'Horse Boy' reappears on Google Street View in Aberdeen

The Horse Boy's second Street View appearance, on Hazledene Road in Aberdeen. Photo: GOOGLE

By Tom Chivers
Published: 3:07PM BST 02 Jul 2010

The mysterious Google Street View 'Horse Boy' has reappeared on the streets of Aberdeen, after a short, unexplained disappearance.

The original Horse Boy, a man in a purple jumper and a rubber horse's head mask, was spotted on Google Street View on Hardgate in Aberdeen. He has appeared separately, now in a green jumper and with a human-headed schoolgirl companion, on Hazlemere Road in the same city.

The first, purple-jumpered image was taken down by Google for a while, but has now been restored. No explanation was given either for the disappearance or subsequent restoration.

While no-one knows who Horse Boy is or what the point of him is, there are theories. Some bloggers think he will turn out to have been part of a corporate publicity stunt. Others point out that buying a plastic horse mask is not beyond the wit of man. A commenter on the BBC website said: "Horse boy isn't a person, it's a cheap mask - for example I saw at least three people wearing similar heads at this year's Download Festival in Donington."

Nonetheless he has become an international phenomenon. Stefan Kleen from Germany said he met horse-boy at a festival: "He only spoke English so we didn't really talk a lot to him." He has also apparently been spotted in Norwich and Cardiff.

A YouTube user by the name of TheHumanHorse has posted a video claiming to be Horse Boy, saying: "I am Back! After I was spotted on Google Street View I thought I’d upload this video to show I am still around! Horse boy coming to a garden near you soon!"

However, commenters point out that he seems to have lost a lot of weight since his Street View appearances, suggesting that the search for the real Horse Boy may still be ongoing.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7868329/Horse-Boy-reappears-on-Google-Street-View-in-Aberdeen.html