This Halloween, Kraken Rum invited me to curate an exhibition of the most haunted art from the UK, as well as further afield. Possessed dolls, clown puppets, legendary portraits of crying boys said to spark fires, and curious sea monsters were among the items which I brought together for ‘House of Curses’.

Starting work on the curation, I was more cynical than creeped out by the artefacts on loan from galleries, museums, auction houses and private collectors, some who wanted to remain anonymous with good reason. However, terrifying backstories soon started to get the better of me…

Weeks before the show’s opening, Danny Moss delivered a creepy clown puppet, an antique Willow doll and Grace, known as the most haunted artefact in the UK, to my apartment. A chill certainly ran through my arms as I picked up the old, coffin-like, wooden box in which Willow was lying, eyes wide, staring straight back at me. She has been seen to move and heard humming by paranormal investigators.

I wasn’t taking any risks. Within the hour, a shipper arrived to take these loans away, storing them in his personal studio over night. He has since been evicted from it, and his van in which he drove the toys down to London has also broken down. Cursed, much?

However, his story is nothing compared with those who have been in contact with Bill Stoneham’s ‘The Hands Resist Him’ painting, also on display in the exhibition. More on that later…

The aim of my curation was to give the viewer psychological thrills across 7 themed rooms: ‘Cursed Creatures’, ‘Ghost’, ‘Skeleton’, ‘Possessed Children’, ‘Haunted Toys’ a modern day Creepypasta ‘Internet Lore’, and a final room with the ‘Unknown Girl’ painting.

Visitors were dared to stand in front of dangerous artworks, and also received a walkthrough audio guide which delved into the haunted backstories of each piece.

Entering through ‘Cursed Creatures’, they discovered more about the history of the Kraken and Viktor Wynd’s mysterious mermaids, before finding themselves in ‘Ghost’, where they could see haunted projector slides from the Birmingham & Midland Institute as well as original artwork by Zac Webb, painted during his time in residency at Ohio’s most haunted house.

Moving through to ‘Skeleton’, the theme of death became ever more prevalent, showcased through an original Damian Hirst skull – ‘The Dream is Dead’, which acts as a modern day ‘memento mori’.

Room four explored the darkest corners of internet lore from Slenderman to Goat Man and Creepypasta legends, before moving through to ‘Dolls’ which hosted one of the UK’s most haunted items – The Grace Doll. Known as the UK’s ‘Annabelle’, this doll, donated by Danny Moss, has been seen to move inside her enclosed glass box as well as threatening to ‘burn [visitors’] eyes out.’

The penultimate room saw visitors surrounded by a series of ‘Possessed Children’ paintings including the ‘Crying Boy’ that was said to have caused homes to burn down. There was also the deeply unsettling ‘The Hands Resist Him’ portrait: a horror-stricken painting which seemed to cause the deaths of those closely associated with it. So evil is this work that even the reproductions are said to be possessed with a malevolent force.

Accessible only after signing a waiver, the final exhibit contained one of the most haunted paintings of them all. This original piece was the centre of a 2023 media storm after it was returned to a charity shop by multiple owners who reported chills, being chased by a demonic figure and one person even having to a call an ambulance after collapsing in the painting’s presence. Those who dared enter were granted only a short time in the presence of ‘The Unknown Girl’ before being ushered out to the safety of The Kraken Bar.

With a menu of cocktails inspired by the haunted artworks, as well as burning sage-laced drinks to ward away evil, shell-shocked guests could unwind in the bar, where there was a tarot card reader and Zoltar machine for further evening thrills.

You can read more about the UK’s most haunted art here.