What started as a cheerful selfie among six friends on a woodland hike has taken a chilling turn online, thanks to one eerie detail that has people doing double-takes and losing sleep.
The now-viral photo, posted to Reddit’s r/ghosts forum, shows a group of friends smiling in front of a lush, forested backdrop. The caption reads: “A friend of mine sent me this picture from his group of friends in Chile.” At first glance, it’s just a wholesome moment captured during a hike.
But then, people started counting.
There are six friends in the photo… and seven faces.
Look closely, particularly between the two women on the bottom left of the image, and you might spot a shadowy, distorted face peering out from the gap. It’s not smiling. It doesn’t look quite human. And once you see it, it’s hard to unsee.
Redditors quickly flooded the comments with reactions ranging from shock to full-blown fear. “I got goosebumps and felt genuine fear,” one user admitted. “I believe in ghosts again now.”
Others joked (nervously): “Damn, I wish I didn’t zoom in,” and: “I teared up because that just scared the crap out of me.”
But amid the ghost hysteria, one voice of reason cut through the fog: a skeptic who thinks the entire paranormal panic might have a very normal explanation.
“It’s just a person that’s also in the group,” they wrote. “Their face is being hidden in shadow by the two around it, and made to look creepy with that intense blue filter.”
And honestly? They might have a point.
The supposed “seventh face” could simply be a group member whose position, lighting, and a moody color filter distorted their appearance enough to trigger mass internet dread. The eerie blue tones of the photo amplify contrast and shadow, creating just enough ambiguity to let imaginations run wild, especially on a subreddit devoted to ghost stories.
Still, not everyone is ready to buy the lighting-and-angles theory. “I usually laugh these off,” another user replied, “but not this time. It gave me chills, for real.”
So, is this an accidental illusion caused by shadows and filters? Or is it something else entirely?
Either way, this picture proves that sometimes, what you don’t notice at first glance is what ends up haunting you later. And next time you're taking a group photo in the woods… maybe do a face count.