A five-year-old girl cut off her long hair after a sick Momo hacker ordered her to do so while she innocently watched Peppa Pig.

Sam Barr, 25, has warned other parents to be vigilante after her daughter Jemma was targeted by the disturbing challenge.

She believes Jemma has been brainwashed by the creature after the toddler told her in a chilling warning: ‘Best keep one eye open when you’re sleeping!’

This comes despite charities saying that Momo is nothing more than hoax and a ‘moral panic’.


The child cut off her own hair after a Momo told her to do so (Picture: Sam Barr / Hook News)

The Momo showed up while Jemma watched Peppa Pig

Young children watching popular kids’ programmes online are reportedly being targeted by Momo – a haunting figure with bulging eyes and a demented grin – and some parents say their children are being encouraged to harm themselves or even take their own lives.

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Sam, from Cheltenham, said: ‘I feel like my precious little girl has been brainwashed by this sick game.



‘Thank God she only cut her hair – it could have been so much worse.’

Sam made the alarming discovery on Tuesday morning and explained: ‘The day began like any normal morning with us both rushing around to get ready before school.

‘I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and my daughter, Jemma, was in her bedroom. She was very quiet so I went to check on her.’

Sam Barr believes her daughter has been brainwashed by the creepy challenge (Picture: Sam Barr / Hook News)

Sam says she’s haunted by what she found and added: ‘Jemma was standing in the middle of the room with a pair of kitchen scissors by her side.

‘There was hair everywhere. Her beautiful, blond hair had been hacked off, right down to the scalp, on both sides of her head. I burst into tears and felt sick to my stomach.’

Sam initially believed an intruder had sneaked into her home and checked her household CCTV – which confirmed she and Jemma were alone in the house.

Sam continued: ‘I realised Jemma must have done this to herself. There was no other explanation. I couldn’t be angry with her. She is a sweet girl who is generally very placid. She’s never done anything like this before.’

Sam, a full-time mum, sat down with her daughter to ask her why she had cut her hair and added: ‘My jaw dropped when Jemma said “Momo made me do it”. She said that Momo wants everybody to be bald and made fun of her for having long hair.

‘And Momo threatened to hurt her if she didn’t cut her hair off.

Sam took her daughter straight to the hairdressers (Picture: Sam Barr / Hook News)

‘I’d read about Momo the previous evening and had made a mental note to be extra-vigilant when Jemma was using electronic devices.’

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Sam, who has always kept a close eye on Jemma’s online activity, receives notifications telling her exactly what her daughter is watching.

But Momo bypasses parental controls by hacking into children’s favourite shows such as Peppa Pig.

Sam says: ‘When I checked the browsing history on all our devices, it looked like Jemma was watching normal stuff. She’s hooked on Peppa Pig so I’d expect to see that on there.’

Sam rang Jemma’s school to notify them that she would be absent that day.

She continued: ‘I took her straight to her hairdresser in Cheltenham where her hair was rescued with a cute pixie cut and accessories.’

Sam has warned other parents to be vigilante (Picture: Sam Barr / Hook News)

But Sam believes her daughter, who is now being monitored by her GP, has been brainwashed by Momo.



‘Looking back, Jemma had been acting strangely for a few days. I think that was because of Momo.

‘Now she says things like “Momo will tell me what to do next” and “Momo won’t let me say”.

‘She smiled at me last night and said “Best keep one eye open when you’re sleeping”,’ Sam added.

‘It’s terrifying to think about what she’s been exposed to and, for now, the internet is turned off completely in our house.’

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