Details on The Hands Resist Him

When recalling the haunted history of popular culture in recent years, one painting comes to mind that still has the power to chill people directly in their tracks even today almost ten years after the original was first released onto the Internet.  Today we uncover the history behind the alleged haunted painting known as The Hands Resist Him, best known for rumors of causing paranormal phenomena wherever a copy or digital image of it exists.

In February of the year 2000 a painting appeared on Ebay with a disclaimer (some would say a selling point) suggesting that a painting called The Hands Resist him recently came into the ownership of a couple who claimed they had photographed the painting at night after several incidents led them to believe something was unusual about it.  The photographs that were posted alongside the painting were some of the most disturbing explorations of paranormal activity the auction community had ever seen, but while eerie did not provide conclusive proof that anything truly paranormal was going on.  Many cried hoax, but in the end the painting sold for a little over $1,000.

But there was much misconception about the painting in the days following the auction.  Many participants of the Ebay community shared photos of The Hands Resist him thinking the object in the boy’s hand to be a gun.  Bill Stoneham, who is still very much alive and created the painting in 1970 still remembers his claim to temporary fame in the paranormal community, but says the object thought to be a gun was actually a battery.  The painting itself is supposed to depict the journey of a person traveling from the world of wakefulness to that of dreams.  The doll is supposed to be his guide.  Of course what the artist intends for a painting and what eventually happens are two completely different things.  And the case of The Hands Resist him is no exception.  And the most terrifying aspect of this paranormal story is that the original painting is not the only thing that is haunted, according to dozens of witnesses.

It’s said if you take a copy of this picture even on your computer screen and stare at it for an extended period of time something will happen around you.  Such events are often minor, but occasionally a story gets through about a person who didn’t believe in the legend and found themselves confronted by the painting which would come alive on their computer screen.  Others have suggested this is purely psychological.  Whatever the cause, one lesser known fact about this image is that Bill Stoneham actually commissioned a sequel piece to The Hands Resist Him in which both subjects in the painting clearly are starting to show the ware the dreams have had on them, though the man looks more experienced and adventurous.  Stories are less frequent of this painting being haunted, but it also has a much less eerie quality to it.  Will this picture also eventually make its way into the mythology of The Hands Resist Him as an accompanying piece capable of causing paranormal activity wherever it goes?