An online video showing concerned citizens approaching an abandoned child who turned out to be a zombie has gone online. The Abandoned Child Prank, from Brazilian YouTube comedy Canal BOOM, has over 2.8 million views, but not everyone finds it funny.

The clip shows what seems to be a crying girl on a street. The girl’s head is hidden from view. As the concerned passersby approach the girl to ask her what’s wrong, the girl is revealed to have a zombie-like, demon face, then proceeds to chase the frightened people away.

But while it has been called hilarious by some viewers, it is also being criticised for apparently scaring off Good Samaritans.

The people who approached the girl only wanted to help her, trying to figure out if she’s lost or hurt. Instead of being lauded for their concern, they were frightened off and chased away.

“I don’t find this funny. People want to help others but end up getting scared. What if someone had a heart attack? What if the person punched that girl? What if people caused trauma because of this stupid prank?” YouTube commenter Tony Young wrote.

“This is sick beyond belief. This is gruesome and cruel to unsuspecting people, who only want to help. So the total sicko that made up this rotten prank should be under psychiatric help and not be let loose on the streets anywhere,” another user Bellicose Aries added.

Another user named zertex hope expressed a concern that has been echoed by many other users, writing, “this people just dont know the consequences!!! what if a guy you scare have a gun? then shoot that girl and got killed? whos to blame the man that shoots the girl? i dont think so!!!!” (sic)

“And then people are so surprised as to ‘why’s humanity gotten so cold and unconcerned,’” PurpleScorpion187 wrote. “There’s the answer- where kind of doing it ourselves... Cuz I doubt after witnessing something like THAT I’d ever want to help out anyone again.”

There are viewers who aren’t convinced that the clip is real, though.

According to keen observers, people who are featured in the video only came from one direction, where the camera was pointed at. They also pointed out the unnatural position of lights on a dark street, which could have given passersby a hint that the whole thing was a set-up.

Watch the prank here:

The prank is similar to another practical joke shot by a Brazilian humour TV show in 2012, in which unsuspecting people suddenly see a ghost child with them in an elevator after a brief power outage.

Watch the elevator prank: