Truly creepy horror stunt leaves viewers terrified

Something truly creepy has been happening during several live TV events in the past few days – and it’s scaring a lot of people.

An apparent viral marketing stunt for a new horror film has left some baseball viewers in the US terrified.

Viewers tuning into several baseball games over the past few days have been struck by the unnerving sight of prominently placed members of the crowd behaving very oddly.

In one viral clip, a woman in a bright yellow T-shirt can be seen front and centre in the crowd, staring directly into the camera with a creepy, unblinking smile.

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Uh, welcome to Oakland? pic.twitter.com/Zn6mu45t5P

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 24, 2022

It gets scarier pic.twitter.com/N82H7961cH

— Sam Zee (@SamZComedy) September 24, 2022

Here’s another angle, from a fellow crowd member sat just two seats across from the mysterious smiling woman:

I’m really trying to relax at this ball game, but I feel like I’m an extra in a horror movie. pic.twitter.com/uCGnrjXNXV

— Jayne (@Jayne) September 24, 2022

In other vision that went viral on social media, a man in a bright blue T-shirt can be seen with the same expression, never moving a muscle as the people around him react to the game.

He sits …

… he stands.

In another clip, the woman rises from her seat to reveal that her shirt says “SMILE” – the name of a very new horror film out this week.

The woman raised from her seat until she was asked to move by security.

As the trailer shows, characters in the psychological horror film are plagued by visions of people smiling menacingly:

A scene from the new movie Smile.

So, a pretty clever marketing stunt for a new movie – but also one that left many viewers utterly freaked out.

One person on social media dubbed the crowd members “sick as f**k,” while another called the woman in the yellow shirt – presumably a paid actress – a “literal demon”.

“This lady is freaking me out man. I can’t focus on the game,” tweeted one viewer.

“Stop showing her please. I plan to go to bed shortly after the game,” wrote another.

It proved controversial even among those who knew it was a stunt, with some declaring the attention-grabbing act “genius movie marketing” while some baseball fans complained that it was distracting from the game.

Smile is in cinemas this Thursday, September 29.

Originally published as Truly creepy horror stunt leaves viewers terrified