Yesterday, this traumatic GIF of Emma Watson taking her face off to become a grinning, maniacal Sofia Vergara went viral on popular image sharing site Imgur. After determining that the clip did not come from a deleted Polyjuice Potion scene from the Harry Potter movies, the internet set to work trying to discover the origins of the disturbing, hypnotic clip.
Turns out, its origins are in Seattle.
A video-editing whizz created the clip by making a composite of interview footage with the two celebrities, and layering them over a clip of local fetish artist Kerry Johnson, who is considered “the unofficial matriarch of the female masking scene.” Female masking, a secretive underground fetish culture documented in this Atlantic feature story, consists of men who derive sexual pleasure from disguising themselves as women by wearing elaborate, torso length silicone masks.
Johnson, whose demo video below of his “Susan” mask serves as the source material for the viral gif, makes and sells the masks out of his Seattle apartment.
Compare the video above at 4:14 (beware the fake nipples, in case you are at work) to the video below.
I apologize for any nightmares I may have just caused you.