July 31, 2023 • 8 mins
An antique store find turns out to be more than just a bargain.
By guest story editor, Autumn Barnes. Find more of her paranormal and cryptid work by searching Autumn Barnes on Amazon.
For more hair-raising true stories, check out Tom Lyons’s books on Amazon and at www.TomLyonsBooks.com or search for him or David Flora on Audible and Amazon.
For more podcasts by David, search on any pod-catcher for the following:
Blurry Photos - a podcast that explores the unexplained and explains the unexplored
Hysteria 51 - a paranormal podcast that explores strange topics with a humorous approach
Quiz Quiz Bang Bang - a trivia practice podcast with some healthy competition thrown in
By guest story editor, Autumn Barnes. Find more of her paranormal and cryptid work by searching Autumn Barnes on Amazon.
For more hair-raising true stories, check out Tom Lyons’s books on Amazon and at www.TomLyonsBooks.com or search for him or David Flora on Audible and Amazon.
For more podcasts by David, search on any pod-catcher for the following:
Blurry Photos - a podcast that explores the unexplained and explains the unexplored
Hysteria 51 - a paranormal podcast that explores strange topics with a humorous approach
Quiz Quiz Bang Bang - a trivia practice podcast with some healthy competition thrown in
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
Welcome to Tom Lyons Five Minute Frights. I'm your narrator, David Flora.
If you enjoy the show and wantmore frightening encounters to read or listen to,
be sure to check out Tom LyonsBooks dot Com spelled at t M
L y O nsbooks dot com.Ebooks, audiobooks, and paperbacks are available
there, and additional books in theseformats can be found at Amazon and Audible.
(00:30):
Just search for Tom Lyons or DavidFlora on those sites to find more.
This episode of Five Minute Frights isedited by guest editor Autumn Barnes and
is titled The Cursed Portrait. WhenI was twenty years old, I moved
out of my childhood home in Connecticutand got my first apartment in Brooklyn,
(00:53):
New York in nineteen eighty one.On a budget, I can find my
furniture shopping to thrift and antique stores. Set didn't go completely broke during the
first few months of living alone.Once my apartment started to fill in with
necessities such as a couch and diningroom table, I shifted my focus to
the decorps. I discovered my firstpiece of wall art, an oil painted
(01:15):
portrait in a tucked away antique shopon a quiet street. Once I showed
interest, the shopkeeper warned me aboutits dark history, stating that he believed
it carried terrible energy. Still,there was something strangely captivating about the painting.
It was messy, yet detailed,displaying a faceless woman alone at a
(01:40):
bar, a cigarette in hand anda whiskey glass resting before her. Perhaps
she once had a face, butthe painter got irritated and smudged it with
a quick brushstroke, so it lookedI thought it was beautiful, so I
ignored the shopkeeper's warning, which Iconsidered outland as superstition, and brought it
(02:00):
home, eventually hanging it in mybedroom above my headboard to make the space
slightly less bare. I was joltedawake that night by a strange scratching sound
that came from the wall behind myhead. Blinking my eyes to adjust to
the darkness, I glanced toward thepainting. The figure and the painting appeared
(02:23):
different. The softened, blurred outface now had eyes that pointed directly at
me. My heart pounded as Iscrambled to turn on the lights, only
to find the painting returned to itsordinary state. I figured my brain was
freaking itself out and that I wasonly seeing things. Once my heart rate
(02:44):
slowed to a healthy pace, Ifell back asleep. Days turned into weeks,
and the portrait's presence grew increasingly eerie. I found myself plagued by haunting
nightmares. The figure in the paintingtorment me relentlessly. Fresh scratches marred the
canvas each morning, as if somethingclawed at the surface to break free from
(03:07):
the frame. I became desperate tobreak the cycle of terror and sought the
aid of the shopkeeper I had boughtthe painting from. I returned to the
antique store and spoke to him directly, explaining what was happening, not only
to the canvas, but to me, the persistent nightmares of the painting.
The painting is a conduit for amalevolent spirit, the shopkeeper revealed sternly.
(03:31):
It seeks to manifest itself, orso I believe. I asked him how
he could believe such a thing withoutany reason, and if there was a
reason, he must tell me.The shopkeeper told me about a relatively recent
incident in the Bronx. Two peopleplummeted to their deaths from the same apartment
(03:53):
window in one week, and oncethe deaths were investigated, a dark secret
was found within the unit's bare ASatanic symbol of some sort was carved into
the wooden floors of the living room, spanning to each wall. There also
happened to be mason jars filled withblood in the fridge and kept in the
(04:14):
refrigerator with the blood was this oilpainting. Some woman brought the fine art
piece to the shopkeeper a few daysafter the word got out, a relative
of the Satanists, he assumed,declaring where the painting came from, and
that she wanted it far from herneighborhood. I seriously couldn't believe anybody would
accept this painting in their shop,And part of me was mad too that
(04:38):
the merchant knew about this and wasstill willing to sell it to customers.
I keep holy water, Jesus Christ, and crosses all over my store.
If you haven't noticed, I redecoratedonce that painting of yours started to morph
itself. It was back to itsoriginal form once you purchased it, thanks
(04:59):
to me, he defended himself.Besides, did I not tell you it
has a dark path? I communicatedhow immoral it is to sell a cursed
object, regardless of whether it comeswith a warning, and then stormed out
of the antique store, never toreturn. After that, I immediately went
(05:21):
to my apartment to grab the painting. Believe it or not. Near By
there was an alleyway with those metalbarrels that homeless people sometimes used as fireplaces
at night, like something you'd seein a movie. It was broad daylight
and very few people were around,so I used one of the barrels to
burn the painting. It was myonly option, given I lived in a
(05:44):
massive city. Besides, if noone else was willing to destroy it,
I felt it was my duty totake measures into my own hands, and
so I did. I poured gasolineon it that I bought at the corner
gas station, lit a match,and threw it in the barrel. Then
the craziest thing happened. The barrelsstarted to rattle violently, as if someone
(06:06):
were inside thrashing about with all theirstrength. I ran out of the alleyway
as fast as possible, but Ididn't go directly to my apartment, fearing
something sinister would follow me back.I went to a cafe bought a coffee
and sat there for at least anhour before returning to my apartment. The
nightmares and weird sounds throughout the nighthad ceased entirely. I was free from
(06:30):
whatever you'd want to call it,an evil spirit, demon, or curse.
Perhaps those things are all the same. I'm not sure. It's been
over forty years, and I neverpurchased another vintage item since that encounter was
enough for me to bite the bulletand pay full price for anything I could
need or want. If you likethis guest episode of Five Minute Frights edited
(07:00):
by Autumn Barnes, check out herbooks on Amazon for more paranormal and cryptid
accounts. This has been Five MinuteFrights compiled and edited by Autumn Barnes,
narrated by David Flora. Additional workslike this can be found at Tom Lyons
books dot com or by searching Amazonor Audible for Tom Lions or David Flora,
(07:23):
and in this case, Autumn Barnesas well. Be a r n
e s. If you have afrightening encounter of your own you'd like to
share, feel free to send itto Tom at Living dot among dot Bigfoot
at gmail dot com. Thank youfor listening and take care of
Welcome to Tom Lyons Five Minute Frights. I'm your narrator, David Flora.
If you enjoy the show and wantmore frightening encounters to read or listen to,
be sure to check out Tom LyonsBooks dot Com spelled at t M
L y O nsbooks dot com.Ebooks, audiobooks, and paperbacks are available
there, and additional books in theseformats can be found at Amazon and Audible.
(00:30):
Just search for Tom Lyons or DavidFlora on those sites to find more.
This episode of Five Minute Frights isedited by guest editor Autumn Barnes and
is titled The Cursed Portrait. WhenI was twenty years old, I moved
out of my childhood home in Connecticutand got my first apartment in Brooklyn,
(00:53):
New York in nineteen eighty one.On a budget, I can find my
furniture shopping to thrift and antique stores. Set didn't go completely broke during the
first few months of living alone.Once my apartment started to fill in with
necessities such as a couch and diningroom table, I shifted my focus to
the decorps. I discovered my firstpiece of wall art, an oil painted
(01:15):
portrait in a tucked away antique shopon a quiet street. Once I showed
interest, the shopkeeper warned me aboutits dark history, stating that he believed
it carried terrible energy. Still,there was something strangely captivating about the painting.
It was messy, yet detailed,displaying a faceless woman alone at a
(01:40):
bar, a cigarette in hand anda whiskey glass resting before her. Perhaps
she once had a face, butthe painter got irritated and smudged it with
a quick brushstroke, so it lookedI thought it was beautiful, so I
ignored the shopkeeper's warning, which Iconsidered outland as superstition, and brought it
(02:00):
home, eventually hanging it in mybedroom above my headboard to make the space
slightly less bare. I was joltedawake that night by a strange scratching sound
that came from the wall behind myhead. Blinking my eyes to adjust to
the darkness, I glanced toward thepainting. The figure and the painting appeared
(02:23):
different. The softened, blurred outface now had eyes that pointed directly at
me. My heart pounded as Iscrambled to turn on the lights, only
to find the painting returned to itsordinary state. I figured my brain was
freaking itself out and that I wasonly seeing things. Once my heart rate
(02:44):
slowed to a healthy pace, Ifell back asleep. Days turned into weeks,
and the portrait's presence grew increasingly eerie. I found myself plagued by haunting
nightmares. The figure in the paintingtorment me relentlessly. Fresh scratches marred the
canvas each morning, as if somethingclawed at the surface to break free from
(03:07):
the frame. I became desperate tobreak the cycle of terror and sought the
aid of the shopkeeper I had boughtthe painting from. I returned to the
antique store and spoke to him directly, explaining what was happening, not only
to the canvas, but to me, the persistent nightmares of the painting.
The painting is a conduit for amalevolent spirit, the shopkeeper revealed sternly.
(03:31):
It seeks to manifest itself, orso I believe. I asked him how
he could believe such a thing withoutany reason, and if there was a
reason, he must tell me.The shopkeeper told me about a relatively recent
incident in the Bronx. Two peopleplummeted to their deaths from the same apartment
(03:53):
window in one week, and oncethe deaths were investigated, a dark secret
was found within the unit's bare ASatanic symbol of some sort was carved into
the wooden floors of the living room, spanning to each wall. There also
happened to be mason jars filled withblood in the fridge and kept in the
(04:14):
refrigerator with the blood was this oilpainting. Some woman brought the fine art
piece to the shopkeeper a few daysafter the word got out, a relative
of the Satanists, he assumed,declaring where the painting came from, and
that she wanted it far from herneighborhood. I seriously couldn't believe anybody would
accept this painting in their shop,And part of me was mad too that
(04:38):
the merchant knew about this and wasstill willing to sell it to customers.
I keep holy water, Jesus Christ, and crosses all over my store.
If you haven't noticed, I redecoratedonce that painting of yours started to morph
itself. It was back to itsoriginal form once you purchased it, thanks
(04:59):
to me, he defended himself.Besides, did I not tell you it
has a dark path? I communicatedhow immoral it is to sell a cursed
object, regardless of whether it comeswith a warning, and then stormed out
of the antique store, never toreturn. After that, I immediately went
(05:21):
to my apartment to grab the painting. Believe it or not. Near By
there was an alleyway with those metalbarrels that homeless people sometimes used as fireplaces
at night, like something you'd seein a movie. It was broad daylight
and very few people were around,so I used one of the barrels to
burn the painting. It was myonly option, given I lived in a
(05:44):
massive city. Besides, if noone else was willing to destroy it,
I felt it was my duty totake measures into my own hands, and
so I did. I poured gasolineon it that I bought at the corner
gas station, lit a match,and threw it in the barrel. Then
the craziest thing happened. The barrelsstarted to rattle violently, as if someone
(06:06):
were inside thrashing about with all theirstrength. I ran out of the alleyway
as fast as possible, but Ididn't go directly to my apartment, fearing
something sinister would follow me back.I went to a cafe bought a coffee
and sat there for at least anhour before returning to my apartment. The
nightmares and weird sounds throughout the nighthad ceased entirely. I was free from
(06:30):
whatever you'd want to call it,an evil spirit, demon, or curse.
Perhaps those things are all the same. I'm not sure. It's been
over forty years, and I neverpurchased another vintage item since that encounter was
enough for me to bite the bulletand pay full price for anything I could
need or want. If you likethis guest episode of Five Minute Frights edited
(07:00):
by Autumn Barnes, check out herbooks on Amazon for more paranormal and cryptid
accounts. This has been Five MinuteFrights compiled and edited by Autumn Barnes,
narrated by David Flora. Additional workslike this can be found at Tom Lyons
books dot com or by searching Amazonor Audible for Tom Lions or David Flora,
(07:23):
and in this case, Autumn Barnesas well. Be a r n
e s. If you have afrightening encounter of your own you'd like to
share, feel free to send itto Tom at Living dot among dot Bigfoot
at gmail dot com. Thank youfor listening and take care of
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