The sinister suicide “game” called “Momo” that has been spreading through innocent looking Youtube videos like Peppa Pig, and using the chat app WhatsApp, has seen a lot of attention this week. It’s basically what you call a viral sensation. But where did the image of “Momo” come from?
The creepy doll which is associated with the suicidal game is a life-like figure with grotesque and horrifying enlarged features, with huge, bulging eyes and a beak-like mouth which curves upwards in a haunting smile.
This doll was created by Japanese artist, Midori Hiyashi. To make her look terrifying the artist made her bulging eyeballs with large black pupils and her legs are made of the remains of animals. Hayashi, who is not associated with the challenge at all, recently displayed the doll in an art gallery in Tokyo, Japan. The image was then picked up on Reddit, where it began to circulate before becoming attached to the game.
Whether the challenge is real or not is a mystery. Some sources report a 12-year-old girl in the district of Escobar, Argentina died in an apparent suicide, because of Momo (reported on by The Buenos Aires Times). Whatever the circumstance, this is a good reminder to not use the internet as a baby sitter, but to instead be more involved in your child’s cyber world
Again this is an instance of something being created for one purpose, in this case Art, then some sick individual taking it and using it for the wrong purpose.
Be safe out there, people, and hug your kids
