A San Diego beach rental turned unsettling for one family after they say they spotted what looked like an old photo of themselves hanging on the wall. The discovery, shared by TikTok user Aubrey Birrell, quickly drew comparisons to a horror movie.
Birrell posted the reaction video on July 2 after the family checked into the Airbnb and started looking around the property. In the hallway, a large beach canvas appeared to show tiny figures in the water that Birrell identified as her father, sister and brother from years earlier.
The moment the family recognized themselves
“We’re looking at this picture, and my dad is like, ‘This looks like me,’” Birrell says in the video. She then zooms in and points out the figures she believes match her family members.
“I’m like, ‘Dad, what?’ … No, this is my dad. That’s my sister, Libby, from 10 years ago, and that’s Brady, my brother, 10 years ago,” she says. “There you go, they’re literally in the Airbnb.”
| Person Mentioned | How They Were Identified | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Father | Looks like the man in the beach photo | “This looks like me” |
| Libby | Birrell’s sister, shown from 10 years ago | “It’s unsettling” |
| Brady | Birrell’s brother, shown from 10 years ago | Recognized in the same image |
Libby, who appears in the video, said the moment was equal parts strange and amusing. “It’s unsettling — random Airbnb,” she said, adding, “We have those swimsuits. We are literally in this picture. We are on our Airbnb wall.”
Social media reacts to the strange discovery
Commenters responded with a mix of alarm and disbelief after the video spread. One person wrote, “Literally sounds like the start of a horror movie,” while another said, “Proof we live in a simulation.”
Other users shared their own unusual travel stories, including one TikToker who said an uncle once received a postcard from Mackinac Island that featured the commenter’s grandfather in the background. Another viewer recalled picking up a newspaper at a beach hotel and later finding a photo of their mother and themselves on the front page from a festival years earlier.
Fox News Digital reached out to Birrell for comment. The unusual scene, along with the family’s reaction, helped turn a simple beach stay into one of the more memorable rental stories circulating on social media.
