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Cloaked Figure In Gastonia NC Causes Fear And Investigation Before Mystery Solved

By Regina Avalos
Published on: 20:17 PST, Aug 26, 2015

The photo of a cloaked figure in Gastonia, North Carolina, has been the source of both fear and laughter this week. The photo went viral on social media immediately, and it caused some fear. Many wondered what was behind the creepy photo.

After the photo went viral and started to receive media attention, police in the area were contacted, and the authorities decided to investigate the source of the photo that was causing fear in the residents of one Gastonia apartment complex.

A post shared with NBC Charlotte on their Facebook told the complete story behind the photo.

“This person has been seen coming out of the woods at Hudson Woods near the playground area holding raw meat, performing some sort of prayer…leaving the meat to rot? Or trying to trap someone’s animals? Who knows…but either way…starting next week many kids will be getting off school buses in that area and everyone needs to be made aware of this freaky behavior. Please watch your children and animals closely. Bizarre behavior has unknown intentions!!”

The manager of the apartment complex decided to contact the police about the photo. The authorities did not think the investigation was a laughing matter, but the photo and the reports in the media that followed have generated a few laughs.

Donna Lahser, a spokesperson for the Gastonia Police Department, revealed to the media that the police were called out about the photo last Monday. She said that, “It could have come from anywhere. We don’t know if this is some bogus prank someone is playing.”

It was not a prank, but a college student was involved with the mysterious photo. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is near the apartment complex, and a college student in the process of completing an assignment for a class snapped the photo. There was nothing sinister about the student’s intentions. They were not trying to poison the local pet population as some people suspected. The figure was seen dropping raw meat in the photo, and it was immediately thought by those viewing the photo that poisoning was the objective of the action.

The mother of the college student cleared up the mystery after she learned the photo received so much attention, according to Daily Mail. Lance Calhoun, the director of the company that runs the apartment complex, spoke to the media about the mother’s explanation.

“She contacted the property and said it was her daughter working on something related to school. She was concerned that with all the undue attention the photos have now received she would get into trouble at school. She was dressing up like a TV character. Completely innocent, completely harmless, but social media does what social media does.”

The authorities are not investigating this case any further. The jokes about the creepy photo continued even after the source of the photo was identified in the media. People used their Twitter accounts to poke fun at the image.

Photos that might show something creepy or paranormal do have a tendency to draw a lot of an attention on social media. Some become the subject of criticism, skepticism, or jokes.

Earlier this month, Discovery News shared the story of a ghostly figure caught on a film back in 2010. The photo only went viral this year, and it was even featured on Good Morning America. However, the photo and the story behind it has a few discrepancies. The person that took the photo said they saw the ghostly shape right away, but a Facebook comment shows that it was first noticed months after the photo was taken.

What do you think of this latest viral photo? Have you ever seen something you thought was creepy to have it explained afterward?

[Photo: Twitter]

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