When Tara and her husband Eric first settled into their shared life, the euphoria of their newlywed phase was punctuated by the typical skirmishes that test a young marriage: debates over personal space, disagreements on chores, and notably, clashes over home decor. Among these domestic disputes, one particular point of contention stood out—a mysterious oil painting of a woman that her husband adamantly insisted on keeping. The painting, apparently acquired at a rummage sale with no known history, featured a young woman with blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, her attire a simple white cotton dress. The painting was rendered in oil, which caught the light in a way that breathed life into her image. Yet, despite her beauty, Tara found that the painting exuded an unsettling aura, especially since her husband had chosen to hang it prominently above their bed. Tara’s unease with the painting was palpable. Its presence was ominous in their bedroom, and she often woke in the night feeling like she was being watched by the woman’s piercing gray eyes. Her discomfort escalated to the point where she pleaded with her husband, Eric, to relocate the painting. Tara tried to tell Eric that the painting did not fit in with their modern decor,
with Eric replying that neither did Tara’s FunkoPops, which were also on display in their bedroom. Tara agreed with this and allowed Eric to keep the painting in the bedroom. However, she was still losing sleep because of the painting, so she told Eric that if he moved the painting out of their bedroom, she would move her FunkoPops. He reluctantly agreed, moving it to the stairs, which only served to heighten Tara’s anxiety as the painting seemed to follow her with its gaze. The situation reached a breaking point one sleepless night when Tara, seeking solace in a late-night snack, was startled by the painting’s visage, mistaking it for an intruder in the dimly lit house. Tara told Eric that the painting had scared her and this incident prompted a desperate plea to remove the painting entirely. Eric’s subsequent decision to relocate the painting to his office was a temporary reprieve, but it also marked the beginning of a deeper mystery. Tara noticed Eric spending an inordinate amount of time in his office, often locked away with the painting. However, she knew he had a big project at work and assumed he was spending his time completing it. However, she soon learned there was something more sinister at play. One evening, when Eric failed to join her for dinner, Tara’s curiosity led her to his office, where she found him in a trance-like state, fixated on the painting. When Tara entered the office, Eric told her that he had just submitted his project and that everyone was happy with it and he was on his way down for dinner. Tara decided not to say anything to Eric about the unease she felt at finding him staring at the painting. However, later that week she could no longer hold her tongue. After overhearing a work call that Eric was on, in which he said he had not finished his project because he had to take Tara to hospital after she fell down the stairs, she burst into his office and asked why he was lying. Eric paled and hung up the phone, telling Tara that he needed an excuse for missing his deadline as his job was on the line. Tara asked if it was the same deadline he told her he had finished earlier that week. He confirmed that it was, which led Tara to tell him that his job was his business, but she felt like they had spent no time together that week. She asked if he had been working on the project all week or if he had simply been sitting in the office staring at the painting the entire time. Eric looked at Tara and simply said, “You’re jealous of her.” Tara asked what Eric was talking about and he assured her “You shouldn’t be, Tara. The painting makes her prettier than she was.” Tara was shocked by her husband’s words and asked if he was telling her that the painting was of someone she knew. He told her he had misspoken and he did not know the woman in the painting. However, Tara was not sure that her husband was telling her the truth. Driven by a mix of fear and curiosity, Tara embarked on a clandestine investigation one night while Eric slept. She slipped out of their bedroom and into his office, where she took a photo of the painting on her phone. Utilizing a reverse image search, she unearthed shocking revelations, linking the painting to Anya Kelsing, a missing art student who had vanished under mysterious circumstances while on a hike with her boyfriend. Anya had apparently gone missing when she and her boyfriend became separated after an encounter with a bear on their hike. Anya’s backpack was found a mile away from where the bear sighting had apparently occured, but her body was never found. None of the articles made mention of her boyfriend’s name, but Tara knew it had to be Eric.