2019, June 2: Dobby?

On June 6, 2019, Facebook user Vivian Gomez posted up some footage that one of her outdoor cameras had captured on the night of June 2... and it soon went viral for a very odd reason. Have a look:

Vivian Gomez' video. [source]

       Comments on the posts quickly identified the strange figure in the video as "Dobby," a fictional character in the Harry Potter movie series. In the movies, Dobby is a short and skinny 'house-elf' with large ears; and the resemblance to the figure in Gomez' video is quite clear: 

Dobby from 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' (2002). [Picture source]

        In the text of the original post, Gomez explained that she found the footage when she woke up on Sunday morning, and noted that two other cameras she has did not pick up the figure for some reason. She then asked if anyone else had seen something like it on their cameras. In later comments on the post, Gomez added that since this creeped her out she "keeps the lights on now;" and that her parents were freaked out by it as well.

        Several commenters pointed out the shadow of the door at the start of the video, and more than one commented that it looked liked 'Dobby' was coming out the door... to which Gomez pointedly responded "It sounds like it was AT my front door". One commenter, who apparently knew Gomez personally, commented "Viv, I think it's Bobby!," apparently a reference to Gomez' young son. Gomez didn't directly refute the comment, but still tried to keep the whole event sounding unexplainable and creepy. Her main defense was: "How can I fake that? I'm not that tech savvy unfortunately."

        Of course, Gomez had four days between filming the scene and posting it to Facebook; and no one has to be 'tech savvy' to post a video that needs no editing. The simplest answer is that the figure was in fact her son, with something like underwear on his head... which would explain why, at the end of the video clip, part of the 'ears' on the right side drop down to a different position. If so, then the clip was likely trimmed to take out an end part that would reveal this to be true, which is hardly difficult if you've already managed to take a clip from a security camera to post to Facebook begin with.

        Or, if you prefer, Dobby managed to survive being knifed and buried in the Harry Potter movies; and I have a few nieces and nephews who would prefer, just saying.