A bride-to-be freaked out after trying on a wedding gown and noticing something unusual in the photo she had taken that can only be described as a "glitch in the Matrix."
The reference to the reality-bending cyberpunk film franchise starring Keanu Reeves was on point given the nature of the nightmarish photo that she said was not digitally altered.
Tessa Coates, a podcaster and comedian, said a store employee took several snaps of her as she spent an hour trying on different wedding dresses at a London bridal boutique.
She sent some photos of the session to her sister. When they both looked over the images, they noticed one detail that defied explanation and left Coates having "a panic attack in the street."
In an image she shared on Instagram, Coates faced two full-length mirrors that showed different angles of her in a beautiful white gown subtly adorned with pastel florals.
While the image appeared normal at first glance, a closer inspection revealed that her arms in each mirror were in completely different positions than the one she posed with.
"This is a real photo, not photoshopped, not a pano, not a Live Photo," insisted Coates in the Instagram post.
"If you can’t see the problem, please keep looking and then you won’t be able to unsee it."
Can you see it?
Coates faced the mirror with her right arm across her waist and her left arm down at her side.
However, the mirror to her left showed both arms down while the mirror to her right showed both hands clasped together across her waist.
Perhaps this will help.
@wheatpraylove/Instagram
People were flabbergasted and flooded her post with comments suggesting Coates was "a witch" and that the bridal boutique was "a portal."
@wheatpraylove/Instagram
@wheatpraylove/Instagram
@wheatpraylove/Instagram
@wheatpraylove/Instagram
@wheatpraylove/Instagram
@wheatpraylove/Instagram
@wheatpraylove/Instagram
In a follow-up video, Coates informed viewers that the spooky photo event occurred two days after Halloween.
After having a "panic attack" in the street on her hands and knees in Borough Market, she looked at the photo again to check if the setting wasn't on live or burst photos. It was not.
She said she went back to the bridal shop and asked the store attendant if the mirrors were cameras and if they were video monitoring her. They weren't.
When Coates showed the attendant the photo, the attendant apparently “lost her mind.”
Coates then said her "rational" sister consulted with eight guys in the tech department where she works, but they weren't much help as they were screaming and making Coates feel "worse."
The only other person she could think of to solve the mystery was a friend who was a forensic accountant, but she did little to calm Coates' nerves because she screamed after looking at the photo.
The distressed bride then went to the Apple store in Covent Garden to seek geniuses there who may have answers.
But it was a process as the employees in the blue shirts—who weren't the geniuses—were also genuinely horrified looking at the photo.
After she was led upstairs to the genius bar, Coates said:
“It takes three geniuses before we find somebody, and each genius is more scared than the last.”
Finally, an expert named Roger, whom Coates referred to as "obviously the grand high wizard,” told her, “OK, I've never seen it this bad or this scary." But luckily for her, he had an explanation.
Roger told Coates that the Apple devices are computers, not cameras, and therefore automatically capture images as a quick series of bursts from left to right even though it's not in live or panoramic mode.
He explained that she must have raised her arms during the split second when the photo of her back facing the mirrors was taken.
Roger told her:
"It's made like an AI decision and stitched those two photos together."
She was also told that Google Pixel has introduced a new technology in which the phones take a quick series of photos and choose the best one for you. Apple was apparently beta-testing the tech on their devices.
A keen observer on X (formerly Twitter) also identified the faint line in the photo where the two images were stitched together.
Said Coates:
"If you look at the left side that's a complete correct reflection. And if you look at the right side that's also a complete reflection."
Roger told her the phenomenon was a "one in a million" chance.
Following the logical explanation thanks to Roger, Coates said she immediately went home and had a good night's sleep.
However, she posed one question to viewers:
"Is Roger the man that the Matrix brings out when you get too close to the truth?"
"Who's to say?“
"Did it make me feel better? Yes. Do I hope it makes you feel better? Yes.”
That's all that matters.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter