Huggy Wuggy.
The psycho doll that comes out of hiding at night to harass and come to murder
Huggy Wuggy is a blue doll with red lips and sharp teeth. Apparently cuddly and in search of cuddles, this protagonist of a horror video game (the survival video game 'Poppy Playtime', released in October 2021) is actually a ruthless killer.
If the name suggests that it is a character used to giving and asking for hugs, in reality it is one that, after having deceived its victim, assaults it to death.
In Italy, it has been launched by two popular YouTubers, Luigi Calagna and So fia Scalia, but it has already spread to several countries, after landing in the United Kingdom. This stuffed toy has caused a justified stir among many parents, concerned about its possible effects on children, to the point that the Postal Police has raised the alarm.
(The game is not suitable for children under 13 years of age)
The video game's classification is PEGI 13, so it is only intended for people over 13 years of age. It is easy to understand why. It is enough to listen to the song that accompanies it: "Sharp teeth leave you bloody. Don't you ever call me ugly. Hug me until you die (Hug me 'til you die)”.
The doll is the antagonist in the first chapter of the video game, available on various Apple or Android devices. Basically, it is a "horror escape room": Huggy Wuggy appears out of nowhere, while the player has to solve puzzles to escape from the Playtime&co toy factory (where the toys have a life of their own and are evil characters from which Huggy is the pet).
What worries parents and educators is the fact that many children's YouTubers calmly display the images. It is also easy to find colouring pages, aimed precisely at younger children, as well as other cartoons adapted to their age.
However, the story of Huggy Wuggy is not for children: it is reminiscent of another sinister character, Slender Man, a faceless figure with elongated limbs, who also became a social phenomenon from a video game. But it is also reminiscent of Momo Challenge or Jonathan
Why keep children away from horror content?
Galindo: all of them pseudo-characters who share the figure of "evil doll" and who appear in videos or games on the web.
Noel
Why keep children away from horror content?
It is good to remember, firstly, that when we watch a film or play a video game we know - at least as adults - that what we are seeing or doing is not real. However, sometimes the scenes are so plausible that they keep us on edge and make us experience the protagonist's experiences first-hand. The film or video game is fiction, but the emotions we feel and the reactions they provoke are real. So much so that when faced with horror scenes, as the article What horror movies cause in your brain points out, "the reaction to what we see on the screen is not limited to the brain but extends to the entire body. This is because the brain sends an alarm signal that activates the autonomic nervous system by increasing the production of cortisol and adrenaline, two neurotransmitters that cause certain changes at the physiological level (heart rate increases, sweating begins, muscles contract). muscles)".
The child is unable to rationalize and clearly define, in his mind, the border between reality and fiction.
If it is true that the presence (and explanations) of a parent during a horror scene reduces the emotional impact and the possibility of trauma, it is also true, as many paediatricians and psychologists agree, that one should not risk causing anxiety when it is possible to entertain yourself in another way.
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