Gastonia police investigate after images of cloaked figure go vi - FOX Carolina 21

The image is creepy enough, but the information being passed along with it are even worse. Photos of a cloaked figured reportedly leaving raw meat near a Gastonia playground went viral online and police say they looked into the case.

According to online posts, the mysterious pale figure "sparked fear among locals after it was reportedly caught on camera standing outside an apartment complex in Gastonia, North Carolina, dressed in a dark cloak."

UPDATE: Mystery solved? Story behind cloaked figure is not so creepy

Police spokesperson Donna Lahser told WBTV that investigators were called out to meet with the manager of the Hudson Woods Apartment complex last Monday about the photo.

The rumors with the photo said that the person donned a "floor-length, hooded attire. Their identity and gender are also unknown." The photo also claimed that the "figure had been dropping meat near a local playground."

MOBILE USERS: Click here to see the post

There is a playground near the wooded parts of the apartment complex, but Lahser says officers could not confirm that the photo actually came from that apartment complex.

"It could have come from anywhere," she said. "We don't know if this is some bogus prank someone is playing."

She says is someone does see a suspicious person in their neighborhood, they can call Gastonia Police at 704-866-3300.

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