Scarf Game Challenge (TikTok)

About

The Scarf Game Challenge or TikTok Scarf Challenge is a purported variant of the blackout challenge in which participants strangle themselves or someone else by tying a scarf around their neck and pulling on it until they pass out and lose consciousness. It also references a separate trend on TikTok in which one person wraps a scarf around another's neck in a specific way, as if about to choke them, then pulls the scarf tight, resulting in it unraveling completely. The latter trend became popularized on TikTok in 2020 and the former challenge reportedly resulted in the death of a 16-year-old in France in June 2023.

Origin

Scarf Trick / Challenge

As early as July 2019, TikTokers began posting videos doing a "scarf trick" where it appears as if you're wrapping a scarf around another person's neck to strangle them, but upon pulling on either end of the scarf to strangle them, the scarf becomes untied. For example, on July 29th, 2019, TikToker^[1] @abbyumezoomie posted a video like this that gained over 7.5 million views in four years (shown below, left). The game became further popularized throughout 2020, known as the "scarf challenge" (example video shown below, right).

The trend appears to have started earlier in 2018, with YouTuber^[2] TikTok Dab posting a tutorial on how to do the trick in November of that year (shown below).

Spread

The scarf challenge continued to spread over the following years. For example, on September 2nd, 2021, TikToker^[4] @jackiegansky posted a video doing the challenge that gained over 2.1 million views in two years (shown below).

2023 Scarf Game Challenge

On June 9th, 2023, the New York Post^[3] reported that a 16-year-old girl in France, Christy Sibali Dominique Gloire Gassaille, died on May 27th while trying the "scarf game challenge." According to the article, the challenge is an offshoot of the blackout challenge, which has been responsible for multiple deaths in the past, in which participants choke themselves with a scarf until they become unconscious.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References