Something There
After the photos went viral, she looked again, baffled. There were photos of her friend, and her friend’s cousin –taken at different times. Nothing unusual. But then, she saw it.
In the background of one of the photos was something she would never be able to unsee. Her heart began to race and her blood turned to ice.
The Peak
SlicedUpBeef / Reddit
Dundas Peak in Canada is a popular spot among hikers. It boasts a scenic viewpoint that overlooks the city of Hamilton, in Ontario, and is also home to the tallest waterfall in Hamilton, Tew’s Falls.
Due to the Peak’s terrifying beauty, this spot has become popular among social media users looking to capture a share-worthy photo.
Perilous Landscape
Facebook/Dundas Peak
Indeed, authorities reported that there was a sharp rise in people needing rescuing missing on the peak. Most were never found.
Despite the dangers, Dundas Peak has had more than 140,000 visitors since 2016. And one of these visitors was about to spark one of the most bizarre chapters in the area’s history. But he wouldn’t know it until much later.
The Photo
Facebook/Dundas Peak
The man’s photograph of himself in the popular pose on the edge of the peak didn’t look like anything out of the ordinary, at first. In fact, his souvenir snap resembled the thousands of other photos taken in the very same spot.
The man is wearing a dark jacket and jeans. He is sitting on the edge of a rocky outcrop, with one leg dangling into the abyss below. Nobody had noticed what was in the background.
Recreation
Facebook/Dundas Peak
The man’s cousin, Kim, subsequently saw the daring photo. Just a few days later, she’d booked a babysitter for the weekend and made her way to the peak with one of her closest friends, hoping to recreate the picture in the same spot.
After hiking the 2.4-mile circular trail, the women found the spot easily and took turns posing for their own photos.
A Mystery
Bitten Escapes
Happy with their photographs, the women returned home. A month passed, and they had all but forgotten their souvenir snaps.
Until a Reddit user made a bizarre observation. And the incident was about to put Dundas Peak firmly in the spotlight once more.
A Clue
Bitten Escapes
Kim couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Suddenly, the respective pictures of her friend, her friend’s cousin, and herself on Dundas Peak, posted side-by-side on social media, had racked up thousands of views, shares, and comments.
Everyone had noticed a crucial detail in the background. And when she saw it, it made her blood turn to ice. She turned to Reddit with her unsettling story, hoping for some answers. And they weren’t the ones she had been hoping for.
A Viral Post
Facebook/Dundas Peak
“So a little backstory. Around a month ago, my friend and I went hiking at Dundas Peak in Hamilton, Ontario…” She wrote.
“She suggested this location because her cousin went there a few days before us and posted an Instagram of him sitting on the edge of a cliff looking over Hamilton and the Niagara Escarpment. When we got there, we took turns recreating the photo.”
Something Else There
Reddit/SlicedUpBeef
“Today, she messaged me when she noticed something obscure in the background in her cousin’s photograph…” She continued.
“Way below the edge of the trail, where the slope is too steep to stand on, there appears to be a thin person standing unnaturally straight with no visible face.” That there was another person in the photo wasn’t unusual on its own, but the most unsettling detail was still to come.
A Brave Hiker?
SlicedUpBeef / Reddit
“I know you’re probably thinking that is probably just a brave hiker,” she continued, “…but trust me, that spot is completely inaccessible. Maybe it isn’t a person? But I’m not sure what else it can be.”
“I was hoping those who have also been to Dundas Peak and have taken a similar picture could share it. Hopefully we can figure out what… we’re looking at.”
An Anomaly?
Facebook/Dundas Peak
The most intriguing detail is that the figure does not appear on any of the other photographs taken at Dundas Peak. If the ghostly figure was an anomaly of some kind or a trick of the light, why didn’t it appear in the other 10,000 photographs taken in the same spot?
Soon, the comments were flooding in.
Was It Supernatural?
Bitten Escapes
Many people were quick to suggest that there were numerous people who had gone missing in and around Dundas Peak. They argued that it was entirely possible that the ghostly figure was the spirit of a hapless hiker.
Although the minority of people found the photograph disturbing, there were many others who argued that there must be a logical explanation. But what could have caused such an anomaly?
A Trick Of The Light?
Facebook/Dundas Peak
One user insisted that the “figure” was an illusion caused by the shadows playing on the rockface. Another suggested that melting ice was to blame.
Then, someone came up with the most likely explanation: “Sorry to burst all your bubbles, but there’s a trail that leads up to that area and goes around the escarpment just under the rocks. That is, most likely, a person hiking around.”
A Simple Explanation?
Bitten Escapes
In fact, a Reddit user by the name “tharchitect42” went as far as to claim that they themselves had caused the confusion. The poster claimed that they often went hiking at Dundas Peak. And, furthermore, they had been hiking on the same day that the creepy photograph had been taken. But that wasn’t all…
They also recalled wearing dark jeans and a gray top – an outfit whose appearance would match that of the mystery figure. Mystery solved?