For the second time in just over a week, a creepy nationwide social media trend has triggered a police investigation at an area school — this time at Dawson-Bryant Middle School.
A Lawrence County deputy says a middle school student admitted creating a TikTok account featuring an ominous version of the Cat in the Hat, threatening messages and the names of roughly two dozen fellow students.
The student told investigators she was only trying to scare people “for fun.”
But this isn’t the first time the viral trend has caused concern close to home.
Last week, Scioto County deputies responded to Northwest High School after a Snapchat profile named “Cat in the Hat” reportedly included a list of names and threats directed toward them. Deputies also went to the middle school as part of that investigation. No arrest was reported in that case.
Now a second area school has dealt with a similar scare — and this time investigators say they identified the student behind the account.
A Nationwide Trend Comes Home
The so-called “Cat in the Hat” trend has been spreading on TikTok and other social media platforms, featuring creepy or AI-generated versions of the familiar Dr. Seuss character, sometimes accompanied by ominous warnings.
The trend has prompted warnings and investigations at schools around the country. While many of the posts appear intended as pranks or hoaxes, officials have become increasingly concerned as some versions have named actual schools, communities or students and included threatening language.
That’s exactly the kind of situation Dawson-Bryant officials found themselves dealing with.
According to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office report, school security learned of an ominous TikTok account that appeared to have been created within approximately the previous week.
Officials said approximately 25 student names had appeared in the posts. Other content reportedly included the statement “teachers ain’t even safe.”
School security and administrators began interviewing students who followed the account in an effort to figure out who was behind it.
Their attention eventually turned to one middle school student.
Where’s the Phone?
The girl initially told school officials she had seen the mysterious account herself and had blocked it.
When officials asked to see her phone to determine when she’d blocked the account, she reportedly said the phone was dead and sitting in her school locker.
They checked.
The phone wasn’t there.
The student was called back to the office and then said the phone was actually at home.
According to the sheriff’s report, school officials used a handheld metal detector, and the outline of a cell phone was discovered concealed on her person.
She surrendered the phone without incident.
After being confronted about the conflicting stories and told that law enforcement could become involved, the student reportedly admitted she had created the TikTok account as a joke.
“YOU BETTER RUN”
By the time a Lawrence County deputy arrived at the school, much of the original TikTok content had apparently been deleted.
Fortunately, school officials had already photographed the posts.
According to the sheriff’s report, the images showed an ominous Cat in the Hat character accompanied by messages including:
“YOU BETTER RUN”
“THE TEACHERS AIN’T SAFE EITHER”
and
“COMING FOR ALL OF YOU NOBODY’S SAFE.”
Another post displayed numerous first names reportedly belonging to Dawson-Bryant Middle School students, followed by the warning:
“ALL THE REST WATCH OUT.”
After the original posts disappeared, the account’s display name had reportedly been changed to “sorry,” with a remaining post saying it was a joke.
Student Says She Wanted to Scare People “For Fun”
The student’s father was called to the school, and a deputy interviewed the girl with her father and school personnel present.
She admitted using her phone to make the posts and said she was already familiar with the viral Cat in the Hat trend.
According to the report, she’d seen similar creepy content online and decided to turn an existing TikTok account into one of her own.
When asked why she did it, the girl said she wanted to scare her friends and other people “for fun.”
She denied intending for anyone to believe they were actually going to be physically harmed.
The deputy explained that posts like these can cause students, parents and school employees to genuinely fear for their safety. According to the report, the girl acknowledged that she understood and appeared upset and remorseful.
A Joke Online Can Become a Real Police Investigation
That’s the lesson schools across the country are trying to get across as this trend spreads.
Many Cat in the Hat posts may begin as creepy memes or attempts to scare friends. But once someone starts adding the names of actual students or schools and language that sounds like a threat, police can’t simply assume it’s a joke.
And in a little over a week, two area schools have now experienced exactly that problem.
The Northwest High School incident prompted a Scioto County Sheriff’s Office investigation.
At Dawson-Bryant, Lawrence County deputies went a step further after identifying the student who admitted creating the account.
The deputy seized the girl’s Samsung phone as evidence because investigators said content associated with the account had apparently been deleted or altered. Detectives could seek a search warrant or other court authorization to look for digital evidence, including deleted material.
The student was not arrested and remained at the school with her father.
However, the Sheriff’s Office is forwarding the case to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office and juvenile prosecutor to determine whether charges are appropriate. Any school discipline will be handled separately by Dawson-Bryant Schools.
The student told deputies it was meant to be a joke.
But after two local investigations in a little over a week, the warning for students is pretty clear:
Once the joke starts naming real students and sounding like a real threat, school officials and police have to treat it like one until they know otherwise.
