Everybody’s got a favorite childhood show, and for many of us, that show was Sesame Street. This whimsical, fun, and colorful show taught us everything good, from letters, numbers, shapes, other cultures, and friendship.
Most Sesame Street fans are now adults looking fondly at memories of simpler times.
Funnily enough, sometimes your favorite characters can come back in unexpected ways during adulthood. And this is exactly what happened with the Elmo Fire Meme.
For those who may not be familiar with Elmo and this meme, we’ll break it down for you here.
Who is Elmo and what is the Elmo fire meme?
Elmo is a puppet character called a muppet from the popular children’s TV show called Sesame Street. A red monster with an iconic laugh, Elmo has become a famous and lovable personality, not just in the TV show, but in other popular media.
His most memorable feature is undoubtedly his high falsetto voice and tendency to talk in third person.
Where it started
Like many other things, Elmo eventually became a meme. You may have seen a photo of Elmo engulfed in flames floating around on the internet. This is often called the Elmo fire meme or Elmo Rise. Sometimes it is also referred to as Hellmo.
The earliest known appearance of the Elmo fire meme was way back in 2012. It popped up on a website called CakeWrecks.com, showing elmo with a stricken expression.
How this meme became popular
A year later, Tumblr users reblogged the same image uploaded on CakeWrecks.com with a caption that said “rise.” This post continued to gain popularity and eventually reached around 250,000 notes in the span of five years.
The year after that, another Tumblr user edited the image into an animated gif. This gif featured the Elmo rise image against a flaming background with the caption “All hail Hellmo, our dark lord of the internet. This went on to be reposted on the platform, gaining several hundred thousand notes or likes.
The meme continued to spread in video format and new variations to the original image.
Why is Hellmo so funny?
This meme might be funny for several reasons. Many people can probably relate to Elmo’s expression of pure terror while he is engulfed in flames. It might reflect the feeling that everything positive is burning up in flames, bringing all of us into our own personal hells.
The meme becomes even funnier with superimposed text that gives it different messages and contexts.
Without further ado, here are some of the best Elmo fire memes for your enjoyment:
1. Nobody could have predicted what a burning mess of a year 2020 was going to be – not even Hellmo!
2. It suddenly goes from HD back to 360p.
3. Rapping a verse like I’m on fire!
4. It’s either 1000 degrees or subzero — there is no in between.
5. This feels like the experiment where you boil the frog alive. Hmmm…
6. Let the cut burn, burn, burn.
7. Candles can suddenly be as menacing as Hellmo when nobody’s around, apparently.
8. Poor kid! But seriously, what type of parents would name their kid Calm?
9. Welcome to the gates of Hellmo.
10. Run run run as fast as you can. You can’t catch me, it’s the Hellmo man!
11. Be afraid of Hellmo’s power. Be very afraid.
12. Why does it always feel like hell in our armpits?
13. My mouth is on fire!
14. Is it just me, or is it getting hot out here?
15. Changing your sister’s Wii name to “Butt” is honestly a big power move.
16. You can’t help but feel as invincible as Hellmo when turning up the volume of your headphones.
17. Tell me climate change isn’t real.
18. Burn her at the stake!
19. The world is burning one country at a time, starting with good old ‘Murica.
20. Twitter might have been the most hellish of social media platforms, but at least it was home… right?
21. Caution: hot as Hellmo.
22. My face when California suddenly bursts into fire yet again.
23. Everybody during the lockdowns, to be honest.
24. This Hellmo has some Star Wars feels to it. UNLIMITED POWER!
No matter who your favorite Sesame Street character was, all of them are meme-worthy in their own ways. But Elmo takes the cake for our most memorable muppet meme.
If you liked this list, then also check these memes about baby yoda that will crack you up