The Super Mario Bros. franchise has had some creepy elements in the past, but it turns out that a specter hiding in Super Mario 3D Land was far more diligent than anyone realized, as it has been revealed that it tracks Mario throughout several levels in the game.

One of the most well-known Easter eggs in Super Mario 3D Land is the ghost at the end of World 4-4. The level is a ghost house and the final screen is in a garden with a fence and the flagpole that Mario needs to touch in order to complete the stage. If the player lingers on this final screen, then a ghostly apparition will appear behind the fence, open its mouth, then fade away.

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The ghost of World 4-4 might be infamous to Super Mario Bros. fans, but it turns out that it appears far more than anyone realized. A YouTuber named SwankyBox has revealed that the ghost actually appears in other ghost house stages throughout the game, including one instance where it's almost impossible to see without hacking, as it appears behind a window divider.

SwankyBox also managed to track down the texture for the ghost, in order to get a closer look at it and possibly work out its origins. It turns out that the sprite is similar to the figure from The Scream by Edvard Munch, though it also matches other humanoid ghosts that have appeared in Nintendo games, most notably the mysterious figures from the Shiverburn Galaxy stage in Super Mario Galaxy 2. 

Nintendo is known for its family-friendly image and Mario is the most iconic video game character of all time, but the company has still managed to sneak in the occasional spooky moment in their games. These scary elements range from intentional jump scares in games like Luigi's Mansion 3, to unintentional designs that scar young gamers for life, such as the Maw-Ray eel in Super Mario 64. The ghost house stages in the Super Mario Bros. are filled with cartoonish spirits that are meant to evoke the kinds of creatures that appear on Halloween decorations, but Nintendo has still managed to include a few real frights for the people diligent enough to look for them.

Source: SwankyBox/YouTube

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