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Part of a series on The Cat in the Hat. [View Related Entries]

Cat In the Hat Serial Killer Trend

Part of a series on The Cat in the Hat. [View Related Entries]

Updated Aug 31, 2026 at 04:09PM EDT by Zach.

Added Aug 31, 2026 at 01:27PM EDT by Phillip Hamilton.

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About

Cat In the Hat Serial Killer Trend, also known simply as the Cat In the Hat Trend, refers to an AI hoax and series of memes about a serial killer, said to be in Ireland and the U.K., who stalked the streets at night in an outfit resembling Mike Myers as the Cat In the Hat from the 2003 live-action The Cat In the Hat film.

The trend was popularized on social media in August 2026 following both a series of dark Cat In the Hat memes that reinterpret scenes from The Cat In the Hat through a dark and horror-inspired lens, and an auction for the original Cat suit worn by Myers. Claims about the killer were confirmed to be a hoax by the police in Ireland as further claims about the killer spread online and in the U.S. The hoax is comparable to the 2016 creepy clown sightings.

Origin

On August 18th, 2026, images taken from Snapchat that purportedly show someone in the Wexford area of Ireland dressed as the Cat In the Hat and stalking the streets at night began to go viral on social media. It is unclear who first shared them.

One of the earliest posts about the images was posted to the Arklow & Gorey Open Forum Facebook^[1] page on that day, with the user writing, "Has anyone seen online on Snapchat a cat in the hat apparently lurking outside peoples windows and driveways in Wexford area just want to know if it’s real because it has scared the life out of my kids."

That day, Redditor FineRecommendation86 posted images of the Snapchats to the /r/cork^[2] subreddit, gaining over 60 upvotes in two weeks. The Snapchats warn residents of the area to keep an eye out for the man. Purportedly, similar posts about Cat In the Hat sightings continued to spread.

Images taken from Snapchat claiming that someone is stalking Ireland dressed as the Cat In the Hat.

Later on August 18th, TikToker^[3] @bainne_maru posted a video about the images, asking what's going on, garnering over 552,000 views in two weeks.

On August 20th, 2026, Gardaí, the national police and security service of the Republic of Ireland, confirmed that the images going around are an AI-generated hoax and that there is not actually a man wandering the streets dressed as the Cat In the Hat. This was reported by Mirror^[4] that day.

The hoax is an extension of the "Dark Cat In the Hat Memes" that went viral throughout July 2026, primarily on TikTok.

@bainne_maru The cat in the hat #irishcreators #fyp #irishhumour #irishcomedy #ireland ♬ original sound – Degenerate

Spread

The hoax, and news that the images were a hoax, spread online throughout late August 2026. While many claimed the sightings were happening in Ireland, others claimed they saw the Cat In the Hat killer in the U.K. Additional rumors and media coverage then sprang up in the U.S.^[9]

On August 22nd, 2026, TikToker^[5] @liannearie84 posted an AI-generated video of someone dressed as the Cat approaching a Ring doorbell camera and holding up a piece of paper with their name on it, garnering over 800,000 views in a week.

@liannemarie84 our camera captured this last night. what does it want with my daughter??? #fyp #catinthehat #scary #viral #shouldwebeworried ♬ original sound – Mummy & Paigey

On August 23rd, 2026, the Instagram^[6] page onlinesheffield posted an AI-generated image of a man in a Cat costume perching on a car, writing, "Videos claiming a knife-wielding 'Cat in the Hat' has been stalking people around the Meadowhall area have been widely shared across social media," garnering over 2,300 likes in a week.

On August 24th, TikToker^[7] @christopherkiely posted a video about the hoax, likening it to the clown sightings in 2016, garnering over 3.8 million views in a week.

@christopherkiely There Is A Cat In The Hat Serial Killer 👀😱 #fyp #foryou #thecatinthehat #horror #horrortok ♬ original sound – Christopher Kiely

On August 27th, 2026, Instagram^[8] influencer Natalie Reynolds posted a video playing into the hoax, where she films someone dressed as the Cat In the Hat stalking her car, garnering over 87,000 views in four days.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Natalie Reynolds (@realnatalierey)

Various Examples

@isecrets4 No because staff the fuck is going on bro I am not dealing with seeing this at 11pm fork a random number #tryingtogoviral #fypシ゚viral__ #catinthehatscary #wtf #catinthehat ♬ original sound – •

@chudmike they needa make him a horror game @CatInTheHat PNW #seattle #pnw #thisisallajoke ♬ original sound – chudmike

@thetelegraph Viral videos showing a “serial killer” dressed as Dr Seuss’s Cat in the Hat are not real, police have said. Clips of the figure loitering outside homes at night have amassed millions of views on TikTok and Instagram in recent days. The AI-generated footage has prompted rumours that a serial killer dressed as the children’s book character was on the loose. However, a police force has dismissed the speculation and reminded the public not to “believe everything you read on social media”. Tap the linked article for the full scoop 🔗 #catinthehat #hoax ♬ original sound – The Telegraph

@tinieramanujam8880 There Is A Cat In The Hat Serial Killer 👀😱 #fyp #foryou #thecatinthehat #horror #horrortok ♬ original sound – tinieramanujam8880

Dark Cat In the Hat Memes

Dark Cat In the Hat Memes or Cat In the Hat Trend, refers to memes in which scenes from the 2003 live-action_ The Cat In the Hat_ movie are reinterpreted as disturbing or horrific and attached to dark captions about something terrible happening to someone, the Cat in the Hat (played by actor Mike Myers) sometimes representing that person, and other times being painted as a monster. In some memes, the scene is edited to look like a horror movie or the last known footage of a person, similar to analog horror.