TikTok’s viral ‘Fiona is that a ghost behind you’ meme explained

The ‘Fiona, is that a ghost behind you?’ meme is taking over TikTok, after a medium’s viral livestream with a woman.

The viral ‘Fiona, is that a ghost behind you?’ meme has taken over TikTok just in time for Halloween. The phrase originated during a TikTok Live on October 16, 2024, hosted by medium James Bucknell, also known as midnightjamesbucknell.

During the session, Bucknell noticed what appeared to be a ghostly figure behind a woman named Fiona, only to find out it was her daughter watching quietly in a brightly lit background.

Mistaking her for a ghost, Bucknell asked, “Fiona, is that a ghost behind you?” Fiona’s daughter humorously replied, “That’s a bit rude,” sending viewers into fits of laughter.

The original TikTok Live video was quickly deleted but later reposted on Bucknell’s official YouTube channel, where it received low engagement. However, the clip soon went viral on TikTok through user reposts, sparking an influx of remixes and parodies.

Among the first to capitalize on the trend was TikToker bennjones_, who added Charli XCX’s song “Girl, So Confusing” over the video with the caption “Ghost so confusing.” The video amassed over 2.2 million views, amplifying the meme’s reach.

As Halloween is approaching, users took the meme to new heights. On October 26, TikTok user girldestroyer96 recreated the moment with a friend as a Halloween costume, gaining over 569,000 views.

Many viewers have compared this meme to the hilarious ‘Mama, there’s a girl behind you’ trend, in which users reenacted the video or used its sound in skits.

The ‘Fiona, is that a ghost behind you?’ meme has even entered TikTok’s copypasta culture. Users are captioning posts with the phrase and a purple heart emoji, mirroring popular FlopTok memes like ‘Donatella VERSACE’ and ‘What I Do.’

Combining hilarious and absurd elements, the trend continues to thrive, with creative and chaotic videos featuring the sound amassing millions of views on the app.

This is just the latest craze to take TikTok by storm in October, after the viral Minecraft college football trend.