It started, as most things do, with a ghost story. When Columbus, Ohio resident Katie Santry posted a TikTok four days ago, she wanted to hear from her followers if they thought her house was haunted. The evidence? When she left her study the day before, it was untouched.

But when she returned, her office supplies were in disarray and her computer screen was shattered. Did any of her followers think this had anything to do with the rolled-up rug she and her husband found buried in their yard? “So we’re building a fence and back here we dug a hole,” Santry said in her first video about the incident. “There is a rolled-up carpet buried underground that we came across as we were digging this hole.

Who the fuck and why the fuck is there a rolled-up carpet underground?” What started as Santry crowdsourcing reasons for her broken laptop quickly turned into a mystery that’s captured TikTok viewers 4 million people deep, involved the Columbus Division of Police, and — despite some resolution — still has thousands of people thinking there’s something else going on. I think my house is haunted!!!! #ghosthunting #ghosts There’s a long-established relationship between the social media app TikTok and the genre of true crime . TikTok viewers not only use the app to discuss past cases but often follow current investigations.

( The Idaho murders and the trial of Karen Read are a few recent examples.) Amateur sleuthing is common on people’s for-you-pages and can users co.