Apparently, we should all be dead

 

“Weird or What?” is a TV series on the paranormal, presented by former actor William Shatner (Captain Kirk in “Star Trek”). At least in this episode, both true believers and skeptics (and even some kind of moderate believers in parapsychology) get to present their respective takes on the cases mentioned. The first one is the most ridiculous: the claim that the famous painting of the “crying boy” is cursed and can cause fires. The story was probably invented in 1985 by the notorious British tabloid “The Sun” (their “reporter” is actually interviewed by Shatner´s sidekicks), which also wrote that the painting itself was never harmed in the fires it supposedly triggered through paranormal means.

Since “the crying boy” was hanging on the wall in millions of British homes, it´s difficult *not* to find some homes destroyed by fire in which the painting was present. But how could it survive a fire? Probably because of the material it´s made from, and because the painting would fall from the wall during fires – the temperature at floor level is cooler. My family had a “crying boy” on the wall throughout my childhood, and so had everyone else in our part of town (including a crazy Gypsy woman – scary or what?), and yet there were no fires. Logically, we should all be dead! So should everyone at the “The Sun”, since they told the readers to send them their crying boy paintings, and yet, the editorial office never caught ablaze, and neither did the local post office…

Next, we have the evil doll Robert in Florida, which supposedly curses everyone who doesn´t show it proper deference. Some kind of hoodoo thing, apparently. Comments probably unnecessary. Finally, Shatner takes us to California and the admittedly strange Winchester House, supposedly built by a cursed heiress to placate the spirits of people killed by Winchester guns! In reality, most stories of the mystery house are urban legends and even the stranger architectural features have mundane explanations. Sarah Winchester, the owner, probably did what many other rich people in America did at the time: build fancy and weird big houses (think “baroque”).

The main take away from this episode of “Weird or What?” seems to be that curses only work on people who believe in them! No surprise there, tbh…