Cat in the Hat is not real, police say - after 'creepy AI-generated' videos go viral on TikTok

By PATRICK HARRINGTON, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 01:51, 24 August 2026 | Updated: 01:56, 24 August 2026 Police have been forced to reassure the public that a 'killer' Cat in the Hat prowling Britain's streets is in fact an AI hoax. Videos showing a figure dressed as the Dr Seuss character lurking in dark streets went viral on TikTok, and spread enough fear that it was reported to the authorities. Some youngsters in the UK and Ireland became convinced there was someone out there intent on causing harm, reminiscent of the killer clown trend of 2016 - when false rumours of a wave of organised violence swept across the internet. But after investigating, police were satisfied that the videos were AI-generated, and there was no real threat for the public to fear. The videos have been shared by a host of accounts, many only created within the past few weeks.  One clip showing someone dressed in the original Cat in the Hat costume, captioned 'Help, what do I do?', was watched 15 million times in just three weeks. Others made out that the 'killer' cat was threatening to visit certain areas, such as one post with the message: 'Kent I'm coming. Lock your doors.' In some cases, accounts posted footage apparently recorded by ring doorbell cameras, showing the creepy figure marching up to front doors. Videos purporting to show a creepy Cat in the Hat figure prowling Britain's streets have been viewed millions of times on social media Some of the clips included threats against specific areas of the country This post compared the flood of rumours to the killer clown rumours of 2016 Skye, 16, told the BBC: 'I was having a sleepover but everyone started watching Cat in the Hat videos. It was 3am. I wanted to go home.  'When I started walking down my friends' driveway, I got totally freaked out that the Cat in the Hat was going to jump out. I had to call my mum to pick me up.' The epicentre of the craze has been around the Irish counties of Limerick and Wexford. Here, a number of videos were posted that purported to show passersby encountering the cat in the street at night. In Wexford, the local Gardaí were quick to dismiss the sightings as fake, and confirmed that the images had been made using AI. The force said: 'In an unusual turn of events we are hearing a lot about an illusive Dr Seuss character doing the rounds online, apparently causing havoc in neighbourhoods and towns across the country. 'Fortunately, we can rule out the issue, which is essentially an AI prompt that places the character into images/videos of familiar places.  'To be clear, the Cat in the Hat was not in your driveway while you were out and he is not currently hiding out in Curracloe.' But the rumours quickly spread to the UK. In England, South Yorkshire Police were forced to shut down claims that a 'killer Cat in the Hat' had been spotted after a fake Facebook post. A message from a made-up force called Yorkshire Police suggested police were taking seriously the cat sightings. It read: 'Officers are aware of a number of reports regarding a suspicious figure described as a 'cat in the hat' seen walking in the Meadowhall area at approximately 2:30am this morning. 'A member of the public in the area took the below photo and has forwarded it to us. 'We are taking this matter seriously, and extra patrols are in the area. While there is no cause for alarm at this time, we are asking everyone to remain vigilant.' The real South Yorkshire Police said: 'If you do see posts online providing policing updates and advice, please check that they are from an official policing account.  'The cat is not out of the hat on this one… Please don't believe everything you read on social media.' It added: 'To confirm, we have not had any reports of a 'cat in a hat' in Meadowhall, or anywhere else in South Yorkshire for that matter. 'We can also confirm no recent sightings of his associates Thing One and Thing Two.'