Huggy Wuggy: What is it, why are police forces issuing warnings, are the videos on TikTok and YouTube, is Huggy Wuggy from Poppy Playtime, is it a game and is it inappropriate for children
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Gosport Police have become the latest to raise concerns about the online phenomenon.
Despite featuring a child friendly sounding name, Huggy Wuggy is a lot darker than it first appears.
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Hide AdThe videos, which have been circulated on TikTok and YouTube, feature a blue bear with razor sharp teeth singing about ‘hugging and killing’ and urging viewers to ‘take their last breath’.
But what exactly is Huggy Wuggy and what warnings have been issued?
Here’s all you need to know:
What is Huggy Wuggy?
According to Villains Wiki, Huggy Wuggy’s proper name is Experiment-1006, and he is a major antagonist in the 2021 horror video game Poppy Playtime.
He appears in the first chapter of the game titled ‘A Tight Squeeze’.
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Hide AdAs part of the game, Huggy Wuggy chases the player and tries to kill them in an abandoned toy factory.
He is a 10 foot tall blue bear with razor sharp teeth – which makes for an extremely unsettling viewing.
Is Poppy Playtime suitable for children and where is it available?
Poppy Playtime Chapter 1 – which features Huggy Wuggy – is available on Steam as well as iOS and Android.
It is rated 12+ on the Apple App Store, meaning it is not suitable for young children.
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Hide AdPoppy Playtime has also been dubbed the ‘scariest game in years’ by some players.
The game is described as a horror/ puzzle game.
On the App Store the product description reads: ‘Try to survive the vengeful toys waiting for you in the abandoned toy factory.’
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Why are parents being warned about Huggy Wuggy?
Despite starting life in the Poppy Playtime game, videos of the character Huggy Wuggy have spread to platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.
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Hide AdThe character has become a feature of spam-like content on YouTube and featured in videos with titles such as ‘Huggy Wuggy.Exe & Kissy Missy is so Sad with Player! Poppy Playtime & Fnaf Freddy Animations’.
Videos featuring Huggy Wuggy have been slipping past filters due to the seemingly child-friendly name of the character.
There are also clips of gameplay from Poppy Playtime, which is aimed at players aged 12+ and is of a horror nature.
Liverpool Echo reports that a spokesperson for Dorest Police said: ‘The blue bear-like character has long arms and rows of razor sharp teeth.
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Hide Ad‘Set in an abandoned toy factory, Huggy is a villain in the game who stalks the players from vents are unreachable places. Videos of the game are available to watch on YouTube, with other clips dedicated to Huggy in songs.
‘One song includes the lyrics 'I could hug you here forever, till you breathe your last breath together.’
Chris Conroy, cyber protect officer for Dorset Police, added: ‘There are videos people have made, songs people have made, and it's popping up all over YouTube and TikTok using this quite graphic imagery of this bear-like character with razor sharp teeth. It's based around jump scares and things you certainly wouldn't want children exposed to.’
Gosport Police are also urging parents to be vigilant about the videos.
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Hide AdTweeting: ‘HUGGY WUGGY: Please take a moment to read through the following warning for parents.’
Have the creators of Huggy Wuggy said anything?
Poppy Playtime is made by developers MOB Games, who are based in St Louis, Missouri, in the U.S.
The company have not commented on the warnings issued by police forces in the UK.
A second chapter of Poppy Playtime is currently in development.