Giant Gingerbread Man Terrifies Neighborhood: 'Like a Horror Movie'

A traditional symbol of Christmas went from cheerful to sinister for multiple Virginia residents last week after a stranger dressed as a gingerbread man was caught on camera approaching numerous residences, with one person describing the incident "like a horror movie."

The incident took place on Wednesday evening along North George Mason Drive in Virginia's Arlington County. According to a report from WUSA9 News, around 6 p.m. local time, residents began noticing the giant gingerbread man standing outside their front doors, not ringing any doorbells, but in some cases pushing on doors.

"My wife said, 'Hey listen, there's this guy, he didn't ring the doorbell he's just standing there and he's in this gingerbread man costume' and I'm like 'gingerbread man—what?'" one unnamed homeowner, who reported the incident to the local police, explained to the news station. "We noticed the door was trying to be pushed. We look at the camera I'm looking at this guy in a costume."

Several pieces of security footage, largely taken from doorbell cameras on homes in the neighborhood, were featured in WUSA9's report. In them, the stranger can be seen approaching the home, looking around, and then going to try and open the front door. The costume covered the individual's body completely, making identification difficult, aside from the fact that they seemed to be roughly the height of an adult male.

Another resident in the area told the news station that they had also seen the gingerbread man near their home around 6 p.m., explaining the shock she felt after discovering what was making her dogs bark.

"We have a big picture window that faces North George Mason," the resident said. "All of a sudden my dogs were going crazy barking out the window and I looked out, and there was a giant blow-up gingerbread man costume out on the sidewalk...We kind of locked eyes and the gingerbread man went on his way. So weird."

Newsweek reached out to the Arlington County Police Department via email for comment.

When contacted by WUSA9, the local police confirmed that they had received the reports about the strange individual, but said they had not been able to identify or speak with them. The department was able to determine, however, that a neighbor had approached the individual, who said they were looking for a friend's house.

"A community member filed an online report regarding suspicious circumstances," the department's statement read. "The report indicates that at approximately 6:00 p.m. on December 13, a man in a gingerbread costume tried to open the door of a residence in the 2600 block of N. George Mason Drive and, upon finding the door was locked, walked away. A witness approached the subject outside and he reportedly stated he was looking for a friend's house."

Despite the alleged claim that the individual was searching for a friend, many in the neighborhood remain unnerved by the situation.

"It is kind of like a horror movie," one resident told WUSA9. "In this costume this whole ordeal, what was the goal? Just to see if we're home? Or to enter the house?"