Giant Snake Slithers Onto Hood of Man's Car in Video Viewed 19M Times

A video that showed a snake slithering onto the hood of one man's car has gone viral.

The video was posted to TikTok on January 29 by Heidi (@iamhe1di). So far, the video has amassed more than 19 million views and over 325,000 likes.

Heidi's video isn't the first snake video to go viral as of late. For example, a resurfaced video that showed a fisherman holding an anaconda gained more than 6 million views on Reddit last month. In the comments section of both the Reddit post and Heidi's post, some viewers expressed fear; however, the high view count of each video could suggest that people enjoy watching things that scare them.

On the topic of why people either love or hate horror, Harvard Business Review claimed that some people consume horror to "experience stimulation."

"Exposure to terrifying acts, or even the anticipation of those acts, can stimulate us—both mentally and physically—in opposing ways: negatively [in the form of fear or anxiety] or positively [in the form of excitement or joy]," Harvard Business Review explained.

"For instance, watching a horror video simultaneously activates both types of stimulation, with the most pleasure experienced at the most fearful moment," the publication continued, adding that fear releases adrenaline, which results in "surging energy."

Speaking to Health, clinical psychologist Marot Levin, Ph.D., said that horror films—or in this case, scary videos—allow viewers to feel an adrenaline rush without experiencing real danger.

"You're seeing scary things in a controlled environment, and I think that that's something that we all crave," she said.

Psychologist Jeffrey Gardere, Ph.D., added: "You feel like, 'I dealt with something that was outside of my comfort zone, and I conquered it.'"

In Heidi's viral video, a giant snake—believed to be some kind of constrictor—can be seen slithering toward a man's Range Rover. When the snake reaches the hood, however, the man puts the car in reverse, and the snake falls to the ground. But the interaction doesn't stop there.

Once the car has been moved a few feet from where it was originally parked, the snake again moves toward it.

Throughout the video, the man's car doors are wide open, and at one point, someone flees from the scene. Unfortunately, the video ends without showing any sort of resolution.

Newsweek reached out to Heidi for comment.

As previously mentioned, some viewers expressed fear in the video's contents.

"I would cry," wrote skye downs.

Others, however, criticized the man for leaving his car doors open.

"I'm not a genius, but shutting the doors and staying in the vehicle sounds like a logical thing to do?!" asked Ryan Seitz.

Heidi responded: "I think so it would be my idea."