What is TikTok's tiny green mall wizard? Viral 2024 videos explained - and who is Crawly?

If you have opened any social media app in the last few weeks you might have stumbled across clips of a strange green wizard scrambling around shopping malls and fast food restaurants. Crawly, as the peculiar character is known, is the latest TikTok star and has been dubbed the “meme of the summer” by some. 

For those who have yet to watch one of the videos, let me start the article by setting the scene. Imagine a grown man in a green wizard outfit, big pointy white hat and fake beard, squatting down low and running around shops, causing general internet mischief - in the well trod path of prankster style content. 

The videos each feature a signature sound track, dubbed by fans as the ‘Crawly song’. Recent clips have also started to incorporate other characters - while DuoLingo Brazil even did a parody recently. 

But Crawly has evolved from a few viral TikTok clips to inspiring a popular meme and even drawing the attention of a major online star. So what is actually going on? Let’s take a look: 

What is Crawly? 

Crawly, or Crawly Possessed, is the name of a TikTok account responsible for the hit green “wizard” videos. It is based in Poland and in recent videos, Crawly has appeared out of costume - however we could not find details on his real name or age. 

Prior to hitting it big with the green “wizard” character, Crawly’s earlier videos featured similar public pranking gimmicks but in other costumes - such as a medical patient, complete with IV drip. 

He has become so popular that YouTuber and streamer IShowSpeed took time out of his recent trip to Poland to film with Crawly. The two were filmed ‘barking’ at each other amid a huge crowd of people. 

How to watch Crawly videos? 

The clips have gone about as viral as you can get on the internet in mid-2024, particularly at the end of June and into July. It means that footage of Crawly has been shared around most social media platforms, so the chances are you might have run into a video or two by accident. 

But TikTok is the best place to go if you want to dive deep into Crawly content. Videos can be found via the @crawly_possessed account, which has over 3.1 million followers and 120.7 million likes. 

What is “gnome vs knight”? 

As the popularity of Crawly and the tiny green mall wizard has only continued to boom, it has sparked its very own meme on TikTok dubbed “gnome vs knight”. According to KnowYourMeme it refers to an imaginary battle between gnomes and knights and it basically revolves around “knights”, often in tin-foil costumes, attempting to capture the tiny green mall wizard (which is not a sentence I expected to write when 2024 started).

How popular is Crawly? 

The tiny green mall wizard videos have racked up millions upon millions of views throughout 2024. A pinned clip on Crawly’s account, featuring the character venturing into a H&M store has over 80 million views in less than a week. 

The videos have reached such a high level of popularity that DuoLingo’s Brazil account made its own parody, featuring the app’s green owl mascot dressed like the tiny green mall wizard and copying the style of the clips. 

Given the usual lifespan of a meme/ gimmick on the internet, the tiny green mall wizard may end up being usurped by the next big thing soon, but for right now - it is the hot summer trend on TikTok. 

Have you watched any of the tiny green mall wizard videos? Make sure to visit Crawly Possessed’s TikTok account to see what all the fuss is about, especially since you’ve read this far already.