About

Hood Cryptids, also known as Withered YNs, refers to an image macro series of crudely photoshopped pictures of mostly Black men that make their "fit pics" look eery and otherworldly like a cryptid. The meme takes inspiration from creepypasta edits that exaggerate a person's features to give them an off-putting appearance. The trend started in Instagram's Hood Irony community in 2019, following images posted by user @digitalwockhardt. The meme grew popular again in December 2024, when TikTok users shared @digitalwockhardt's edits under the name "Withered YNs," "Five Nights at YNs," and "Hood Creatures." Many of the edits were shared in photo slideshows that paired them with images of kids and the catchphrase "Forgive Me Mother," referencing a change in a person's character and appearance caused by age. A series of Hood Cryptid videos were created by user Jeremiah Springfield during the same timeframe, resulting in the Eye of Rah meme that trended en masse in January 2025.

Origin

On July 25th, 2018, Instagram^[10] user @digitalwockhardt posted a photoshopped image of rapper Trippie Redd that resembled classic creepypasta images like Jeff the Killer. The post received over 1,000 likes in seven years (shown below).

Spread

In the following months and years, Instagram user @digitalwockhardt continued posting similar edits. For instance, on September 8th, 2018, the user shared an Instagram^[11] slideshow featuring multiple images, starting with an edited photo of rapper Duwap Kaine (shown below). The slideshow received over 3,900 likes in seven years.

On November 20th, Instagram^[9] user @digitalwockhardt shared an edit of rapper Blueface, gaining over 2,700 likes in seven years (shown below).

2024 Resurgence

On May 27th, 2024, X^[12] user @CatEnjoyer tweeted an image of a man with a blue hat holding cash and giving the middle finger, photoshopped to look like rocket taking off (shown below). The tweet received over 47,000 likes in eight months.

Later on May 27th, X^[13] user @blephin_ replied with a different edit, showing the same man in blue skinny jeans with one leg, receiving over 3,300 likes in eight months (shown below). In direct correspondence with Know Your Meme, X user @CatEnjoyer also created the one-leg edit which was shared in a private Discord server that both users were in.

Jeremiah Springfield

On June 14th, 2024, TIkToker^[14] Jeremiah Springfield (@frightenedsheep25937582) shared an edit with the abovementioned photos that received over 2.3 million plays and 356,900 likes in seven months (shown below).

In the following days, Jeremiah Springfield continued the one-leg schtick, like in one TikTok^[15] shared on June 23rd, which received over 1 million plays and 207,200 likes in seven months (shown below).

Jeremiah Springfield's videos continued to go viral heading into late 2024 and early 2025. Springfield also posted his videos to Instagram^[16] at @frightenedsheep25937582 where they received similar engagement.

Forgive Me Mother

On December 19th, 2024, TikToker^[1] @qtbrozy posted a slideshow that showed a photo of a young boy with the text "Mother when I grow up I want to be a police officer so I can catch bad guys," followed by a photo of an overweight man in a Nike ski mask. The post gathered over 11 million plays and 1.9 million likes in ten days.

The video was set to a remix of the song "Suicidal Thoughts" by Biggie Smalls.^[2]

Other TikTokers began sharing their own "Hood Cryptid" slideshows, as seen in a December 20th post by TikToker^[3] @2blunttz.in, who gathered over 2 million plays and 200,000 likes on a post sharing the same image of an overweight man in a ski mask.

Several TikTokers participated in the trend on December 22nd, 2024, including @mustard_expert^[4] who gathered over 10 million plays and 1 million likes in a week (shown below).

Also on December 22nd, TikToker^[5] @n0n3.th3rless gathered over 1 million plays and 200,000 likes on a Hood Cryptid slideshow. The altered image was originally posted by Instagram^[8] user @digitalwockhardt on November 27th, 2019.

TikTokers^[6][7] continued to share Forgive Me Mother slideshows using @digitalwockhardt's images heading into December 2024.

The slideshows inspired video creators to react to the term "Hood Cryptid" and "Withered YN," among others. For instance, on December 25th, TikToker^[17] @moslapp shared a video of herself laughing at the terms, gaining over 157,400 likes in 16 days (shown below).

Related Memes

Eye Of Rah

Eye of Rah, also known as Eye of Ra, refers to an image of a Black man with red hair photoshopped to have one eye like a cyclops, which became popularized across a series of Hood Lobotomy videos on TikTok and Instagram Reels. The man's real name is Rashad Bowens who posts on TikTok at @lilbotheme and on Instagram at @bothemess. He's known for his reaction stitches and iconic red dreads that sometimes stick straight upward. Instagram user and TikToker Jeremiah Springfield created the original edit that gave Bowens one eye, akin to the Hood Cryptids trend. Viewers dubbed the meme the "Eye of Rah," likely riffing on the precursor Curse of Ra. As it trended in early January 2025, Eye of Rah memes were often combined with other then-trending memes like Chopped Chin and I Bought a Property in Egypt, forming a series of brainrot and sludge content videos.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References