A purported encounter with a ghost has racked up half a million views since it was posted on Jan. 8. And for good reason: The clip, which supposedly shows a sighting of the "Blackburn Ghost" in Blackburn, England, is extremely chilling, even though it's safe to assume that it's bogus.

The footage is filmed from inside a car at night, on what looks to be a dark country road. A figure in white -- with a cane and long dark hair -- appears in the distance and quickly shuffles towards the car. The driver flips between headlights and high beams to get a better look (or to give viewers a better look, more likely) at the "creature," and once it waddles within a few yards, the people in the car decide it's time to GTFO, just unleashing a string of panicked whimpers.

(The Daily Record reports that the man is shouting, "Move the car backwards! Faster!" in Arabic, and that's exactly what we'd expect someone to yell in that scenario.)

Near the end, the "ghost" lets out a shriek as it rushes towards the car, then the video cuts off.

Viewers have been speculating about the origins of the video and trying to debunk it, if only to help comfort us all, so we may sleep soundly after watching it. One redditor claims it's part of a student film, while other viewers say the video has been posted online before, with a claim to be from a different location. Plus, the framing in that final shot is just a little too cinematic and symmetrical, right?

Either way, we won't be watching this again at night.