We are familiar with SpongeBob, his sidekick Patrick, and all remaining supporting characters, like the free-spirited guy Squidward. We people have spent our childhood watching this infamous cartoon and getting a good laugh out of it!
But today, due to social media platforms like TikTok, even the smallest thing can become trendy in just a short period!
Many people can relate to Squidward, who in the show is a pretty negative character, in contrast to the fun-loving SpongeBob. This same Squidward became trendy on TikTok, due to certain developments, with the question “How Did Squidward Die?”.
The trend is as follows: after searching on Google for the same question, the audience captures their particular reactions. There are all sorts of responses, such as funny and scary. However, the bigger objection is that, as a cartoon, this sort of material is quite perturbing.
How did “How Did Squidward Die?” Become a Trend? Insights:
Anyone can track down any social media trend to one specific source, which was, in this case, the website Creepypasta, known for its peculiar things.
Essentially it showcases urban stories that have a horror genre. If we talk about the infamous but distressing Squidward story, an unidentified user on the website wrote it.
The user affirmed to be an intern working for Nickelodeon then and recalled that the channel requested him to watch a copy of the episode “Fear of the Krabby Patties” with other people.
However, the title read “Squidward’s Suicide.” Nevertheless, they continued with their task, thinking it was some kind of ghastly joke that the animators were pulling on them. And as such, the now-popular revelation began.
What Does The ‘Video’ Have To Present?
This video starts the show with the title card ‘Squidward’s Suicide’ followed by the camera panning into our character playing his clarinet horribly. He gets interrupted by SpongeBob and Patrick, who amuse themselves and take a laugh outside his home.
Squidward then asks them in aggression to quiet down since he was practising for a concert, which, unfortunately, he fails to perform. All the crowd members booed at him for his terrible performance, and the camera showed them having red eyes.
The camera then pans to Squidward, who feels very embarrassed and dismayed, in his bedroom, with his head on his knees.
Surprisingly, the Squidward who was crying did not sound like Squidward at all; it was much more like an actual person in real life. Then comes the catch of the scene! The camera cuts to Squidward’s face.
Now, this scene is pretty horrifying indeed! We glimpse Squidward’s face with the “same” red eyes as the crowd we saw just moments ago! And that too with blood dripping down his eyes!
The sound of the crying increases mysteriously in the background. And afterwards, a deep voice is heard shouting (albeit off-screen), “Do it!”. We then see Squidward aiming a shotgun towards his mouth, which is quite unexpected!
The video ends with Squidward taking his life, and then we see his wounded body.
More on the “How Did Squidward Die” Craze
Due to the revelations of the “Squidward’s Suicide” video, one question became quite trendy on TikTok: “How Did Squidward Die?” along with an octopus emoticon.
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The big deal about the TikTok trend
Since TikTok allows content creators to make short video clips of themselves, we get to see creators publishing videos that show their reactions before and after searching the question online.
When it is looked on Google, it provides the first search output, which suggests that there was an unpublished episode of SpongeBob SquarePants called “Squidward’s Suicide.” And allegedly, in this episode, our infamous octopus character is shown to be killing himself using a shotgun.
This TikTok trend came to light, all thanks to a fan-made YouTube video.
What’s so different and peculiar about this specific video is that it entirely changes the surreal humour and comedy genre of the kids’ show SpongeBob SquarePants.
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The Influence of the Squidward trend on the Internet
This whole movie clip has left the Internet traumatized with its gruesome disclosure.
Users also refer to it differently as “Red Mist”. We can preemptively associate the word ‘red’ with the redness of the eyes of the audience and the blood displayed in the same episode.
The creators are required to record themselves as they watch the video on YouTube and then post it after embedding it in Penelope Scott’s song, Rät. That is why this particular impediment is also treated like a challenge.
Netizens got dumbfounded when they watched this particular video since it’s not the usual SpongeBob style one expects. So, when this video made its debut, it shook the entire Internet and all the users that frequently used TikTok.
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What brought this video to life?
“How Did Squidward Die” did not become a trend without the aid of an external source.
The viral video, supposedly the deleted episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, and one can search it through the keywords “Red Mist” or “Squidward’s Suicide Lost Episode”, is, in fact, a part of an online urban legend phenomenon which is called Creepypasta. So, what is it?
As per Wikipedia, ‘creepypastas’ are these grotesque legends that get circulated throughout the Internet, and it has become a general term for any dreadful content online.
These so-called ‘creepypastas’ are nothing but user-made paranormal and unwholesome stories that aim to scare the readers.
An intern of Nickelodeon had shared the Squidward story, and he anonymously shared it on the Internet. This video came into existence to traumatize TikTok users participating in an earlier TikTok trend.
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User reactions and aftermath of the video
The TikTok users who participated in this particular trend had to record two parts of their videos; one before watching the morbid video and the second after watching the same.
The second part, or the ‘reaction’ part of the videos posted by netizens, is filled with faces that display signs of worry, confusion and astonishment!
The comments published in the YouTube video’s comment section resonate with these reactions. There are all sorts of words, for example – one in which the user puts a meme where they are all sober before watching the video and frightened to death after finishing watching!
Many users are horrified and taken aback by the sounds in the concerned video. Those who are first-timers are finding it hard to digest and get the gist of the video. While still, others are questioning the existence of this video and how anyone could have made something as such.
Overall, the video presented itself as extremely bitter by showing a fictional cartoon character committing an unfit act for the audience to watch.
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What makes the “How Did Squidward Die” video terrifying?
The entire episode is gruesome and unusual, almost from the very beginning, especially with the usage of red for the characters’ eyes. Red denoting blood red is quite peculiar to watch in a SpongeBob episode.
The different montages used in the video are also pretty disturbing, starting from the camera panning to reveal Squidward’s unrealistic eyes.
The fan-made video initially shows how Squidward is suffering from an unfortunate situation when he’s being booed and disapproved by his audience on his performance, followed by him being in emotional turmoil before he takes his own life through the means of a shotgun.
This video is pretty violent, and it promotes self-harm. Users have found it quite disturbing because of its sounds and sound effects.
Overall, the video uses clips from the show, with additional editing and usage of perturbing music. All these elements deliver a quite horrifying video experience and have thus led to the notorious TikTok trend.
FAQs
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Did Squidward really ‘die’?
Howsoever the claims may go, and whatever the intensity of these edited fan-made videos, it is clear that our much-adored Squidward is very much well and alive!
This fact is proven since the American kids’ channel Nickelodeon never officially confirmed the character’s alleged death or suicide and would, in fact, never promote any such material about one of its popular kids’ shows.
Until the last aired episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, the clarinet playing angry octopus is living and breathing, and he’s still working at Krusty Krab.
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Is there an episode of SpongeBob which portrays Squidward’s death?
It can’t be ascertained if there was an episode or not. However, since Nickelodeon never made it official, it can be safe to think that this was just a fan-made video.
Also, the edits and the added music tell us that it is not something Nickelodeon would ever produce. So, the odds of there being such an episode are zero to none.
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Even if it’s an edit, wasn’t it wrong on Squidward’s part to take his own life?
It’s not a good idea not to consider the edit, because it wasn’t wrong! Our beloved Squidward isn’t so weak-spirited at all! He would never take his own life!
From a realistic point of view, Squidward isn’t capable of doing anything as such.
He’s a simple angry, but loving octopus who utilizes his free time to play the clarinet. The edit is completely false; on the contrary, Squidward is very much there with us and will keep entertaining us!
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Is this whole trend that big of a deal? Why can’t it be taken lightly? And what’s the fuss about it?
The major problem with the trendy video of “How Did Squidward Die” is the fact that it changes the child-friendly, humorous, and relaxing theme of SpongeBob.
SpongeBob SquarePants is a very well-known show for its fun and light-heartedness, but at the same time, it covers real-life issues. For example – Squidward is by nature a negative person, and hence people can relate to his dismay over things.
Likewise, SpongeBob is a fun-loving person, so people of that persona can connect with him wholeheartedly.
However, the gory, fan-generated video contrasts all these factors and spoils the decorum of the reputed show. Netizens are therefore experiencing ‘trauma’ because of this content.
The Final Verdict!
- SpongeBob SquarePants is our adored show that many of us would have watched since childhood. And surprisingly, this childhood show became famous due to a trend that is on the air these days related to the fictional octopus character Squidward, who commits suicide in the video.
- The whole trend came into existence with the question, “How did Squidward die?” This question soon became a challenge among TikTok users who, without a doubt, are known for different types of trends.
- An anonymous user on a Creepypasta website published a story claiming to have watched the episode ‘Squidward’s Suicide’ while working as an intern for Nickelodeon.
- Creepypasta, which is nothing more than a viral horror-content platform, has been the origin of this Squidward story, which all fans and other users have found to be quite disturbing due to the various grotesque elements involved in the published video.
- The trend came to light with content creators posting their reaction videos online, including their reactions before and after watching the disturbing video. And most users came out with scared and confused reactions.
- The gist of the answer to the trendy question is explained by the video, in which Squidward, having to face humungous disappointment due to his failed performance, starts sobbing, which further gets distorted and becomes very horrifying in appearance. On a short note, it ends with Squidward killing himself with a shotgun pointed to the mouth.
- Internet users were prompt with their response to this dismaying and startling video. Many users were dumbfounded; still, others felt as if being scared to death. This whole scenario also turned into a meme.
