Strange tales of statues that move, weep and sing are gathered by KARL SHUKER, together with equally fascinating accounts of apparently genuine mechanical men and beasts.

One of Greek mythology’s most famous stories tells of Pygmalion, king of Cyprus, who skilfully carves from ivory the statue of a young woman so beautiful and realistic that he falls in love with her, and which, in answer to his prayers, the goddess Aphrodite brings to life so that he can marry her and make her his queen, Galatea.

Although I have yet to encounter a modern-day factual case quite so dramatic as this, there are many accounts on file of statues, icons and other carved, inanimate effigies that have reputedly exhibited all manner of unexpected behaviour – weeping, moving, blinking, singing, and even wing-flapping and chess-playing.

However, as examined here, could it be that these miraculous entities owe their talents more to a complex mix of human ingenuousness and ingenuity than to any divine intervention?

The rest of this article can be found in Paranormal magazine issue 39

Other articles you may be interested in: