This creepy optical illusion feels like a nightmare

I'll start with a warning. If you're easily spooked then this optical illusion might not be for you. It genuinely feels like a nightmare. Got it? Okay let's dive in. An optical illusion has been shared on Reddit that consists of a selection of people's faces on a plain white background, with a red dot in the middle of the screen. So far, so bland.

But if you stare at the red dot for long enough, something unsettling starts to happen to the people's faces. Just like in your darkest dreams, the faces start to turn into warped, monster-like apparitions in your peripheral vision. And it isn't pretty. It's one of the creepiest optical illusions I've seen, and definitely worth a go. Try below and then we'll dive into why it works.

Not sure why it works from r/opticalillusions

Did it work for you?

There are hundreds of people in the Reddit comments for which the illusion turned the perfectly normal looking people into 'monsters'.

And one Redditor even explains another way of approaching the illusion:

"Actually if you try pausing the video and keep staring at the red dot the faces stay distorted. Some even become distorted again after looking at the two faces and looking back at the red dot without playing the video further," they say.

And to take it even further: "If you play the video and hide one of the faces with your fingers while looking at the red dot the distortion still happens so I don't even think two faces are needed," says one comment.

If it didn't work for you, try the following tips from a helpful Redditor:

"Here are a few things to help aid the illusion:

1. View this as wide as possible. Ose a computer monitor, or hold your phone close. You want the faces in your peripheral vision.

2. Really stare at the dot. Do not glance around the image, as it dispells the illusion. It will take about 15-20 seconds, until the effect kicks in.

3. Try adjusting the brightness of your screen, or whether your room is lit, or not. As it flashes from one face and the next, the motion sensing part of your brain interprets the differences, pushing the mental image into skewed dimensions."

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You can see the same effect above, but with celebrities, making it almost easier to see the effect as you know what their faces should look like.

But why does it happen?

According to the National Library of Medicine, this is known as the Flashed Face Distortion Effect. It happens because of how the brain makes up missing features of an image in its peripheral vision, and it isn't only specific to faces. After thorough investigation including two experiments, a group of scientists found that:

"Flashed Face Distortion effect is a non-face-specific visual illusion that depends primarily on the increased perceived blur associated with peripheral vision, and also requires sufficient presentation time per image for some amount of rapid mid-level adaptation to face appearance to take place."

For more creepiness, see this unnecessarily terrifying optical illusion that gave me the shivers.