The "Creepy Katara" meme originated from three DeviantArt users mid-2008 but eventually grew to widespread popularity among the site's users. The image is taken from an episode of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender from the episode 'The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion'. It works along the same lines as the beloved Pedobear and the less popular but similarly freaky Weegee, appearing behind unsuspecting victims in webcam shots, often taking over their faces.

According to the meme's creators from a Creepy Katara FAQ from DA user =AnimantX, the artists were "searching for screenshots of Katara on ASN to get an idea of what her recent outfit looked like. We came across some images of Katara that looked rather humorous. I ended up sharing these screenshots with sractheninja, who proceeded to do some searching for more amusing screenshots. He then IMed me with a link to an image he thought looked weird. That image of Katara was quickly named "Creepy Katara," as neither of us could look at her for too long without getting creeped out. I shared said screenshot with alternatecoppa. Amused with the expression, he set about to create a certain comic of Creepy Katara (see below)"

"Thus marked the introduction of Creepy Katara to the public (07/15/08)"

=AnimantX created a number of PLZ accounts on DA that, when assembled, created a large picture of Creepy Katara to post in journals and comments – the accounts have since then been deleted, but the craze has spread through DeviantArt and into the larger Avatar fanbase:

Careful.. You're never safe from Creepy Katara.