Optical illusion makes people see faces that aren’t there
WARNING: don’t view this creepy optical illusion after dark.
Internet users report that the visual trick that makes viewers see nonexistent, morphing faces, can be upsetting and scary.
The video was shared by TikTok user Hectic Nick, whose 3.9 million followers rave about the brainteasers and optical illusions he posts.
Sitting in front of the camera in a leather jacket and mirrored sunglasses, Nick pointed to the images above his head.
“Focus your eyes in the middle of these two pictures,” Nick instructed.
On the screen, a pale grey + symbol marked the spot where viewers should focus.
Both sides of the focal point were flanked with rapidly-shifting videos of faces. The faces on the left and right sides weren’t identical, but they could be considered similar with a passing glance.
“Your mind is going to try to combine them together.
“While you’re looking in the middle, the pictures on the sides are going to look really strange,” he warned.
A few viewers reported fun, but not unsettling, effects.
“They just get multiplied if I stare much longer,” one unimpressed viewer wrote.
“They look like Barbies,” claimed another.
But others saw a spectrum of horrifying faces while watching the clip.
Instead of seeing the people that were onscreen, viewers saw terrifying faces that weren’t actually there.
Commenters reported seeing bulging eyes, distended heads and necks, and melting or sliding facial features.
“One of them had one eye,” a scared viewer wrote.
“This gives me goosebumps,” another said.
One viewer didn’t regret watching the video – but did wish they had seen it in the afternoon instead of late at night.
“I’m watching this at midnight and this is freaking me out,” they wrote.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.