Point Horror: 13 Tales of Horror The Guccioli Miniature (Jay Bennett)

Jerry is your typically college student spending some time in Italy and hoping to improve his Italian. One night he runs into a man on the street that recognizes him as an American. He offers him a small painting that he made himself, which replicates a famous painting called the Guccioli Miniature.

Jerry doesn’t want it, but the painter keeps pushing him and he eventually buys it for $10. On the walk back to his hotel, he remembers hearing that the original painting came about because Lord Byron kept a mistress and had the image painted so he could carry her with him all the time. He starts noticing dark shadows and feels like someone is following him.

That night, he keeps hearing people in the hallway outside his room. Every time he looks at the painting, he imagines steam and heat coming off the picture. When someone rattles his doorknob and no one is there, he finally has enough. He walks out to the balcony, tosses the painting over and feels a weight lift off his chest.

The next day he hops on a plane ready for his trip home. The stewardess drops off a newspaper and when he opens it, he drops the paper in shock. A photo of the painter is front and center. The article explains that the man was part of a trio of men that broke into a local museum and stole the priceless painting. He stole the painting from his group, but they tracked him down and killed him. The article goes on to state that authorities are looking for the real painting.