TikTok has soared in popularity over the last few months and now has more than 800 million active users on the video-sharing platform. The app has been the source for several viral videos, from challenges and funny videos to dance collaborations.
While a recent TikTok video that has gone viral on social media is like any other dance video on the platform, unlike other clips, this one has left viewers spooked.
Viewers spot mysterious figure in 'home alone' video
A man may have inadvertently recorded a possible home invasion attempt while making a TikTok dance video. TikTok user Reubix_Cube (aka Reuben) shared the video of himself dancing to Doja Cat's "Say So" a couple of days ago. In the post's caption, he pointed out that he was home alone while recording the dance routine but the footage he filmed suggests otherwise.
Shortly after he shared the video, viewers were quick to notice some suspicious activity in the background that has left many baffled. Around the four-second mark in the video, a mysterious figure appears at the top of the staircase behind him, for a split second before disappearing. While some viewers described it as "a head poking around the corner," others said it looked like some kind of animal.
Paranormal activity or home invasion?
The dance video has already racked up more than 1.8 million views and a follow-up video posted by Reuben has amassed more than 6 million views. In the comments section, thousands debated whether the figure was a ghost, a home intruder, an animal or if the whole thing was even real.
"What the heck was that on the stairs?" asked one person in the comments section.
"The amount of anxiety I have from this video. That's someone literally poking their head to look at you," wrote another, while one user commented. "Your basement is haunted, Reu," a separate user commented.
Meanwhile, others weren't convinced that the TikTok dancer was actually home alone and accused him of staging the whole thing. "Ok so the fact that he had to post 'I'm home alone' and doing this oldish dance really makes me feel like it's all staged," wrote one user.
In his follow-up video, Reuben shared the specific footage of when the strange figure appears in the background, with text questioning the mysterious entity and pointing out that he doesn't have any pets. In the post's caption, he urged users not to report the post as he needed answers along with the hashtag #paranormal.
Reuben shares an update, says he feels 'sick'
The dancer later shared an update saying that he was "alive and safe," adding that he was feeling sick and hasn't been able to get much sleep but thanked everyone for their concern.
"Hey, I'm alive and safe," he wrote. "Thank you to everyone who was concerned. I'm kinda stomach sick rn [right now] and I was in and out of sleep all of last night. It's weird to have so much attention on me right now but I have been reading some comments and I'll address the questions later on today."
"It's actually probably easier if you ask the questions under this post so they're easier to pick through," he added. "But it's 6AM in my corner of the world and I need to catch up on some sleep. Sorry if I worried you guys – Reu."
In his subsequent videos addressing the questions, Reuben revealed that he's "99 percent certain" that I couldn't have been a person as his stairs creak loudly and he would've easily heard it had it been an intruder. He also said that he did not live in an area with possums, but that his house was located next to two graveyards.
