This Optical Illusion Photo of Two Girls Has a Creepy Third Face in It
By: Pesala Bandara (PetaPixel)
Pareidolia paranoia?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
This photo may look like it only has two girls in it — but there's actually a terrifying third face in this image.
TikTok creator and illusion expert Dean Jackson shared a viral video featuring an optical illusion photo that most viewers miss at first glance.
@beatonthebeeb Pareidolia is seeing faces when none exists. It is dependent upon distance from the image. As this video demonstrates. #Pareidolia#mindgame#perception#opticalillusions#opticalillusion#weirdscience#mindgames♬ original sound - Dean Jackson
The black-and-white photo shows two girls sitting in a field, appearing to chat casually — until Jackson points out that there's actually a third face hidden in the photo.
"There's a face staring back at you from that picture," Jackson says. "But only one in 10 people will see it holding their phone at the normal distance."
Many viewers were caught off guard by the hidden figure, with some describing it as extremely unsettling.
For those who can't spot it right away, Jackson recommends placing the phone upright, turning around, walking five steps away, and then looking back at the photo. According to him, this helps nine out of 10 people see the hidden face. At about 10 steps back from the image, nearly everyone sees the spooky face.
An Example of Pareidolia
This image, which shows an optical illusion where a third face appears to be hidden in the T-shirt of the girl on the right, is an example of pareidolia. Pareidolia is a common phenomenon where the brain mistakenly sees faces or other meaningful images in random patterns or objects.
As Jackson, who has been behind several mind-bending optical illusions, explains in the caption of the TikTok video, "Pareidolia is seeing faces when none exist. It is dependent upon distance from the image."
This happens because our brains are wired to quickly detect faces, which helped our ancestors stay safe, according to a report by the Mail Online. The effect often becomes clearer when viewed from a distance or while squinting. While the illusion may seem spooky, it's completely natural and not supernatural.
"We tend to classify anything vaguely face-like as a face until proven otherwise — it's safer that way," Professor Kevin Brooks, a psychologist at Macquarie University, tells the Daily Mail.
"Evolutionary psychologists speculate that we evolved this mechanism to help our survival, and increase our chances of passing on our genes, bringing forth another generation of people who are also good at face detection.'
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Sometimes what we perceive isn't real. Other times what we believe is real isn't. An illusion delusion? Quite the conundrum.
Squint real hard.
Got it...........
Didn't have to squint. The question in my mind is whether I would have seen it if I didn't know it was there. Now it's overpowering, won't go away.
How is that face disturbing? I did have to back away about 5' before it popped out, but wasn't disturbed by it.
The question in my mind is whether I would have seen it if I didn't know it was there.
When it said a third face, I right away knew it had to do with the one girls shirt, otherwise I would never even seen it.
Did I say I was disturbed by it?
it reminds me of an optical illusion i saw either on facebook or somewhere else on the internet . its a group of about 7-8 paper plates and bowls that are compartmentalized , shown in black and white with shadows .
The observer is told , only 1 of the plates is upside down even thought it looks like they all are , once you see the upside down item , the rest flip to right side up, and you wont be able to see it the same afterwards until you leave the picture for a while .
LOL. That's a good one.
No, the article said people were disturbed by it. Probably should've posted a new comment instead of combining the whole post as an answer to your comment, sorry.
Something similar to pictures of the craters on the moon, they tend to look like mounds instead of holes because of the shadows.
Ah, yes, it said that for some it was "extremely unsettleing". I would imagine that for people who believe in occult matters like shadows flitting away when they turn their heads (sometimes I do) it could be disturbing.
Yes, I have noted that as well.
I had to walk back 8 or so feet.