One early morning, I found something so bizarre and frightening in our yard that I almost fainted from fear. I genuinely thought I had found an alien… 

It happened when I went out just to water the plants. And then, right next to the flowerbed, my eyes landed on something… It was lying there almost hidden, as if trying to blend in with the grass. 

The object looked creepy: an elongated skull, a thin, stretched-out body, and weird long limbs. It was grayish-brown in color, with some kind of veiny patterns… I froze, unable to move. A wild thought flashed through my mind: an alien! Or a mutant? Or… maybe just a mushroom?  But when I found out what it actually was — I was in shock.  Continued in the first comment 

At first, I thought it might be some kind of rare mushroom. But no, the shape was far too humanoid. I even sent the photo to my friends — they were just as shocked. One of them simply wrote: “Run!” Funny guy.

I decided to look it up online. Someone suggested it might be a fruiting body of some rare species, but no one was sure.

Then one user commented:

“Put on gloves. Don’t touch it with bare hands.”

That gave me chills. I already imagined the government showing up, cordoning off the yard, and dragging me off for questioning.

But the truth turned out to be much more ordinary — and surprisingly interesting. A more experienced user identified it: it was ginseng.

Yes, the very same medicinal root that takes years to grow, is expensive, and is used in traditional medicine. Apparently, when wild ginseng matures, it can take on bizarre, almost human-like shapes.

I was shocked. And honestly, a little disappointed — no alien discovery. But then I thought: this might be even cooler. Finding wild ginseng in your own yard — now that’s rare.