Sometimes yard work can get away from even the most dedicated suburban warriors. For one Longview, Texas man, the yard waste got away from him, seemingly, quite literally.
In a viral TikTok with over 9.8 million views, Dakota Filkins (@kotakyle1893) is trying to figure out a mystery. In the airspace above his house, there’s a hovering object.
“For the love of God, I need help,” says the TikTok creator.
Time To Call A Branch Manager?
Filkins explains that he just got home, looked up, and there, in the sky above his home, a small tree branch appeared to be floating in thin air.
“I’ve been all over Google, and I can’t figure out, for the life of me, what’s going on,” he says.
Then the camera cuts away to show a tree limb, seemingly suspended in midair, with no visible means of support. He zooms in and out on the branch, walks towards it, and the point of view does seem to visibly change.
It’s giving disorienting realness.
Botanists, UFOs, & Fairy Experts Show Up
The mystery has grown larger than TikTok. A verified X (Twitter) account, DocumentingLibs (@HistorianUSA1), speculates that “it’s either a spider web or an optical illusion stemming from angle and the fact that [Filkins] says it just rained.”
Meanwhile, back on TikTok, @gloriaramirez497 has a question involving size: “Ppl saying it’s spider webs…..how big is the spider? [sobbing emoji].”
Multiple other users suggest that the floating limb is a “fae trap.”
A botanist weighs in with a scientifically-informed perspective. “Botanist here! It’s not supposed to do that. Hope this helps!” says Ashley (@perfectlypastyy).
Finally, @mindfulmonster comes in with a major explainer: “You are not going to believe a single word of this, but that branch is currently propped up by a cloaked UFO. The funniest part of the whole situation is that whatever entity is inside has absolutely no clue and it is burning through energy to maintain its stealth field while leaving a massive glitch in our 3D matrix.”
What Is A Fae Trap?
According to folklore, a fae trap is an elaborate setup that fairies use to lure unsuspecting humans into their secret world. It’s like magical clickbait. And like that scourge of the internet, it’s often something appealing to humanity’s intrinsically curious nature. At best, these traps can bring bad luck. At worst: a spur-of-the-moment trip to Elfalme, where (according to Scottish legend) fairies live.
Whether or not Filkins is aware of this tradition, he seems to get into the spirit of it. He posted four more videos addressing the phenomenon. In one of them, he’s recruited his father, to whom he bears a striking resemblance.
“Well, I touched it,” says a man who looks like Filkins, except older. Implying that with a mere touch, he aged decades.
Then the camera cuts to Filkins himself. He explains that he was going to post an update on the situation. Instead, he plans to try shining a light on the area at night, to see if any spiderwebs or threads shimmer under the light. As he pans the camera over his shoulder, what once was a branch now seems more like a sphere.
It seems much further away than the branch did.
Commenter @kellyryanricher67 thinks he’s got an “actual portal to hell” in his backyard and @cassieholt54 hopes it is a “portal to the correct timeline.”
Floating In TikTok
In reality, it’s likely not a portal, trap, or imperfectly cloaked UFO. A “How To” video on YouTube offers a quick tutorial on making something (or someone) appear to float in the app. In one minute and 11 seconds, the account Girl With A Cellphone explains that the “freeze frame effect” can be used to make things seem to hover in the air.
Using the effect is essentially in-app editing, not much more complicated than adding a filter to a still image. It just takes a little more planning and attention to detail.
Even though there seems to be a reasonable, scientific explanation for Filkins’ floating mystery branch, it might be more fun to imagine that he’s got some sort of evidence of the unseen world hovering over his folding chair and dog. And if on the off-chance it is a portal, well, have a snack handy.
BroBible reached out to Filkins via TikTok direct message and with a comment on the video.
