The jumpscare meme is a foundational component of early internet culture, and that bait-and-switch format eventually met up with the Rickroll.
But modern memes have continued the jumpscare tradition, and the blue lobster meme is one recent update on the bait-and-switch format. Here’s a look at the blue lobster’s origin, from Maine to meme.
What is the blue lobster meme?
According to Know Your Meme, the blue lobster is actually a rare cotton candy lobster. It was caught off the coast of Portland, Maine, in November 2021.
In a post about the incredible catch, the lobster, named Haddie, was called a “1 in 100 million find.” Because of that, she now lives at the Seacoast Science Center in New Hampshire.
Another cotton candy lobster was caught off the coast of New Brunswick in December 2017.
But it’s the initial photo of Haddie posted to the Get Maine Lobster website and its Instagram—pinkish blue claws extended, eyes seemingly looking at the camera—that became a meme.
Getting ‘Lobstered’
In the summer of 2022, jumpscare videos of the blue lobster started being posted to the meme site iFunny. One popular example showed a man throwing a whole watermelon down a shaft. Just as it’s about to smash on the ground, the image of Haddie pops up, accompanied by an ear-shattering version of Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.”
Following in the footsteps of the Rickroll, this was called getting “Lobstered.” The lobster was added to Minecraft and Family Guy.
This format made the meme perfect for TikTok. By the fall of 2022 the blue lobster was popping up on the app. Many people used the popular “so satisfying” genre of videos as a cover for the jumpscare, or advised “volume up.”
One viral example shows someone pouring a giant glass of popper fireworks off a balcony, and then cutting to the lobster right as they’re about to land. People also updated the blue lobster’s look.
While the blue lobster jumpscare has largely been an online phenomenon, someone showed proof of getting Lobstered IRL on TikTok.
