Stricken Life

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE LISTING BEFORE PLACING BID. If murder-suicide in graphic detail offends you, then please go to one of our other listings. THIS STORY IS ALMOST TOO FANTASTIC TO BELIEVE. IT IS TRUE! Please allow sufficient time for pictures to load. Extremely repulsive and strange oil on canvas, entitled "Stricken Life" with a macabre poem on the reverse, done by a man who killed his wife and then committed suicide.

This is the strangest thing we have ever offered for sale on eBay. Last month we purchased a home here in Central Florida. Before we signed the papers, we had to sign a disclaimer which stated "The undersigned acknowledge that they were informed prior to signing an agreement on the house located at ________, Florida, that a murder-suicide occurred in the subject home." (A copy of this will be provided to the high bidder.) The house is rather large, and in a good neighbourhood. Because of the negativity associated with the home, it sat empty for over a year, and the price dropped lower and lower. To make a long story short, we signed the document, the house is ours, and it's haunted.

The owner of the house was the son of a former Cuban National. His father had immigrated to the US in the 1930's, and became a citizen. The son, Harold, was born here in 1949. He married, and purchased the home in 1976. For all intents and purposes, their life was a good one. But it eventually turned tragic. In 1996, the wife was diagnosed with Multiple-Sclerosis. As each year passed, she grew sicker, until by 2001, she was bed ridden.

By that time, Harold was at home all the time so that he could take care of Olivia. ('Dolly' to her friends.) In February of 2001, Harold was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. It was more than he could bear. On March 23rd, 2001, at approximately 1:00 am, Harold decided that he had had enough. Knowing that he had less than six months to live, and that Dolly would survive him by several years, and worried about who would take care of her, (they never had children, and all of their relatives had already passed on) he acted. He took a single-shot, twelve gauge shotgun that he had, and loaded it.

He went into the bedroom, where Dolly lay sleeping. Her back was to the door. He put the gun against the back of her head, and pulled the trigger. He then went into the den, sat down in his favorite chair in front of CNN on the TV, and reloaded the shotgun. He then put the barrel in his mouth, and blew his own brains out. Later that afternoon, a neighbor, noticing that Harold had not turned off the outside lights nor picked up the morning newspaper, he went into the house. He discovered the bodies and contacted the authorities. The house went into trust.

Most of the contents were dispersed to various charities, but some items in the house still remained. That is where the painting comes in. After we took possesion of the house, we started moving in. A few items were left scattered throughout the house. In a closet, near the den, were several boxes filled with old records and sweaters. Behind the boxes, was the painting. Apparently a self portrait of Harold, it depicts a sallow, pale and wan man. On the right side of the painting is a large splash of red paint, which is supposed to represent blood. Here is one of the freaky parts: A second face of Harold is IN the blood, screaming.

The red "crayon" mark is ours, we did that with the computer software to point out the face. THERE HAS BEEN NO OTHER ADJUSTMENTS-THE FACE IS REALLY THERE!!! It show up very well when scanned. We went through TWO rolls of film before we could capture good enough photos to use in the listing. On the reverse of the painting is a poem, written by a tortured Harold.

It reads: "SCRAPING THE SIDES, RUNNING THEN SLOWING TO A CRAWL-REAJUSTING(sic) THE PACE NUMEROUS TIMES REAPING AND SOWING THIS ROTTEN CROP. TRAFFIC SIGNS LEADING ME TO THE MESSIA (sic) OF RED LIGHTS. STRUCK BY A NOTION TO BURY THE LIVING AND SAVE THE DEAD..."

Our initial thought was to get rid of the painting, but our teenage son thought it was "cool." So on the wall it went, along with an interesting story for our friends. Then the strange sounds in the night started. Always in the night, when it was the darkest. My wife and I were in the master bedroom. It was after midnight, and it was our third night in the new house. I had just dozed off when BOOOM!!! the explosive sound of a shotgun blast jerked me awake. SERIOUSLY. My heart about to explode out of my chest, I sat up in bed. My wife still slept.

After securing the house, I came back to bed, thinking it was a dream. Several hours later I was awakened again by the most ungodly howling I had ever heard. Our dog. I got up, and went to the back hall, just off the den where the painting was hung. Our dog, Toby, was just sitting there and howling at the painting. All of the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, I tell you. That night, the painting went back into the closet.

Up till this point, we had not noticed the face in the blood. Not wanting to seem foolish, nor wanting to be an idiot 'victim' from a horror movie, I did the safe thing. I kept quiet. Two days later, my wife woke me up screaming. She swore she had seen a woman at the end of the bed, in nightclothes, seated in a WHEELCHAIR. I got up to search the house. As I got close to the den, I heard the TV going. Thinking it was one of our kids, I went into the den.

The TV was on, tuned into CNN. (we watch MSNBC) The closet door was open. I shut the door and RAN back to the bedroom. Since then, many small but freaky things have happened. In the formal dining room, which I have turned into our eBay office, there is a large chandelier.

Two weeks ago, every bulb blew in it while I was listing items on the computer. Later, when I was showing my wife what happened, ALL THE BULBS WERE LIT! An electrician friend of my came by-there is not a wiring problem. Last week, my sister-in-law came by with a self proclaimed 'psychic witch' friend of hers, to see if she could dispel the spirits. BAD move. She walked throughout the house, proclaimed it "possessed" and quicky fled the area.

Seriously, she says the house has very strong psychic energy, and it is centered in the back hallway, off the den. The closer she got to the closet where the painting was stored, the more freaked out she became. When we finally showed her the canvas, she had a fit, and wanted to leave. She swore that there was a malevolence surrounding the painting. She warned us to destroy the painting, and to find another house.

That night she drove 4 1/2 hours south to Miami, and now will not return my sister-in-laws calls. Since then, during the day, we occasionally hear a woman call out "honey" from the master bedroom, or furtive whispers from a vacant room. Sometimes at night, I am still awakened by the sound of a shotgun blast, and the TV turns on at various times of the day and night, tuned into CNN. To make a long story short - THE PAINTING HAS TO GO!

The work is impressive, expressive, and all out dreary. Painted primarily in grays, with a 'splash' of red. The work is titled "Stricken Life" and signed by the artist's last name. This is actually sideways on Harolds' shirt. The painting seems to be a mirror representation of a tortured soul; the blood represents the violence he is contemplating, and the screaming face behind the red is Harold unable to face what his subconcious is telling him he must do.

Harold enjoyed woodworking, and he made the stretcher himself. It is mortised together, and has slots ready for wooden 'keys' if more stretching is desired in the future. The material used is some sort of canvas, and is attached to the stretcher. The painting measures 20" by 24" by 1 1/2" thick.

CONDITION: The condition is pristine. There are NO flaws; NO holes, NO rips or tears. My guess is that this was painted shortly after Harold was diagnosed with cancer. As far as we know, this is the only painting Harold ever did. And what a painting it is. Reasonable reserve, considering the piece should be wrapped in a blessed cloth and burned on hallowed ground. Seriously, it is an amazing work, with the two faces, the blood, and the poem.

Winner to pay actual shipping and insurance, handling is free. We will provide a COMPLETE provenance with the work, including signed and NOTORIZED depositions by my wife and I, a local publications account of the night of the murder-suicide, a copy of the release we had to sign before we could purchase the house, ALL pertinant names and information, as well as anything else we can come up with that pertains to this subject. We just want the work gone. And if anyone knows of someone who can dispel the spirits (and who is not afraid to do so) and lives in the Ocala/Gainesville Florida area, please EMAIL US!!!

DISCLAIMER: We really do believe that this work may be haunted, and that it is possible that any weirdness associated with this work could be passed on to the winner. DON'T CALL US!

Due to the OVERWHELMING amount of emails we are receiving, I will try to answer some of these questions here. NO, we do not have Harolds' shotgun. The police do. No, we are not related in any way to Harold or his wife. No, we would rather not reveal the address, nor Harolds last name at this time-we don't want our house to become a tourist stop on the way to Disney World.

The winner of the painting gets ALL of the pertinant information, including names, dates, addresses, pants sizes, and whatever else we can come up with. Unless you have the painting, there is no real reason to have the addresses etc. I will try to post a copy of the newspaper account. Thanks for all of your emails!

Now this is REALLY strange. Thanks to Kelly in Phili and Josh in Atlanta for pointing it out. Look closely in the 'blood' of the photo, there are FIVE examples of Harolds heads, including the screaming one. We have included arrows to point the way. This just keeps getting weirder!