Years of tears for Crying Boy
TODAY is the 25th anniversary of The Star story which triggered the Curse of the Crying Boy.
On page seven on September 2, 1985, we carried a story of a chip pan fire which badly damaged a house in Pagenall Drive, Swallownest, but a Crying Boy print was unharmed.
Reporter John Murphy found the fire brigade counted 50 fires at homes with the same picture.
The Sun picked up the tale and the legend was born.
All over the country house fires were blamed on the picture, left mysteriously undamaged.
As the Diary revealed a couple of years ago, investigator Dr David Clarke of Hallam University found it was printed on compressed hardwood which didn't burn easily.
And the kind of people who cooked chips which led to fires were the kind of people who bought the print.
The legend won't die. Comedian Steve Punt tells the story in a new series, Punt - PI, on Radio 4 on October 9.
Got a view? Leave a comment below.
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
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