The driver in this strange dashboard camera footage says it all: “Whaaaaaaaa?!”

On 6 June, a video was posted on YouTube labeled “Ghost Encounter while Driving on the Highway!” While the encounter may not be of the supernatural kind, it certainly is highly unusual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbto-YWcNWI

In the video we are in the front seat of a car traveling down the highway at high speeds. Another car pulls up alongside our car, but just as it does a lone figure suddenly appears right between both vehicles.

It doesn’t look as if the person was hit, which along with the general blurriness of the video prompted some to assume it was a ghost. Others were compelled to agree, or at least went along with it so they could make some jokes.

“He’s transparent. There are no head, lower body, or shadows.”
“Whether it’s a ghost or a real guy, it’s scary either way.”
“It’s a ghost coming back from the convenience store.”
“Why does a ghost have a plastic bag?”
“A g-g-g-ghost…who’s been sh-sh-sh-shopping!”
“We can’t rule out that this might be a Terminator.”

The fact that the figure on the road is clearly holding a plastic bag certainly does cast a shadow of doubt on it being a specter. I try to keep an open mind about things, but for some reason a ghost with a plastic shopping bag is just too hard to accept – one of those fancy brand name paper bags perhaps, but that is a discussion for another day.

The time stamp in the corner is also suspicious, showing us that the incident actually happened in August of 2017. Sure enough here is the original video from that time, presumably posted by the driver himself and titled, “Pedestrian on the Highway,” with no mention of a ghost.

Interestingly, the original video, which has been up on YouTube for nearly a year, has only gotten about 51,000 views to date, whereas the “ghost” video racked up about 260,000 views in a couple days. Let this be a lesson for all you aspiring YouTube posters – ghosts sell!

Anyway, there’s still the mystery of who this person is and why they are out in the middle of the freeway at midnight. The most common guess is an elderly person suffering from dementia, but others have suggested some daredevil kid or a lost drunk.

The good news is that it doesn’t appear the person was hit on that night. Thanks to the original poster we know it was in Nagoya and we know exactly when it happened, but there don’t appear to be any corresponding reports of anyone wandering the highways or getting killed in such a way during that time.

Of course, there’s a chance it happened but never made the news, but the very next day, on 15 August, there were several reports on an increase of cats wandering onto the highways of Nagoya and getting struck by cars. Surely a person getting hit would be newsworthy as well…I think.

Sign: “Watch out for cats, two kilometers ahead”

So, it seems likely this person managed to get out of there safely. Actually, in light of that other news, it might not be far-fetched to guess that this person might have been a cat-lover out there trying to catch one of the felines on the highway. Perhaps the plastic bag was full of food to attract them?

Anything’s possible, but if you’re digging the idea that this might be a ghost, one interesting point is that this happened right in Japan’s Obon season. This is a time when it was traditionally believed spirits returned to the realm of the living.

Regardless of what is really going on in it, this video is still an excellent example of how fast objects on the road can come at you when traveling at high speed. Hopefully it reminds all those ghost hunters out there about the importance of being alert and keeping your eyes on the road.

Source: YouTube/Ryuryu, YouTube/nippon1900, Kinisoku
Images: YouTube/nippon1900