Cursed Artworks: Three Haunted Paintings and their Superstitions

About this episode

This episode explores three art-related superstitions, including a cursed painting and a haunted portrait.

Folklore and the arts are almost natural bedfellows. As we saw with the work of Newcastle-based painter Ralph Hedley, artists can capture local traditions for posterity. The Pre-Raphaelites created some of the most enduring depictions of myth and legend. Even creating art becomes a part of folk life, with various arts and crafts part of enduring traditions. As we saw with the humble proggy mat, making items can be a way to engage with history and heritage in a very tangible way. So it seemed only natural that when I had three art-related episode requests, I would dedicate a month to Folklore and the Arts. The requests were for: superstitions connected to artworks; haunted portraits; and stories about the creation of certain artworks. Unfortunately, in the case of the last request, there was no indication of which artworks they wanted to know about, but hopefully, I've included them here anyway! In this article, we’ll explore a supposedly cursed painting, an apparently haunted portrait, and a painting at the heart of a weird urban legend in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the blog post with all the images and references here…

People in this episode

Host: Icy Sedgwick

Topics covered

• cursed artworks
• haunted paintings
• superstitions
• folklore
• art
• urban legends

Keywords

• cursed painting
• haunted portrait
• superstitions
• folklore
• art
• urban legend
• Ralph Hedley
• Pre-Raphaelites
• proggy mat

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fabulous Folklore, Patreon, Substack, Pre-Raphaelites

Books & works: cursed painting, haunted portrait, proggy mat

Places: Newcastle

More episodes of Fabulous Folklore with Icy

• William Turner: Meet the Father of British Botany · June 13, 2026 · 19 min
• Elizabeth Blackwell: Pioneering Herbalist and Botanical Illustrator · June 6, 2026 · 19 min
• Folklore and Storytelling: A Narrative Match Made in Heaven · May 30, 2026 · 51 min
• Revenants on the Redway with Dr Steph Lay · May 27, 2026 · 60 min
• Folklore and Cinema: The Trick Films of Georges Méliès · May 23, 2026 · 26 min
• The Folklore of Stringed Musical Instruments: The Viola, Irish Harp, Violin, and Guitar · May 16, 2026 · 21 min