Jade Small
Jade Small
March 23, 2024 ·  3 min read

Family rents a cottage for a night, finds their son’s doppelgänger in an old painting on the wall

How often have you seen a random passer-by and thought to yourself how similar they look to someone you know? Have you ever found your own doppelgänger? It can be a rather exciting discovery, but, it can also prove to be a tad creepy. This UK mum found that out all too well during a recent family trip!

The Stevenson family, who hail from Sweden, were returning from a ski trip in the mountains when they decided to make a pit stop at a quaint countryside Airbnb. Upon arrival, they wasted no time in settling their luggage before embarking on an adventure to explore the vintage, time-worn house that was adorned with antique floral wallpaper. Little did they know, they were about to find one of their children’s doppelgängers by complete fluke!

A Creepy Discovery

Jenny experienced a spine-tingling sensation when she observed that the guest bedroom was locked from the outside. To her surprise, things got even creepier when her daughter made a hair-raising discovery. While enjoying a meal with her spouse, Jethro, and their children, Dita, Morty, and Barney, Jenny noticed a print hanging on the wall. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was a painting by the late Swedish artist, Carl Larsson, who passed away in 1919. Strangely enough, the little girl depicted in the painting bore an uncanny resemblance to Barney, who was sitting at the table with them. They had discovered Barney’s doppelgänger!

The Creepy Doppelgänger Painting

In an interview with Today, Jenny recalls: “My daughter said, ‘Mum, they’ve got a picture of Barney on the wall! That expression she’s making in the painting, Barney pulls that face all the time,” Jenny says. “I’ll ask him to smile for a picture and he gets a very intense, serious look.” 

Jenny took to Twitter to share the image of her son’s doppelgänger. Jenny said in her post: “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 Internet Exploded

As you can imagine, the uncanny doppelgänger discovery caused quite a stir amongst the Twitter community. User @localnotail created a 50/50 overlay of the doppelgänger and an image of Barney. The resemblance between the two children is rather creepy!

Obviously dumbfounded by the doppelgänger discovery, some other users on Twitter asked Jenny a few questions relating to her son, Barney. Many people had theories or hoped to figure out how the child in the painting could have such an uncanny resemblance to the Jenny’s son.

The Mysery of the Holiday Doppelgänger

It is obviously a rather bizarre coincidence to find a painting like this in a random, secluded B&B. Although the artwork was actually a painting of a little girl by Swedish artist Carl Larsson, it was hard not to notice the striking resemblance she bore to the child sitting at the dinner table, despite the difference in their hair length.

Despite staying in a property with creaky floors and an old-fashioned vibe, Jennie and her husband were not particularly disturbed by the painting titled “Flowers in the Meadow“. Even though the artwork bore such a striking resemblance to their youngest child, Barney, he found the whole situation amusing.

Keep Reading: Subway Employee Works With Baby In A Harness On His Chest, And People Have Opinions

Sources

  1. Family rents a cottage for a night, finds their son’s doppelgänger in an old painting on the wall.” Today. Rachel Paula Abrahamson. April 12, 2023
  2. Family spooked after finding ‘painting of their son’ inside B&B during stay.Mirror. Amber O’Connor. April 10, 2023