Scooby-Doo fans are freaking out as a conspiracy theory about a missing 6th member of the Mystery Inc. crew is going viral on social media. Some people are claiming they have a "visceral feeling" that there's a missing member and many others seem to agree, sparking numerous theories and memes about the phenomenon. So who is the missing sixth member? Here's what you need to know.

Why Do People Think There Is A Sixth Member Of The Scooby-Doo Gang?

The theories about a missing sixth member of Mystery Inc. stem from a February 2019 Tumblr post by technogodhead. The post, which garnered over 300,000 notes in five years, reads, "every time i look at the mystery gang i have this like visceral feeling that someone is missing. but nobody ever is. who are they. what happened to them," continuing, "something deep within my lizard brain is telling me theres a 6th member that has been […] banished from this timeline."

The post went viral over the next few years as a screenshot of it was reposted across Reddit, X (Twitter) and Instagram. Many commenters agreed with the theory, claiming they also felt that way about the Mystery Inc. crew. This led to a lot of theories about the phenomenon throughout the 2020s as users tried to figure out why it feels like there should be a sixth member.

Is There A Missing Sixth Member Of The Scooby-Doo Gang?

The viral post has inspired a lot of theories about why it feels like someone is missing from the Scooby-Doo crew over the past few years. One of the leading theories is that guest members of the crew, like Scrappy-Doo, make it feel like someone is missing. Others claim that it only feels that way when looking at images of the gang without the Mystery Machine, suggesting the van is the sixth character.

The leading theory, however, seems to be that Scooby-Doo himself is the cause of this phenomenon. Several users have theorized that because Scooby-Doo is a dog and not a human, he tricks the brain into believing that there is an "open slot" in the crew for another member that should be filled by another human.

Whatever the reason, the sixth member phenomenon is one that a lot of people relate to and even inspired a series of memes at the end of 2023 where people photoshopped characters from various fandoms into the crew, leading to some very funny results.

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For the full history of the missing sixth member of the Scooby-Doo gang, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.