Baby on Japan store sign turns into horror poster child as ink melts in intense summer heat in recent years

A sign outside a store in Shiga prefecture, Japan, which featured a photo of a baby, has turned into something out of a horror movie as the ink melted due to intense heat in recent years.

Many people have since stopped outside the store, Hangai Nagahama, to take pictures of the ghastly sign, the store owner told Japanese media FNN in 2023.

The sign initially looked like this in June 2020.

However, weather conditions over the years have caused the sign to deteriorate.

It looked like this in September 2023.

And finally, the sign evolved to this state:

The black ink used for the baby's eyes and mouth melted and spread across the sign, smudging the baby's features into something more sinister.

"Summer horror experience": owner

The store was founded in 1933 and sells a range of miscellaneous goods. "We have lots of good, cheap things," the baby sign reads.

The owner, Masanao Itaya, said the summer heat likely melted the sign, which has been up at the storefront for almost a decade.

He told FNN in 2023 that he failed to notice the deteriorated state of his "favourite sign" until then, adding that he had never seen the sign melt so fast.

"I noticed it at the beginning of August and thought some people might find it creepy, so I thought about changing it," he told Japanese media.

However, he did not change the sign immediately as Japan's Obon holidays, observed from Aug. 13 to 16, was around the corner.

"I thought I'd leave it as it is for a while, so that people can enjoy it as a summer horror experience," he added.

Top photo via Google Maps