The hype around aliens has reached a fever pitch now that the US has released dozens of previously classified files on alleged unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings — or unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), as the government now officially calls them.
But while the experts are busy analyzing radar pings, social media is looking at things a lot closer to home.
A video currently going viral on TikTok shows a bizarre creature sprinting on all fours and jumping onto picnic tables outside a woman’s house in the middle of the night.
The clip, taken from her security camera footage, also shows the woman parking her car and then freezing as soon as she spots the strange figure. The post quickly sparked a wave of theories and explanations online — some of which, unsurprisingly, involved alien life and folklore creatures.
A woman shared security cam footage showing a strange figure sprinting on all fours
Image credits: littlemissbella3
She said she froze when she saw the figure jumping onto a picnic table
Image credits: littlemissbella3
Why the unknown always attracts attention, regardless of the time period
It all started in 1947 when a pilot named Kenneth Arnold saw nine “saucer-like” objects zipping past Mount Rainier. It led to the coining of the term “flying saucer” and sparked a global craze. Decades later, the same mystery is very much alive. It’s just moved from grainy newspaper photos to high-definition TikTok feeds.
Even the government is opening the vault. Following a direct order from US President Donald Trump to provide “unprecedented transparency,” the Pentagon recently launched a public portal called PURSUE, releasing dozens of declassified videos and files. From infrared footage of metallic spheres to unexplained lights captured by military drones, the official data is catching up to the urban legends.
But, most importantly, they gave no conclusive evidence of alien technology or extraterrestrial (ET) life.
Even though there’s still no smoking gun, or an official handshake with an alien, the void of evidence hasn’t slowed down the internet’s obsession. If anything, it’s fueled a trend where we’ve become hardwired to fill in the blanks with the supernatural.
Whenever we see something that doesn’t fit our daily routine, like a weird light or a strange shadow, our brains often skip the logical explanations and jump straight to the idea of alien life.
Experts believe it’s our way of making sense of the bizarre — labeling something as extraterrestrial is a lot more exciting.
“Unfortunately, many events don’t have known causes. Rather than accept that we just don’t know what’s going on in these situations, people often adopt a God of the gaps approach. We reach for supernatural possibilities to explain things when we otherwise lack an empirically grounded understanding of them,” says Jeffrey S. Debies-Carl, associate professor of sociology at the University of New Haven.
Even cultural narratives — the stories we’ve seen in movies and on social media — create a framework that makes us point to ET the moment our logic hits a wall.
But then how can we explain this video if we don’t go the space visitor route?
There are plenty of theories that are much more grounded than the idea of unidentified anomalous phenomena.
A lot of people in the comments are convinced they’ve cracked the case: quadrobics. It’s actually a fitness trend where people mimic animal movements, film themselves, and share on social media. Think of it as parkour, but on all fours.
Athletes, often called quadrobists, spend hours mastering the art of trotting, galloping, and leaping just like a dog or a cat. It’s an insane workout for your core and arms.
Advocates of quadrobics say the movements help improve fitness, strength, and mobility, while also offering a spiritual element by helping people reconnect with nature and their primal selves.
In countries like Russia, entire subcultures of “quadrobers” have emerged, combining quadrobics with costume play. Participants are often seen crawling outdoors wearing animal masks.
This trend is often linked to the Therian community — people who identify as non-human animals on a spiritual or psychological level. Therians truly believe that, on the inside, they have the essence or soul of a creature like a wolf, fox, or cat.
To avoid judgment, a lot of people also practice their movements at night or in secluded spots.
Many in the community use masks or gear (even tails) to represent their theriotype. If you catch someone in a mask with a blinking headlamp (to see where they’re jumping in the dark), it’s easy to understand why a grainy security cam would flag them as an extraterrestrial.
While it’s totally harmless, the vibe is undeniably unsettling for an unsuspecting neighbor.
The reason the online reaction to this footage, and the woman’s real-life response, feels so instinctive is because it taps into the uncanny valley effect. It’s the skin-crawling feeling we get when we see something that looks almost human, but moves or behaves in a different way.
For example, when we see a person walking upright, our brain stays calm. But the moment a human shape drops to all fours and sprints with the fluid speed of a predator, our evolutionary fight-or-flight response kicks in.
Whether it was a quadrobics enthusiast or a prankster, the woman’s freakout is a testament to how our ancient survival instincts haven’t quite caught up to the strange realities of our modern world.
Ultimately, the identity of the garden crawler remains a mystery, leaving us to decide which lens we want to look through.
The video was shared from another angle, showing how the figure allegedly changed form
Image credits: marriedtoalunatic
Some people think that it could be an interdimensional being
People in the comments had a lot of different theories as to who or what the figure could be
