Usually, Airbnbs work well when the host gives it a homely touch. But for this traveler, things were a little too much like home.
In a viral TikTok, which has amassed 4.2 million views, Aubrey and Libby Birrell were left stunned after they noticed something weird about a picture in their Airbnb.
“OK guys, the weirdest thing happened,” Aubrey begins. “We get to our Airbnb in San Diego…”
After she and her sister agreed the incident was “unsettling,” they shared how they’re looking through a “random” Airbnb they have “no connection” to.
The camera lands on a canvas on the wall, which depicts a photo of people enjoying the ocean.
But there’s a twist: Aubrey’s family is in that very canvas. She points out her dad, sister, brother playing in the sea in what looks like an old photo.
“They’re literally in the Airbnb picture,” Aubrey notes, stunned.
“We have those swimsuits; we are literally in this picture,” Libby adds.
“It’s the craziest thing,” Aubrey continues.
And Libby says, “We are on our Airbnb wall.”
Aubrey then adds that this is “crazy,” while Libby insists that this “can’t be real.”
“No guys, we think this is crazy,” Aubrey adds, while Libby admits she is “spiraling.”
Airbnb hosts are known for taking it too far sometimes, but when something this eerie happens, are the cut-price rentals really worth it?
BroBible reached out to Aubrey and Libby via Instagram and Airbnb via email. Airbnb declined to comment.
@aubsbirrell We can’t make this up….. this is the craziest thing 😭 @libby_birrell #fyp #sandiego #creepy #tf
Uh, Why Is This Picture So Common?
Some commenters claimed to recognize the photo.
“Wait this is a very common picture my dad has this on his wall,” one wrote. “I live in Canada.”
“Wait, wait. That photo is also in a coffee table book that I came across this week!” a second added. “It’s a book that has a bunch of shots from around the world that the photographer took from helicopter rides.”
Others shared their own similar experiences.
“My friend and her mom went to an antique store in Pennsylvania and found her mom’s elementary school book with her mom’s signature from when she was a child in CHILE,” a third said. “That’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard but yours too for sure.”
And a fourth revealed, “I used to sell magazine subscriptions door-to-door – I sold magazines to a guy in North Carolina – a year later I sold magazines to his twin brother in Hawaii- fully convinced that it was him I kept trying to remind him who I was, and it wasn’t until I got to the part of it being North Carolina. He got a big smile on his face and said he met my twin brother.”
Others had a more spiritual interpretation.
“It means you are exactly where you are meant to be,” a fifth said. “This is the path that is set for you. Take it as, if you ever thought you made a wrong decision on something in the past you didn’t you’re exactly where your supposed to be.”
What Happened In The Follow-Up?
In the TikTok, the women shared that they made it home safe. They discovered that the decorator is a photographer who takes aerial shots on the beach.
“They must have taken an aerial shot that day and blew it up into a canvas,” Libby says.
“You never know whose watching always be smiling,” Aubrey adds.
While Libby continues, “We’ve seen comments that other people have seen that photo, so if you have let us know.”
According to Aubrey, the comments suggest the picture was seen in California and Florida.
‘The Start Of A Horror Movie’
In an interview with Fox News, Aubrey said, “The moment we saw it, we made everyone come up and look, and they were all in awe. I started FaceTiming my friends because they all know my family. They were in shock, too. It was crazy.”
She admitted the experience was “really strange” and continued by saying, “Did they know we were coming? We were just feeling a little confused, a little eerie, but also it was just shocking.”
Aubrey added that they “remember the swimsuits. We remember the time. We’re pretty confident.”
She continued, “A lot of people were telling us we should leave, that it was like the start of a horror movie. A lot of people also shared similar experiences, like seeing themselves in a picture frame at a store or spotting themselves on a pamphlet in another state. It was kind of cool to hear those stories.”
Apparently, the host even offered to get them a copy of the print.
Aubrey concluded, “I feel all right with it. I was telling [our host] that if we could get a print from the photographer, that would be so cool, just so we could always remember it. I think it’s fun. And if anyone else who stays at that [Airbnb] sees the video, they can go look for the picture.”