YESTERDAY, July 6th, an X user posted a photo. In it was a parody sign made by MAC Cosmetics that had a prohibition sign over what looked like a man in a green cape, a white hat, and a small pink net.
Expressamente proibido mago do shopping pic.twitter.com/KAqZdOJhuW
— Zanfa (@Zanfa) July 6, 2024
To anyone who wasn’t online 24/7, this would probably be cause for confusion. Others, however, are fully aware of the meaning behind this sign, which depicts the now-TikTok-famous “Wizard Gnome,” otherwise known as the “Mall Wizard.”
The Mall Wizard
Originally started by a TikToker named Crawly, the Wizard Gnome is a character whose sole purpose is to walk around in different places and wreak (harmless) havoc on the people around him.
These videos are usually accompanied by Blod Besvimelse’s song, “Misanthrop,” which many have started to call the sound of the Wizard Gnome.
He usually does so by following people around and waving his net at them, or by walking behind the counters of the establishments that he visits.
Such videos that the TIkToker have posted show the wizard running around establishments like H&M and McDonald’s, or fighting with his archnemesis, a man draped in tinfoil named “The Poor Knight.”
@crawly_possessed POOR KNIGHTS now defend stores 🤬
♬ sonido original – smith_aske
The wizard has even been seen interacting with famous personalities, such as YouTuber IShowSpeed. Many brands, like DuoLingo Brazil, have made videos dressed as the Mall Wizard, as well.
A harmless joke?
At first, many were entertained by the Mall Wizard’s antics, even going so far as to make edits and fan art of him, but others have raised concerns as to whether or not Crawly’s character has become a nuisance to people, particularly for retail workers.
This debate only increased when, in his video of him walking around in H&M, he was escorted out from behind the counters and followed by one of the members of the staff.
There is also another video in which he attempts to go behind the counter of a clothing store, but is pushed by one of the employees, and is then escorted out. The employee is also seen reprimanding the person taking the video of the wizard.
@crawly_possessed Глупые рыцари 😡 Я вернусь со своими гномами! 😈
♬ sonido original – smith_aske
While others on Twitter have said that they would be entertained if ever they were to be the ones visited by the Wizard Gnome at work, others have expressed that there’s no problem with being whimsical, but why bother the working class to do so?
“As much as I love fun, joy, whimsy, and whatnot, I find the Mall Wizard a tad annoying… [please] just leave retail workers alone,” one user on X wrote.
Others have suggested that, instead of walking around and going into different stores at the mall, the wizard could instead stick to making content roaming around outside.
This type of “prankster” content, however, is nothing new for Crawly, as he also has videos in the past walking around the mall dressed as a psychiatric patient, as well as him hauling around a cart of waste that is later on revealed to be a group of men in costume.
Given the millions of views, likes, comments, and shares that Crawly receives on his videos, whether it be of the Mall Wizard or other crazy antics in public, most of the feedback he gets is positive.
Some explain that he is never actually bothering anybody in his videos, as he usually just walks around the store for a short amount of time, and then leaves.
One could argue, however, that the sole matter of him being there is nuisance enough.
What are your thoughts on the Mall Wizard? Should videos like this be stopped, or is it all just harmless fun?
