Going down the ‘rat hole?’ Viral phenom is actually decades-old squirrel imprint beloved by the block, neighbors say

Who knows how the Looney Tunes-shaped critter imprint made it into Roscoe Street. Or even what kind of animal it is.

But Chicago’s latest viral critter has been delighting residents and drawing people from across the city this week to revel in the “rat hole.”

“This is just like such a little lovely piece of joy,” said Winslow Dumaine, an artist whose social media post about the imprint has gained over 4 million views.

“You can show this to someone who doesn’t speak a word of English, you can show this to someone 500 years ago, and they would know exactly what happened,” he added. “It’s just a universally lovely, funny thing.”

Dumaine, whose art includes hand-drawn decks of cards and “surrealist” bumper stickers, was shown the hole on Jan. 6 by a friend.

“It just immediately got such a huge laugh out of me,” Dumaine said.

Since then, news reports and social media posts have brought fame to the quiet residential street in Roscoe Village. People have come from around the city to see it for themselves and leave donations, including a $1.21 in change on Wednesday afternoon.

But longtime residents on the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street say the critter isn’t actually a rat.

“I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble or upset anybody, but it’s a squirrel,” said Cindy Nelson, who has lived across the street from the imprint for over 20 years.

Before this week’s attention on social media, the so-called rat hole has long been a popular fixture on the street, neighbors said.

The section of Roscoe Street, situated between a Brown Line L stop and a stretch of restaurants and shops off Damen Avenue, gets a fair amount of foot traffic. Neighbors said they often see people walk past the hole and do a double take.

Pat Nabong / Sun-Times

“Even before it went viral it’s been a part of the neighborhood,” said resident C.J. Tuor. “It’s not uncommon for us to see people see the rat hole and take a moment to appreciate it.”

A large oak tree used to sit next to the hole on the sidewalk, and Nelson says the critter must have taken a fall out of the tree at one point and splatted into wet cement.

“There’s no possible way that a rat is going to go airborne, straight up, and belly flop straight into the middle of the cement,” Nelson said.

“The mystery really is who picked up the squirrel and did they clean them off?” she added.

Regardless, Nelson loves that the spot has become more famous. She sees people regularly stopping and photographing the rat hole throughout the day.

“This is just so Chicago, I love it,” Nelson said.

Pat Nabong / Sun-Times

Sophia Roy, a Lincoln Park resident, was one of many who stopped to see the imprint Wednesday afternoon. A friend who doesn’t live in Chicago sent her a TikTok video about it.

“It’s so silly, and I’ve never seen anything like it before. And for everyone to just start talking about it now on social media, that’s kind of hilarious, especially since it’s been here for that long,” Roy said.

Tuor’s window looks out onto the rat hole. He and his family have lived there for over three years and are used to people stopping by to take in the critter. But since the weekend, they’ve noticed more visitors.

He also agreed it’s more likely that a squirrel would make such a leap or take such a fall. His 3-year-old son also recently has taken an interest in the imprint. They’re constantly debating what the creature is. His son’s guesses change daily and range from a squirrel to a rat to a raccoon.

The creature has even been treated as a Halloween decoration for the block, Tuor said. A grave site was constructed in its honor two Halloweens ago.

He also appreciates the attention to rat hole, just like the love shown for Chance the Snapper and Chonkosaurus.

“I’m all for a small Chicago story that doesn’t have to do with one of our politicians selling an office or something that we can all make fun of,” Tuor said.

Pat Nabong / Sun-Times