Claim: A flying horse was captured on video above Jeddah.
Example: [Collected via email, December 2014]
I have just been shown this weird video about a flying "black horse." Supposedly this video was shot in Saudi Arabia during a thunderstorm.
Origins: A video purportedly showing a flying horse over Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, started circulating on the Internet in November 2014:
The video was shot on a stormy night, making it difficult to get a good glimpse of this elevating equine. These circumstances led to confusion over whether the creature in the video was
Most depictions of Al-Buraq, Pegasus, and other hovering horses involve large feathered wings. The flying horse in the video, however, appears to be wingless:
With Al-Buraq and Pegasus ruled out on account of the figure's lack of wings, one must search for the answer back on Earth. According to Live Science, modern horses, donkeys and zebras all evolved from a common ancestor about
So if the video doesn't show Al-Buraq, Pegasus, or a common horse, what was flying over Jeddah, Saudi Arabia?
Upon closer inspection, the horse-shaped figure appears to rotate through the air but doesn't actually move. Its head, neck, legs and tail are all completely motionless throughout what would have been a terrifying ordeal for a real horse. More so, the horse suddenly disappears at the end of the video. These are characteristics that relate more to an inanimate object, such as a balloon, than a living horse:
Last updated: 4 December 2014