Gastonia goes viral over cloaked figure
Gastonia, North Carolina was the top trending topic on Facebook Monday night as a photo of a cloaked person reportedly taken there went viral across the Internet.
Creepy, cloaked figure dropping RAW MEAT on playgrounds sparks fear among residents in North Carolina communityThe...
Posted by Carlos Perez on Sunday, August 23, 2015
The Gaston Gazette first reported the photo last week after people claimed on social media that the photo was taken at the Hudson Woods apartment complex in Gastonia.
Too creepy. If I wrote childrens' dark fairy tales, this might work as a writing prompt. #amwriting
Posted by Lynn Chandler Willis on Wednesday, August 19, 2015
It’s unclear what the photo shows or where it was taken.
Gastonia Police spokeswoman Donna Lahser told WBTV, the Observer’s news partner, that investigators were called out to meet with the manager of the Hudson Woods Apartment complex last Monday about the photo.
The rumors with the photo said that the person donned a "floor-length, hooded attire. Their identity and gender are also unknown." The photo also claimed that the "figure had been dropping meat near a local playground."
There is a playground near the wooded parts of the apartment complex, but Lahser says officers could not confirm that the photo actually came from that apartment complex.
"It could have come from anywhere," she said. "We don't know if this is some bogus prank someone is playing."
Staff Writer Sam Hardiman contributed
This story was originally published August 24, 2015 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Gastonia goes viral over cloaked figure."