The Ominous Painting

Name: The Ominous Painting
ISBN: 9787544362313

Zhou HaohuiHainan Publishing House · ChinaDec 2021

3.8

Word count: 91K words
Chapters: 19
ISBN: 9787544362313

Report an error Find this book

Summary

The Ominous Painting was made by a monk whose dharma name was 'Kongwang' and had been sealed in Kumu Temple for many years. No one knew what it depicted, and no one dared to take a look; those who opened it would not escape their doom. Three painters went into the mountains to sketch and, staying overnight at Kumu Temple, ignored all warnings and opened the painting out of irresistible curiosity. Tragedies struck one after another: of the three, one fell from a cliff, one died of a heart attack, and one perished in agony, bleeding from all seven orifices; the painter-monk 'Kongwang,' who had been meditating behind closed doors, hanged himself, and the young monk met a violent end. Rumors of a 'headless ghost' and a 'valley of death' threw the snowbound, isolated ancient temple into utter panic. What truth is hidden in the Ominous Painting? Opening the scroll also unleashed a tangled knot of love and hatred and an unsolved murder case buried for more than twenty years.

Editor's review

The Murderous Painting combines a closed space with a chain of deaths and is one of the most atmospheric of Zhou Haohui's suspense works. The story is triggered by a painting sealed away for years in Kumu Temple: three painters ignore warnings and open it, then meet misfortune one after another; the painting's creator, Kongwang, hangs himself, and a young monk is killed. Heavy snow blocks the roads, plunging the people in the ancient temple into isolated panic. The novel does not rely solely on a "curse of the murderous painting" for its thrills; it gradually leads the secrets in the painting, the headless ghost, and the legends of Death Valley toward a love-hate entanglement and an unsolved murder from more than twenty years earlier, with deductive clues repeatedly corrected between rumor and fact. What readers feel most keenly is the mutual suspicion among people in a closed environment, and the scrutiny of human obsession once the truth is revealed. It suits readers who like imagery such as ancient temples, snowy nights, and old paintings and who are willing to follow the investigation step by step in eliminating misdirection; those sensitive to gory scenes and supernatural atmosphere should consider carefully.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy closed-space suspense and the atmosphere of ancient temples on snowy nights
Mystery readers who prefer high-IQ crime and serial-case puzzle solving
Readers interested in a structure interweaving paintings, rumors, and old cases
Readers who can accept horror descriptions and want to read Zhou Haohui's suspense works

Not a good fit for

Readers with low tolerance for death descriptions such as bleeding from all seven orifices and hanging
Readers expecting pure orthodox fair-play puzzles who reject horror embellishment
Those who dislike slow-burn buildup in closed environments and want only fast pacing

Reading tips

First note the process by which the "murderous painting" is sealed and opened; later deaths echo it.
Record the legends of the headless ghost and Death Valley separately, then judge later which are misdirection.
After the snow blocks the roads and the characters are trapped in the temple, sort out each person's timeline of actions to help reconstruct the truth.
After finishing, revisit Kongwang's identity and the events of over twenty years ago to understand how the author draws the clues together.

About the publisher

Hainan Publishing House China · Founded in 1985

Hainan Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for literary and intellectual works, covering foreign literature, philosophy, classics, world-famous works, classical poetry and prose miscellanies. Its catalog includes foreign literary classics such as Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Romain Rolland's Jean-Christophe, philosophical works such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract: Expert Companion Edition, and Chinese classics and poetic studies such as Lu Xun's essays and prose collections and Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua, as well as illustrated popular-science works like Fabre's Insects. The involvement of translators such as Zhong Shufeng, Fu Lei and Chen Xiaoqing reflects the publisher's emphasis on translation quality and expert guidance. Public information is limited, and the above is based mainly on the books in the catalog.

版权信息
引子
第一章午夜惊魂
第二章深山鬼屋
第三章夺命凶画
第四章恐怖的死者
第五章大雪封山
第六章古怪的气味
第七章陈年旧事
第八章行走的尸体
第九章往昔恩怨
第十章无头恶草
第十一章死了三次的人
第十二章泣血而亡
第十三章端倪初现
第十四章危悬一线
第十五章前因后果
第十六章绝境逢生
尾声

FAQ

Does the murderous painting itself really carry a curse?

The novel uses the rumor that "those who open and view the painting cannot escape misfortune" to create horror, but the main thread remains deductive investigation. The painting is the key object linking the deaths and the buried past; the truth must be judged in light of the painter Kongwang's experiences and the entanglements of over twenty years ago, and the rumor should not be taken directly as the answer.

Why does the story arrange for heavy snow to block the roads?

The blocked roads turn Kumu Temple into an isolated closed space where no one can leave or seek help in time, amplifying panic and suspicion. This setup also limits investigative conditions, forcing the characters to sift clues within a confined range and heightening the oppressive suspense.

Which should I read first, this or Soul-Snatching Valley?

Both are suspense works in Zhou Haohui's series with relatively self-contained cases, so either order works without hindering understanding. If you prefer urban criminal investigation and cross-regional pursuit, start with Soul-Snatching Valley; if you prefer the horror atmosphere of a closed ancient temple and the legends surrounding a painting, start with The Murderous Painting.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Zhou Haohui Author · Chinese · 1977

Zhou Haohui, born in 1977 in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, is a Chinese suspense and mystery writer with a master's degree from the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Tsinghua University. He has long devoted himself to suspense and mystery fiction. Ten of his works are included in the collection, among them the four-volume Darker series, Darker 2: Fate, Darker 3: Farewell Song, The Evil Hypnotist: Heart's Cave, Soul-Stealing Valley, as well as Zhou Haohui's High-IQ Suspense Stories and Zhou Haohui's Classic推理 collection. His writing is known for tightly reasoned plots and tense pacing, often blending criminal investigation with psychological elements to create a high-IQ suspense style. He enjoys considerable recognition among Chinese mystery readers, and his works are categorized under suspense and mystery as well as classic works.