A man accidentally caused a panic by posting scary photos online, which many people compared to events from the thriller War of the Worlds.
Jan Vorster, from Still Bay in the Western Cape of South Africa, took a picture on the beach and posted it to Facebook to bring attention to environmental issues.
But when his photos were shared on another page that said the shapes in the photos were “sea spiders,” they caused more confusion and panic than he intended.
In the end, the post was shared 52,000 times and received 22,000 comments.
People were not keen on the aliens coming out of the sea. Credit: Kennedy News and Media
One of the commenters wrote that they reminded them of an alien creature from the Tom Cruise movie “War of the Worlds.”
Someone else chimed in with,
Jan mentioned that he had gotten letters from anxious travelers who are afraid that the beach may be unsafe, even though most of the remarks about the creepy photographs seem to be made in jest.
Some people even sent the photographs to be examined by an environmental scientist, who determined that the looming shapes posed no threat to human beings.
Beach aliens. Last thing we bloody need. Credit: Kennedy News and Media
This is because the shapes resembling spider webs are not, in reality, alien creatures but rather rotting aloe vera plants.
“I thought I could use this metaphor for how people see these plants as aliens, but we are the two-legged aliens messing up their world. That was the idea,” the 62-year-old explained.
“The comments started immediately. Then it was shared like you can’t believe.
“I was surprised [by the reaction]. I thought people would have fun with it, but then it was very serious; some of it was extremely serious.
“A lot of people were scared of these alien-looking sea monsters. It was like Jaws – is it safe to go into the water?
The shapes were dead aloe vera plants. Credit: Kennedy News and Media
“People kept asking me when they [the creatures] were coming out and if they were only coming out at night.”
As for father-of-one Jan, he is surprised by the unexpected reaction to his unique photography and is still eager to continue working on projects similar to those he has already done.
“They kept saying, ‘Please help us because this is not a plant. This can’t be a plant,'” he said.
“[Some people said] that I misled them and that I should be crucified for that. But lots of people have had a lot of fun.
“I learned a lot about social media. It’s [just] a picture; I didn’t expect this to happen and for the reaction to be so big.”
With what motives might this story be told?
Very interesting, And by arranging them so that they seem to be following the lead one, you give it the intelligence factor of being able to cooperate to accomplish a common goal, much like ant colonies.
This world is full of more amazing things than what first meets the eye, and the best stories are those that someone’s imagination dreamed up after feeling fear or seeing something that didn’t seem quite right. But to enjoy the artistic view, this piece of art should be framed and put on a wall.
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