Disturbing Cat in the Hat trend explained after B.C. girl chased home and arrests made in U.S.

RCMP in West Kelowna, B.C., are investigating after a teenage girl was chased by a suspect dressed in a Cat in the Hat costume last month.

The incident occurred at around 9 p.m. on Aug. 24 and, although the girl was able to reach her residence safely, police are seeking to identify the person in the costume.

It comes as a disturbing trend emerges on social media, involving sinister depictions of the children’s book character making threats to individuals and communities in Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.

The posts have prompted police departments and schools to issue warnings about engaging in the trend, which has also resulted in a number of arrests.

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The trend involves online videos depicting a sinister version of the Dr. Seuss character, the Cat in the Hat, outside schools, homes, or on streets at night. Much of the footage is made with AI, but some videos include real people dressed up as the character, and they often include threatening messages.

On TikTok, a quick search for “Cat in the Hat” returns hundreds of videos, some of which have garnered millions of views, of people dressed as the character wandering streets at night.

Other videos from anonymous accounts show the Cat in the Hat dancing next to a list of names of people it is “coming for,” while some users have posted content or comments sharing unverified claims that the Cat in the Hat has been involved in violent assaults and even murder.

The trend bears resemblance to similarly frightening online conspiracies from recent years, including the “Momo” hoax, which claimed children were being encouraged to harm themselves through viral videos, and widespread claims of knife-wielding clowns terrorizing small towns in 2016.