A woman in England claimed to see her husband eating at a restaurant in video footage posted by an Indian eatery called Spice Cottage, even though he died nine years ago. The ordeal has caused quite a stir online. The woman, 59-year-old Lucy Watson, said her husband's appearance was distinctive and she recognized him right away.
Some people have speculated that Watson’s husband faked his death, but others think the whole incident is a marketing ploy. Watson reportedly messaged the restaurant asking how recent the video footage was, and the restaurant claims it was from last week, but she alleges that it is lying, per Z100, as that’s the only reasonable explanation.
Watson’s husband, Harry Doherty, was a notable music journalist and father of three, per the Daily Mail. He died in 2014, waiting for a liver transplant.
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Her husband died in 2014, but Watson swears he made an appearance in the restaurant’s recent video footage.
When Watson saw her husband in the Spice Cottage promotional video on Facebook, she was understandably shocked, though she couldn't have imagined the attention her comment would receive.
“The moment I saw the thing I thought ‘Oh my God – that's Harry’. It was so instant. I didn't even have to think. He'd be eating a chicken korma because that's all he ever ate," she said, according to the Daily Mail. "There was no doubt in my mind it was my husband. I couldn't pause the thing so I had to replay it about 30 times and each time I was surer and surer.”
Watson commented on the Spice Cottage’s video on Facebook, writing, “How old is the footage? My late husband and his son are in the first shot and he died in 2014?” To which the Spice Cottage replied, “Sorry to hear this. This footage was recorded last week.”
Then she claimed the restaurant was posting old video footage, not recent like it said.
She insists Spice Cottage has not been as busy recently as it appears to be in the video.
"They are never busy like that any more, that's the problem. They have obviously posted this to generate customers because they are really up against it now,” she said, per Z100.
The restaurant has posted a comment on its Facebook post to clarify the situation.
A restaurant manager wrote that the restaurant had renovations, featured in the video from this year, that it did not have in prior years. They said it had new wooden tables featured in its promo video, and prior to 2023, they had “white and red table cloths,” asserting that this “had to be recent footage.”
“This is a very unusual situation and we hope this clarifies any confusion,” the restaurant manager wrote in at the end of the comment.
Whether Watson truly saw her husband or the restaurant did use old video footage remains a mystery.
Loved ones appearing after they have died is a common occurrence for those they've left behind.
The phenomenon of seeing a deceased spouse has been referred to as bereavement hallucinations, and it is apparently a very common experience. As many as 30 to 60% of elderly widowed people have experiences of seeing their deceased spouse or having a bereavement hallucination, per The Conversation.
Another study of widowed people claimed only happy marriages are the ones with bereavement hallucinations, the website noted.
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Facebook users suspected something strange was going on with the video.
Possible theories to explain Watson’s husband's suspected appearance are that he may have faked his death or that a marketing scheme was afoot. But the jokes also started coming in on the restaurant's Facebook post.
“I mean, that must be some really great curry if the man passed away in 2014 and he is still coming back from the dead to have it!!!! What better recommendation would a place need than that!!!” one person wrote.
Another person commented, ”In the coming days we will come to learn that everyone in this video is actually dead and this place really comes alive at night.”
“This has to be a genius publicity stunt. What a way to get your restaurant out!” wrote someone else.
Another person put a different spin on the situation, writing, “Plot twist: Lucy is the business development manager for Spice Cottage.”
