starts fires in an attempt to burn the painting and free itself. Others claim the painting is haunted or attracts poltergeist activity. Stories of the artist's and subject's misfortune had attached themselves to the painting'.

A story that the boy in the image had been mistreated by the artist also gained popularity, and people completely ignored the fact that there were multiple paintings and multiple artists involved. They also ignored the fact that the story began as a throwaway remark which had been made to The Sun. In the year 2000, Tom Slemen revived the Crying Boy story yet again in a book which was part of a series called 'Haunted Liverpool'. Tom's work was presented as non-fiction, but it was largely un-referenced. What could very well be the most commonly cited myth around the Crying Boy painting's origins comes from Tom Slemen's book.

Apparently a retired schoolmaster from Devon, called George Mallory, had tracked down the original artist and spoke with him about the painting during 1995. Mallory is also said to have been a well respected researcher into the occult, and it's been said the painter was 'an old Spanish portrait artist named Franchot Seville, who lives in Madrid'. Tom Slemen said the artist told Mallory that he found the subject of the painting, who was an orphan, in Madrid during 1969. He also said the orphan never spoke and looked sorrowful. A Catholic priest then identified him to the artist as Don Bonillo, a child who had ran away after seeing his parents die in a fire. The priest then told the artist to have nothing to do with the boy because fires happened wherever he went and, due to this, the villagers called the boy 'Diablo'. It's also been said the boy was nicknamed 'the Devil child'.

It's said the painter ignored the priest and took Don in, then later painting the boy's portrait. A bit of time later, the artist's house burned down and, remembering the priest's words, the artist accused the boy of arson and put him back on the streets. During 1976, a car was then found which had crashed into a wall on the outskirts of Barcelona. It's said this car had set on fire and the body was unidentifiable due to this, and it was only when an ID was found in the glove compartment that the body was identified as being a nineteen year old Don Bonillo; the orphan which what the subject of the Crying Boy painting.

Apparently the researcher 'George Mallory' is just as untraceable as 'Franchot Seville' or 'Giovanni Bragolin'. The story regarding Mallory and Bonillo lacks any factual basis, especially as it's said the original painter died during 1981, yet Mallory apparently spoke with him and found all of this story out during 1995. It's also said that, during the 80s, the original artist went on a TV show and said the paintings were of dead children, or at least represented them. This apparently led people to thinking the paintings were cursed or haunted. Also, the artist apparently admitted he made a pact with Satan to sell his work and become wealthy. Another thing said is that the child was a gypsy and their family placed a curse on the artist. Few sources have cited these details though, so this information seems incredibly tenuous.

During 2002, The Star reported that the curse was back and that it had destroyed the home of Stan Jones in Rotherham; the town the first fire which inspired The Sun's original story had begun. It was reported that Stan had bought a £2 copy of the Crying Boy print ten years before the fire and ever since had experienced a series of house fires; each of which featured the Crying Boy hanging on the wall. On the 8th of October 2010, a video was uploaded to the BBC's YouTube channel. This video showed the British comedian, Steve Punt, investigating the claim that the Crying Boy painting could not be burned. This was part of a BBC Radio 4 production called 'Punt PI'. Steve burned the painting with the construction researcher Martin Shipp, and they found the painting did set on fire; but, only the corner was scorched and the painting was left largely intact with the Crying Boy's face untouched.

Punt's conclusion was that the painting had been treated with a fire retardant varnish and thst the paintings had landed face-down in house fires because the string holding them would burn first, causing the paintings to drop print side first in most cases. It's also been suggested that by landing face-down, the painting was further protected from the fire around it. Despite the original legend originating during 1985, the Crying Boy story is still finding ways over being relevant today. The Crying Boy legend has been discussed during 2012 within season 3, episode 4, of 'Wierd or What?' with William Shatner. Also, on the 2nd of February 2022, the Hanbury Arms Haunted Hotel and Museum posted that they currently have several Crying Boy portraits on display. Dr. David Clarke from Sheffield Hallam University has also written an article about the Crying Boy prints.

My Thoughts

This article is quite different from others regarding the paranormal as the link the Crying Boy has to any possible afterlife is tenuous. Rather than the painting being haunted by the spirit of a boy, or the artist, instead the bulk of the story is about it being cursed; a topic I'm hesitant to discuss as I want to write articles predominantly focused on the possibility of an afterlife. However, I think this has been an incredibly important article and has highlighted an incredibly important point about the influence of both the media and the internet when it comes to paranormal matters. People can be incredibly quick to trust what they read, especially when in a published and printed format, and the Crying Boy legend shows that with both the newspaper articles and Tom Slemen's book.

I think the information discussed in this article quite clearly portrays the legend as being nothing more than an eyecatching headline and effort to gain readers by The Sun. People have always had a fascination with the paranormal, and I think The Sun were clever to create this mythology around an incredibly common print which was in many households around the UK. It made the articles relatable; and with each new report, people only became more convinced by the coincidence. It reminds me of the legend surrounding Robert the Doll and the fact people buy into the story, possibly due to all of the apology letters to the doll which are displayed in the doll's case. It also reminds me greatly of the Carlos hoax which James Randi created in order to show how willing newspapers were to promote paranormal claims without properly doing their research.

As for Tom Slemen's book, it really seems like he took great liberties when telling the story around the artist. The story doesn't line up too well with the dates around when the artist died, and very few names discussed can be traced online. This makes Tom's book seem at best mostly fictional. It would have been interesting if a story like this happened today, and to hear the artist's thoughts on whatever the curse may be. However, I don't think something like the Crying Boy curse would be as easy to create today. Word of mouth was likely a powerful factor during the 80s, and I would hope word of any modern day generated curse would be quelled by the relevant services, potentially the fire department, issuing a statement which would be widespread through the internet.

Thank You!

Thank you for reading this article. I had heard about this painting before researching this article, although I'm not sure how or when. I only learned more about the painting after watching a video by Don't Scare Claire along with the BBC video of Punt burning the painting. If you want to watch those videos, you can find them linked below:

1. Don't Scare Claire's Video

2. BBC Crying Boy Burning Video

The next article will be published on Monday the 20th of January, and it will document a haunted location in Leicester. The following article will then be published on Friday the 24th of January, and this article will document a type of spirit.

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