Chilling truth behind seemingly normal family portrait dubbed ‘scariest photo ever taken’
The Lawson family portrait was taken shortly before one of the most tragic crimes in 20th century American history.
They were a working-class family from North Carolina headed by Charlie Lawson (born in 1886), a farmer, and his wife Fannie Lawson (born in 1897).
Together, the parents had seven surviving children after one died in infancy - Arthur, 19, Marie, 17, Carrie, 12, Maybell, seven, James, four, Raymond, two, and Mary Lou, four months.
Shortly before Christmas in 1929, the father took his loved ones to the local town to buy new clothes and have a family portrait taken.
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This was considered a pretty rare and expensive gesture for a working-class farming family back then.
Only years later, many saw the Lawson Family portrait as a potential warning sign of what was to come.
Allthatisinteresting.com also said it was 'a strong candidate for the scariest picture ever taken'.
The Lawson family portrait
The black and white portrait, taken at a studio in nearby Winston-Salem, shows the Lawsons in formal clothing, staring expressionless at the camera.
Charlie’s stern look, in particular, was perhaps just a tiny indication of what was to come.
On Christmas Day, Charlie killed his daughters Carrie and Maybell near a tobacco barn as they were heading to visit relatives.
He then returned to the house and shot his wife Fannie on the porch. Inside, he murdered Marie, followed by the two youngest boys, James and Raymond.
Finally, he bludgeoned baby Mary Lou to death.
What happened to Charlie Lawson?
After murdering seven family members, Charlie walked into the woods and took his own life with a shotgun.
His eldest son, Arthur, was the only surviving child. Charlie and Arthur had been out hunting in the morning and the father had sent him into the town to grab some bullets.
It is believed that Arthur led a very private life after the tragic loss of his family.
What was Charlie's motive?
Although the mystery is considered unsolvable by most historians, some believe Charlie was suffering from mental illness or possibly a head injury at the time.
Jeff Cochran, the screenwriter of a documentary about the murder-suicide called Trouble Will Cause, told Yes Weekly in 2018: "It was a particularly brutal murder and I think the main reason it has resonated with so many people for so many years is that no one knows why Charlie Lawson killed his family.
"People have come up with a dozen different theories and reasons to explain why Charlie Lawson did what he did.
"Some of the ideas are extreme and far-fetched, but most of the ideas people have are logically plausible.
"I think most of the theories people come up with are to satisfy their own need to know.
"People see this brutal, senseless murder and think there must be an equally extreme explanation behind it."
Anish Vij