A viral Reddit post showing something dangling from a ceiling sent the internet into a frenzy, leaving thousands of viewers laughing, cringing, and wildly speculating over the mysterious object that terrified netizens when it started to “wiggle and move.”

On April 15, an online user shared a photo on the popular subreddit, “What is it?” hoping to get some help in identifying a dark, stringy, hairless object that was poking through a narrow gap in the ceiling panel of his home.

Along with the image, the original poster (OP), who goes by the handle Takuraiii_, offered fellow Redditors the chillingly casual caption: “Noticed this sticking out from my ceiling – what is it?”

Within hours, the post racked up over 35,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments. Redditors from all walks of life, pest experts, and armchair comedians united for a round of shocked identification, wacky theories, and plenty of jokes.

Ceiling invader

As Reddit is known to do, the thread quickly took on a life of its own.

After the original poster (OP) explained that “It moves so it’s probably not dead,” people examined the details – color, texture, the slight taper – and offered their thoughts on the unsettling image of the cheeky ceiling invader.

“Rat expert here (no official degree, but I’ve seen An American Tail at least six times),” starts one wisecracking user, referring to the 1986 animated film that features a family of mice. “This could be a tail, yes…but it could also be a decoy. Call in backup. Infrared. Night vision. I want eyes on every crumb. We’re not just dealing with any rodent. We’re dealing with a professional.”

Citing another animated film that stars a rodent, a second offered, “Sir…. that’s a rat’s tail. Not the Ratatouille cute Remy rat. That’s a NYC kinda rat that will fight you over dinner.”

“Lick it. If it looks like a rat, tastes like a rat…” suggests another. Responding to that message, one Redditor says, “Poke it with a stick and lick the stick instead.”

Not everyone was convinced it was a rat.

“Opossum, or an armadillo,” writes another, or “a giant wall lizard.”

Push, pull or tickle

Others offered more absurd guesses and solutions to discovering its identity.

“Just a shadow. Nothing to be alarmed by,” writes one, while another told OP to “Just push it up and forget about it.”

A third shares, “Have you tried tickling it. Maybe it’ll pull it back up and out of sight out of mind.

Some recommended the poster “should definitely pull it.”

“How could you not pull it?” one netizen asked, prompting the OP to answer, “It’s got those [little] hairs sticking out of it, no way I’m touching it with my bare hands.”

‘Burn the house down’

Others were, understandably, deeply disturbed. “I would simply burn the house down,” one user quipped – a sentiment echoed by more than a few.

“Hopefully you can now move out, list [and] sell the house before that stank arrives in force,” another said about the object potentially belonging to a dead rat, stuck in the ceiling.

But it wasn’t stuck – it started to “wiggle and move.” Shortly after, OP wrote: “It’s gone now.”

“OP, are you not freaking out?! I have the heebie jeebies for you,” adds one netizen of the unidentified tenant.

Another Redditor warned, “It’s just out of sight, it’s definitely not gone.”

Mystery solved

Within 24 hours, the author shared an update, letting fellow Redditors know that by process of elimination, the tail-like object did not belong to a lizard, a possum, or an armadillo – nor was it a “tampon pull string.”

“After a heck-ton of comments saying that it’s a rat’s tail, I can now confirm that it is a rat’s tail…I’ll be calling an exterminator soon to properly deal with the situation. Thank you everyone!” the curious cyber fan wrote, adding, “Someone from the comments quoted ‘When there is one, there is a hundred you can’t see.’ God, I hope not.”

But, when there’s one, there’s likely more, as rats are very social creatures and “prefer living in groups,” according to PBS Nature.

Unwanted roommates

While the post was good for a laugh, it also shined a spotlight on a very real issue: hidden rodent infestations in residential homes.

Rodents like rats and mice often inhabit crawlspaces, attic insulation, and wall voids – completely undetected until they leave behind clues, like droppings, scratches, or, in the case of the OP; a tail cameo.

And, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warns that “Rodents can carry many diseases that can spread directly or indirectly to people.”

One of these diseases is hantavirus, the rare but potentially fatal disease that claimed the life of Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa in February 2025.

How to deal with an infestation

“You may never see a mouse or rat unless an infestation is severe,” explains the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  But, there are some clues to help recognize that your home is being shared with some rodents:

• Rodent droppings
• Nesting material
• Signs of chewing on food packaging
• Holes chewed through walls and floors
• Stale smells

One tail is all it took to turn a regular ceiling into Reddit’s weirdest mystery of the week. From laughter to legitimate fear, this single image captivated the internet and reminded us to look up once in a while – because you never know what’s hanging above your head.