I think I’m probably in the majority when I say attempting to find ominous Wally in the insanely popular Where’s Wally? was one of the integral parts of growing up.
It was a character building tool which taught us that perseverance is key, because one way or another, you were going to find that pesky little Wally.
But, what if I told you that, in some cases, Wally is quite literally impossible to find and is a complete waste of all our time and effort?
Take a little look at this monstrosity:
Well, that’s what is happening over the pond in the US – where they incidentally call him ‘Waldo’ instead of Wally – thanks to some sicko.
Yep, that’s right. One absolute monster has been caught removing the Wallys (or rather Waldos, if we’re being pedantic) from books in an unknown bookshop somewhere in the US.
After purchasing the book, he took it home and scanned each page, before digitally removing Wally and gluing the Wally-less pages back into the book so that no one will ever find the little cartoon guy.
Sickening, absolutely sickening.
After the TikTok video was shared on Twitter, people were understandably horrified with one user even saying it gave them anxiety.
‘He should be arrested,’ one person wrote, while another added, ‘Ok so when people do stuff like this and get the satisfaction without even seeing the result THAT’S a psychopath.’
A third wrote:
This is actually the most villainous act I’ve ever witnessed. I am equal parts impressed and horrified.
The man behind the stunt was revealed to be Blake Messick, a 20-year-old videographer from Houston, Texas.
Blake, who has been describe as ‘true chaotic evil’, called his attack on children’s learning ‘the perfect crime’.
Sharing his video to TikTok, he wrote:
I put it back on the shelf to terrorise the next child that even thinks of searching for Waldo.
Speaking to Junkee, Blake revealed the prank came after a hell of a lot of ‘trial and error’ in learning how to use Photoshop to edit the pictures.
‘The store didn’t suspect a thing and took it right back,’ he added.
Now, what would have taken the prank to the next level of evil status would have been if he somehow managed to catch a kid desperately trying – and failing – to find the cartoon character.
Either way, props for originality, Blake.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.