A Walmart employee shared just how skeeved out she’s getting by a new toy being offered at the retailer. Officially, it’s called Thready Bear, but the Walmart worker, along with her viewers, are getting “Threaty Bear” vibes from it.
Autumn (@flowerpower2496) delineates why she is so scared of the toy in a video that’s been viewed over 1 million times. And it all has to do with the stuffed animal’s eyes.
Thready Bear
“There’s this toy at Walmart, and it’s called a Thready Bear. … It comes to life,” she says. She uses air quotes when she says, “comes to life.”
“That sounds like a hell and a no out of a horror movie. Just look at this thing,” she adds.
She proceeds to flip her camera’s orientation around to reveal the toy. It’s a light brown stuffed bear with bits of purple and blue on it. It has darker brown clothing buttons for eyes and even a blue and purple scarf wrapped around its neck.
“OK, its eyes, in general, [expletive] creepy,” she exclaims.
The worker squeezes the right hand of the bear, which causes it to blink several times. “It looks like it has teeth in its face when it does that. Absolutely not,” she says.
At the end of her clip, she highlights what she thinks is another scary feature of the toy—its price. “And not for $50. My kid would never have something like that,” she says.
@flowerpower2496 Yall i seen this thing and it gave me the chills lol #foryou #walmart #walmartfinds #toys #toyreview ♬ original sound – Autumn🍄🌺
Viewers weigh in
Viewers have mixed feelings about the bear. Some agreed with Autumn in the comments section.
“This thing is absolutely terrifying and I am so glad I finally see somebody talking about it they keep showing the ad on YouTube and I skip it so fast,” one shared.
“Got my daughter one about a week and a half ago and she LOVES it. It creeped me out when I first saw it but tbh it’s not that bad,” another said.
Others said they only think the bear is creepy when it blinks.
“Awww he’s not so…what in the absolute hell is that?!” a third said.
Autumn also clarified in response to a viewer that she thinks the bear is “so cute.” “But the eyes are creepy,” she wrote.
People in other corners of the internet have shared similar sentiments. “It’s so cute, but also incredibly creepy! Has anyone seen the ads for this bear? When it blinks it looks kind of like it’s glaring, and did they make it sound like ‘threaty bear’ on purpose?” one redditor questioned.
The bear does more than blink
Moose Toys is a toy company based in Melbourne, Australia, and is responsible for Thready Bear. The company refers to Thready Bear’s eyes as “expressive” on its site.
Viewers will also be happy to know Thready Bear doesn’t just blink. He also winks and tilts his head. “Thready Bear is so interactive and intuitive, his magical button eyes will express each emotion he is feeling,” Moose Toys describes.
The Daily Dot reached out to Moose Toys about all the attention its now-viral toy is getting online.
The uncanny valley and why dolls creep some people out
The Conversation highlights this specific emotion of fear—the “uncanny valley”—that’s triggered in human beings. It can happen “when we encounter an entity that is almost, but not quite, human.”
There are also some documented examples of mass media influencing people’s fears of certain things, like sharks, for example. “The Jaws Effect” was reported on by ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily reports, “Today, nearly 50 years after the first Jaws movie, it still influences people’s perceptions of sharks, impacts conservation efforts, and affects policy decisions.”
Dolls and other children’s toys, likewise, have been portrayed as scary in some films, like Child’s Play or Annabelle. There’s a whole IMDb page dedicated to “HORROR MOVIES WITH DOLLS.”
The Daily Dot also reached out to Walmart via email and Autumn via TikTok comment.
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