A family’s skiing trip in the Swedish mountains took an unexpected turn when they discovered a painting in a rural Airbnb that looked strikingly similar to their youngest son. The Stevenson family was on their way back from skiing when they decided to take a break and stay at a quaint little cottage they had found through Airbnb. Little did they know that their stay would lead them to question their beliefs in doppelgangers and the supernatural.
Just arrived at our secluded rural B&B to find a painting of our youngest child depicted as a small girl.
— Jennie Stevenson 🕷 #FBPE #GTTO (@JennieStevenson) April 8, 2023
There's absolutely no terrifying precedent for this, so it's probably fine. pic.twitter.com/VMg0h62hvD
The family consisted of Jenny and Jethro Stevenson and their three children, 14-year-old Dita, 11-year-old Morty, and 8-year-old Barney. After dropping off their luggage, the family set out to explore the house. The old, creaky house was decorated with vintage floral wallpaper that gave it an eerie, yet charming, feel. However, their exploration soon led to a startling discovery.
Update: we all survived the night and are now safely 300 km south. Did wake at on point to hear an unusual papery sound, as though someone was flipping the pages of a book 🤔 Locked the door, obvs, and was tempted to lock the children in their own room, but, ftr, I did not 😅
— Jennie Stevenson 🕷 #FBPE #GTTO (@JennieStevenson) April 9, 2023
Jenny was inspecting the guest bedroom when she noticed that the door was locked from the outside. She found this odd and decided to investigate further. As she was exploring the room, her daughter stumbled upon a wall print featuring a painting by Swedish artist Carl Larsson. But it wasn’t the painting that shocked them. It was the striking resemblance of the young girl in the painting to their son Barney.
Jenny said, “My daughter said, ‘Mum, they’ve got a picture of Barney on the wall!'” All individuals seated at the table, including Barney, concurred that the resemblance was uncanny. The young girl depicted in the painting could be mistaken for Barney’s twin sister, and the expression she was making in the painting was one that Barney made all the time.
50% overlay 👀
— Jane 🌱💙🇺🇦 (@localnotail) April 8, 2023
is it too late to find another place to stay…? pic.twitter.com/DLROfTGF43
Jenny took to Twitter to share the strange incident with the world. She posted a comparison of the young girl in the painting and Barney side by side, with the caption, “Just arrived at our secluded rural B&B to find a painting of our youngest child depicted as a small girl. There’s absolutely no terrifying precedent for this, so it’s probably fine.” The post quickly went viral, with thousands of users commenting and sharing their own supernatural experiences.
The Twitter user @JennieStevenson even superimposed the two pictures, highlighting the striking similarity between the faces, and posted the outcome on Jenny’s thread. They wrote, “Is it too late to find another place to stay…?” Meanwhile, @mitziandmaud said, “Maybe the Airbnb owner stalks all incoming guests on social media and they do this to each one to freak them out on arrival?!” @sammypants2000 commented, “If they invite you to any bonfires, night services at the local church, or an outing to the weirdly named Forbidden Forest, stay in.”
Despite the unnerving discovery, the family decided to spend the night in the house. Jenny shared an update on the situation, writing, “We all survived the night and are now safely 300 km south. Did wake at one point to hear an unusual papery sound, as though someone was flipping the pages of a book.
Locked the door, [obviously], and was tempted to lock the children in their own room, but, I did not.” The family made it safely back home, but the incident left them with a lingering feeling of unease and made them question their beliefs in the supernatural.