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Haunting Google Maps discovery not what it seems at first

Google Maps has captured a range of weird and wonderful images since its launch in 2005 in a bid to build a photographic database of the world.

And one recent discovery on the site has been dubbed the one of the most haunting, appearing to show hundreds of people standing motionless in a field and staring blankly into the distance.

The creepy figures stand motionless in a Finnish field. Source: Google Maps
The creepy figures stand motionless in a Finnish field. Source: Google Maps

But on closer inspection, the mysterious mob are in fact an army of scarecrows.

The eerie shot comes from the Suomussalmi region in Finland and its nightmare-inducing nature has spooked internet users.

The hundreds of figures are in fact scarecrows and part of an art installation. Source: Instagram/larshi1
The hundreds of figures are in fact scarecrows and part of an art installation. Source: Instagram/larshi1

They are part of an art installation named The Silent People and have attracted visitors from around the world.

According to TripAdvisor: "The crowd of almost a thousand figures that make up the Silent People suddenly emerges before the passing motorist like some great stroke of magic.

"In the morning with light behind them, this motionless army appears morose, even menacing."

Artist Reijo Kela is responsible for the installation that includes nearly 1,000 scarecrows, and has been a feature of the landscape since 1994.