Today, tomorrow, learn English naturally. 天天自然学英语
‘Cursed’ painting returned twice to charity shop after complaints of ‘creepy aura’
An eerie and “possibly cursed” portrait of a little girl has been returned twice to a charity shop after customers complained of its “creepy aura”.
The painting, featuring a child wearing a red dress with a somewhat asymmetrical and unnerving expression, was first donated to the Hastings Advice Representation Centre (HARC) shop in St Leonards-on-Sea.
Steve, the shop’s manager, said the portrait - whose eyes “follow you around the room” - was dropped off by a middle-aged man along with some other pictures and frames.
He told The Telegraph that when he noticed the picture’s curious expression, he said, “Oh my God, look at her face”.
He added: “A lady said, ‘Isn’t it creepy?’ I said, ‘Yes, it does follow you around’.”
The lady, who subsequently bought it, “came in two days later and said ‘I’ve got to get rid of this picture’ and that it had an ‘aura about it’, so we put it in the window [with a sign] saying ‘possibly cursed’”, Steve said.
The portrait of a little girl in Hastings Advice Representation Centre (HARC) shop in St Leonards-on-sea, after it was returned a second time
The portrait of a little girl in Hastings Advice Representation Centre (HARC) shop in St Leonards-on-sea, after it was returned a second time
He explained that following its return, a second woman bought it, but then brought it back, “saying she never wanted to see the damned thing again”.
The second customer was “terrified” and “came back shaky and distressed”, he said.
The shop then put the picture in the window again, this time with a note, reading: “She’s back! Sold twice and returned twice! Are you brave enough?”
‘So many views she changed her mind’
However, the second owner returned to the shop to retrieve the painting on Wednesday morning, seemingly tempted back after garnering attention online with a post about the possibly cursed object.
Several users suggested they would use the phrase “she’s back... returned twice” on their dating app profiles.
Steve said: “The last person was terrified, she couldn’t have it, but then she saw it had so many views she changed her mind. She thinks now it’s got some sort of monetary value.
“This morning she rang me up saying, ‘I bought your picture, can I have it back?’ She’s decided she’s no longer scared and she can put up with it.
“She wanted to buy it back and she had it back for free.
“None of them [the picture’s former owners] wanted a refund. We priced it at £25 and at £20. It said ‘cursed’ and we thought it was, so it did everything it said on the tin.”
He said that even as the second woman retrieved the painting on Wednesday she momentarily suggested leaving it at the shop again.
The second owner returned to claim back the painting after it garnered significant attention online
The second owner returned to claim back the painting after it garnered significant attention online.
The painting garnered lots of commentary on social media, with users speculating about its past and why it would have needed to be returned twice to the same charity shop.
Some posted images of the 2001 Nicole Kidman film The Others, a gothic horror in which unsettling children interact with ghosts. Others advised the owner to “burn it”.
It is not clear who painted the portrait, or who the mysterious artist’s original muse is.
注释：
eerie: adj
表示" 怪诞的；可怕的；"，means "suggestive of the supernatural; mysterious"，如：An eerie wind blew through the assembled throng.一阵奇异的风吹过拥挤的人群。
aura: n
表示"光环"，means "a sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure"，如：The woods have an aura of mystery.林子里有一种神秘的气氛。
asymmetrical: adj
表示" 不对称的；不均匀的"，means "irregular in shape or outline"，如：Most people's faces are asymmetrical. 多数人的脸并不对称。
shaky: adj
表示"不稳固的；摇晃的"，means "inclined to shake as from weakness or defect"，如：Their marriage got off to rather a shaky start. 他们的婚姻一开始就有些不稳固。
retrieve: v
表示"挽回；取回"，means "get back sth which has been lost"，如：should like to retrieve my umbrella which I left in the car. 我想取回我留在车上忘记带走的雨伞。
garner: v
表示" 贮藏；收集；得到"，means "acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions"，如：The facts are garnered from various sources. 这些资料是从各种渠道搜集到的。
gothic: adj
表示" 中世纪的；野蛮的；"，means "a heavy typeface in use from 15th to 18th centuries"，如：This article is printed in Gothic. 这篇文章是用粗黑体字印刷的。A cathedral of the Gothic order. 哥特式建筑风格的教堂
中文简要说明：
英国一名网友日前在二手慈善店看到一幅红衣小女孩画像，画上贴着「可能被诅咒？」标签，吸引她的目光，当下掏出20英镑（约新台币800元）把画带回家，不料过没两天她就回到店里，向店家解释画作彻底打乱她的生活，「再也不想见到这该死的东西」。事后朋友将这段经历PO上网，引发网友热烈讨论。
根据英国《每日电讯报》报导，这件怪事发生在英国南部海滨城镇「滨海圣莱纳兹」（St Leonards on Sea），二手慈善店经理史提夫（Steve）透露，最初有名中年男子将这幅画作连同一些画框捐给他们，画里是一位年轻女孩穿着红裙，目光傲慢地凝视着远方。店里开价25英镑出售画作，不久后便卖给了第一位主人.
然而不到两天，这位买家便将画带回店里要求退货，表示该幅画有一股特殊的「氛围」，她也不想拿回当初支付的款项，只求「快快脱手」。
于是店家收回画作并重新挂回橱窗，还贴上一张「可能受诅咒？」标签，或许是这种营销手法发挥了作用，很快又有第2位买家上门。但诡异的是，不久后这位新主人也带着画回到店里，全身瑟瑟发抖，一脸惊吓，说自己的生活被这幅画搞得一团乱，「再也不想看到它」。
史提夫形容，这个「怪异」的小女孩有着一双「会跟随你四处移动的眼睛」，或许因此接连令两位买家感到崩溃。这次他再度在画上贴上警告促销：「她又回来了！被卖掉两次，退回两次！你有胆试试吗？」
关于这幅不祥肖像画的故事被放上网络后，立刻引来网友热议，有人拿这幅画与恐怖电影《安娜贝尔》（Annabelle）中的恶灵娃娃相比，还有网友认真建议店家应该把画烧毁。不过也有人开玩笑，说这让他们想起自己在交友软件上的大头照；另外还有胆子够大的网友表示想要这幅画，跟画中人「当朋友」。不过或许因为引发话题，后来店家表示先前的买家改变了心意，又把画带回家了。
留言微信公众号《自然学英语LearnNaturally》，可咨询更多！