Driving alone can come with many surprises—sometimes, of the supernatural variety.
Whether you think you saw a ghost or swear you spotted a cryptid, spending a lot of time in your car—especially at night—can lead to some strange occurrences.
Occasionally, these incidents manage to be captured either via audio or film. For example, the story of one North Carolina man recently went viral after the audio of his 911 call spread around the internet.
Now, a user on TikTok says they have a similar story. What attacked this man’s car?
What Happened During This Man’s Trip Through Appalachia?
In a video with over 1.8 million views, TikTok user Mark Roberts (@mmarkroberts) recounts a recent experience he says he had driving through the Appalachian Mountains.
According to Roberts, he was planning for a road trip through the Appalachian Mountains, which he notes have “very spooky lore” around them, when he decided to wash his car. Finishing the car wash with a “sparkly clean” vehicle, he set off on the trip.
It was only when he actually reached the Appalachian Mountains that things got weird.
“I’m just speeding along this road in rural Appalachia, pitch black outside, forest on either side of me, when out of nowhere I hear this giant thud on the roof of my car,” Roberts states.
“At first, I thought it was a branch that hit my car—it was pretty loud—so I was like, ‘Oh, I should probably pull over and see if my car was damaged,’” he continues. “But something in me told me not to slow down or stop. Like, my Spidey senses were tingling, and I’m so happy I did not stop.”
What Happened Next?
Roberts says that he continued driving, telling himself that he would investigate the situation at the next gas station or rest stop.
However, when he happened to look through his sunroof, he was met with a terrifying surprise.
“I kid you not, I see a face in my sunroof,” he shares. “I freak out, swerve a little bit. And when I look back up, the face isn’t there. So I kinda doubt myself, thinking maybe I didn’t see a face, because it didn’t look completely human. Maybe it was just the trees or something.”
While this could have been easy to ignore, what happened next astounded Roberts.
“When I finally stopped to get gas, I got out of my car and saw that my back windshield was chipped and there were handprints all over the roof of my car,” he states. “As I said before, I got my car washed before this, and there were no handprints on it, and I was with my car the entire time, so I have no idea how these got there.”
Why Is Appalachia So Scary?
As noted by National Geographic, the Appalachian Mountains are the genesis of many spooky stories.
There are a few reasons for this. First, the mountains themselves, and the flora and fauna that cover them, are incredibly old. This means that many driving through the mountains are likely seeing unfamiliar creatures and plants, leading to misunderstandings.
Second, humans’ long history in the mountains means plenty of stories have developed around them. Sometimes, these stories are based on genuine experiences. Other times, they’re tales designed to warn people about the potential dangers of the mountain.
Is This Story True?
As far as Roberts’ story specifically is concerned, he provides no evidence that this occurred, such as photos or videos.
Additionally, Roberts has a tendency to post fantastical content around the time that similar stories are going viral. For example, when one TikToker was virally criticized for claiming to have “polyphonic perception,” Roberts posted a video in which he claimed that a ‘friend’ also engaged in behavior similar to the viral video.
Given that a video about an unknown, potentially not human creature attack recently went viral, this could be an instance of Roberts simply attempting to make a viral video continuing this topic.
That said, many unexplained things happen every day, and it’s possible that Roberts simply experienced something bizarre.
@mmarkroberts appalachian mountain people will tell you all the lore and it is quite interesting just to actually experience it is a whole other thing LOL. i watched this video called appalachian mountains explained by natives and it gave me the heebie jeebies cause it went into the feral people of appalachia footage and also talked about what the appalachian mountains silent phenomena mean which I don’t know whether or not to trust any of it but just wild #appalachia
Commenters Are Shook
In the comments section, users shared in Roberts’ alleged terror, with many recounting their own experiences.
“I live IN the mountains bro,” said a user. “I hear screams at night.”
“1st mistake: Driving through the Appalachian mountains. 2nd mistake: DRIVING THROUGH THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS AT NIGHT!” exclaimed another.
“I grew up in rural NE Montana. There’s a tree line around the side and back of the house. In 2002, I saw a deer (which I see daily) seemingly teleport and then emerge as…not a deer…before looking right at me and vanishing,” alleged a third.
BroBible reached out to Roberts via email.