Saturday, November 30, 2019

'SpongeBob' Just Directly Referenced the 'Squidward’s Suicide' Creepypasta

Update (11/11) - It looks like Nickelodeon censors have caught on, with Nickelodeon now replacing the scene with a sequence of Squidward as a baby octopus with a full diaper. The new version is available on the current television broadcasts and all digital releases in the United States.



Update (11/30) - The "Red Mist" reference is still airing in the German version of the episode, which premiered on Nicktoons Deutschland on 27. Nov 2019.



SpongeBob Schwammkopf - "Red Mist" Reference (German)
„Dieser Ort ist ein Albtraum!”
From the Season 12 episode: "SpongeBob in RandomLand" (locally titled "SpongeBob im Zufallsland")

As far as creepypasta with a healthy shelf-life goes, it’s hard to beat “Squidward’s Suicide.” Tracking down the exact origin points of internet ghost stories can be an exercise in futility, but there’s been video of the faux SpongeBob SquarePants episode—in which perpetually glum Squidward supposedly takes his own life, after sporting a face with creepy red eyes for his juvenile audience’s delight—since at least 2012, which puts it in “Dead Bart” territory as far as the “‘lost’ episode of a cartoon where something, like, super weird and dark happens” genre goes. In fact, the spooky little story has now been around long enough to graduate up to the big game: A reference in the show it’s riffing on itself.


That’s right: SpongeBob SquarePants directly referenced a decade-old meme about one of its main characters killing himself today, in a new episode that premiered on Nickelodeon USA on Saturday, September 21, 2019.

It’s to the testament of how wild the animation on this show is generally—and this particular installment, “SpongeBob in Randomland,” is, specifically—that the moment when a red-eyed, mascara-running Squidward (unmistakably the one from the long-running meme) pops up out of nowhere is only the fourth or fifth weirdest thing to appear in the episode. That being said, it’s still an immensely odd thing to see one of Nick’s biggest shows give a nod to the bootleg vibe of online creep-tales (even if they’ve never shied away from referencing “Squidward kills himself” jokes in the past, either).


The scene, however, is being censored in some countries, including on Nicktoons UK and Ireland.

Nickelodeon's is currently in the midst of the network's "Best Year Ever", a year-long global celebration of one of the most iconic TV series and characters ever created. The “Best Year Ever” launched with the premiere of “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout,” an original mixed live-action and animated special earlier this summer, and leads up to the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies theatrical, The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge, coming 2020.

SpongeBob SquarePants is currently airing its 12th season on Nickelodeon, with the show renewed for a 13th season; season 12 the last season to include contributions from the show’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away last year.

If you are feeling low or suicidal, please know that there are trained professionals available to help and support you through your time of need. For a list of suicide crisis lines available globally, please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines.

Join the OFFICIAL SpongeBob SquarePants Facebook Group here!: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SpongeBobSquareFans

More Nick: Nickelodeon to Host 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Panels at New York Comic Con 2019!

Originally published: Sunday, September 22, 2019.

Original source: The A.V. Club; Additional source: Epicstream.
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