A woman has gone viral after sharing an optical illusion video that appears to show her behind the wheel of a flying car that is soaring through the clouds – prompting many to compare it to a scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
In the clip, Hannah Colby, 22, from San Diego, California, can be seen sitting in her Jeep, ‘driving’ through white clouds ‘on a highway in the sky’, with one of her hands hanging out the window.
Although it appears as if the car is among the clouds, it’s actually not – though both the vehicle and background is real, having been shot at the top of Mount Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii on February 20.
They believe she can fly! A woman has gone viral after posting an optical illusion video that appears to show her behind the wheel of a flying car
Up in the air: Hannah Colby, 22, from California, captured the viral clip while traveling in Hawaii
Stunned: Her video wowed TikTok users, who were quick to comment how similar the clip is to a scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in which characters drive a flying car
The optical illusion has left social media users stunned, racking up 7.1 million views on TikTok so far.
‘Why did I think the car was flying,’ wrote one person.
‘I was highly confused. Thought we were in Harry Potter or something,’ wrote someone else.
‘So this isn’t the flying car from Harry Potter, gotcha,’ added a third person.
Someone else wrote: ‘So it wasn’t just me when I thought of Harry Potter.’
Hannah had spent the day driving around the picturesque island of Maui, hiking and swimming with her two friends and coworkers, Dominique Aghassi and Jason Genesira, before the incredible footage was captured.
‘It definitely looks like the car is flying!’ the waitress told Jam Press.
‘I know that many people were disappointed by the end of the video to see that we were actually on a road and not flying after all.
Spot the difference! In the second Harry Potter movie, Harry and Ron Weasley drive a flying car back to their school, Hogwarts
Surprise! Hannah later revealed that she was actually driving along a high-altitude ‘highway in the sky’ in Mount Haleakala, Hawaii
Stunning: The road is at such high altitude, it rises above the cloud level
Fooled you: Hannah’s video racked up more than seven million views on TikTok, where users were quick to admit that they thought the car was flying
‘It was my first time in Maui and first time on Mount Haleakala. Jason is a Hawaiian native so he was able to guide us around the island and show us all of his favorite spots, including this mountain.
‘Mount Haleakala had been on the top of our list as something we wanted to see while we were there, however all the sunrise tickets to enter the park had been sold out.
‘On a last-minute decision, we decided to drive up there for the sunset and see if it could be as beautiful as the famous sunrises that take place at the top of the mountain.
‘It is filmed on the only road you can take up into the park.
‘The video captures exactly how we felt when we got up there. We were laughing and singing and fully living in the moment as it was really beautiful.
‘It is a crazy concept to look at the sky and imagine that you can actually be in a car up there.
Disappointed: ‘I know that many people were disappointed by the end of the video to see that we were actually on a road and not flying after all,’ Hannah said of her clip
Sightseeing: The road in Mount Haleakala is one of the area’s most popular spots for travelers
Stunned: Hannah admitted that she was shocked by how popular her video was on TikTok
‘The altitude was very high and it was slightly hard to catch your breath as well, as it was very cold once the sun started going down.’
Despite not having a TikTok account before the footage was made, Hannah was encouraged to make one by a friend, and has been blown away by the response her video has received.
She added: ‘I am shocked about how popular the video has gotten.
‘The video was originally taken just to be a Snapchat to send to some of my friends.
‘I wasn’t paying much attention to how cool it actually looked until I posted it on my story and got an overwhelming amount of replies from friends telling me how much they were enjoying the video.
‘I had no followers and no videos but I posted the video without much thought and added a few hashtags.
‘We then went to the beach where there was limited service and by the time we left later that day and I was able to check social media, the video had already reached over a million views.
‘I have spent a ton of time the past few years travelling and am so excited to have an audience to share some other really cool experiences I have had all over the world.’