Once again, garbage "satire" jerks Empire News have freaked out undiscerning Internet users, this time with an article titled "Body Found Under Motel Bed, Police Say It Has Been There At Least 5 Years."

According to the report, Mount Laurel, NJ police discovered "the body of a young woman under a motel bed" where it laid, undisturbed, "for about 5 years." "I noticed a smell several times, and told my manager," a motel employee reportedly told Empire News. "He told me to just use extra Febreeze in the room and it would go away eventually."

Published less than a week ago, the post has already been shared by over 400,000 people, spooking many something wicked.

Of course, contrary to the claims of random Twitter users, the story is not true. Speaking to Gawker, Mount Laurel Police spokesperson Lt. Stephen Riedener described the article as "absolutely false." Riedener further noted that the report doesn't even correctly name his department's police chief, identifying him as "Joe Goldsmith" instead of Dennis Cribben.

Unfortunately for budget-minded but corpse-averse travelers, while this particular story is false, many like it are true. As lovingly chronicled by Snopes, odorous dead bodies have a long and storied history of being found under hotel beds. In 2010, one Memphis woman's remains were found under such circumstances an alarming 47 days after her initial disappearance.

[Image via Miramax Films]