Rat Hole Craze
Recently, there has been a trend going on in Chicago about a rat hole in the ground. Many people went crazy upon seeing it and it is all over social media. People have brought the hole “presents,” such as coins, alcohol and cheese. It started off as a few people coming to see the hole and giving it some coins, but now it has gotten out of hand. This rat shaped hole has become so popular that there was even a marriage proposal and a wedding held at this spot. However, recently there have been a lot of people going to see this hole daily. This would not necessarily be a problem on a public place, except this hole is located on a sidewalk from a neighborhood.
The neighborhood of Roscoe Village in Chicago is where this rat hole is in. The people that live in the neighborhood found it quite funny when this weird trend started. However there have been many complaints on it because it has gotten out of control. It is disturbing the residents.
The rat hole has been in the sidewalk for many years now, and the sudden rise in popularity has growing concerns from the community and rightfully so. “I told someone it felt like I was living on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, because people were out there drinking, yelling, playing music and taking pictures of drugs on the ground next to the rat hole for clout,” said a woman living around the neighborhood.
Plans to Fill In The Rat Hole by The City
Since there have been a lot of complaints from the residents in the area, the city if Chicago is deciding on filling up the rat hole. This way there will be no more rat hole and residents will be at peace again.
“I don’t want to, but we are considering it due to concerns of neighbors there,” Said Alderman Scott Waguespack. One resident of the neighborhood went on reddit and wrote a post that was aimed at the people involved in this craze. Many people have asked why the city wants to fill up the rat hole. So in the reddit post he made some bullet points.
- Garbage keeps piling up as well as vapes, cigarettes, and food.
- The area has been vandalized.
- People have started throwing parties outside the houses with loud music and yelling. They also leave all their bottles on the floor without picking it up.
- Constant cars honking passing by the hole.
- There is no more privacy in the neighborhood.
- Many reporters waiting outside people’s houses to interview them.
- Mail carriers have avoided the houses in the neighborhood due to the large crowds of people.
- No more parking available because of all the people taking up the spaces.
- Many people doing weird “rituals” and “praises” to the hole late at night.
- Recent threats to the residents because of the hole getting filled in.
The End of An Era, Sadly
Last Friday, the rat hole was mysteriously filled in. Neighbors state they had nothing to do with that. Many of the residents were in fact opposed to the hole getting filled in.
“This past weekend was absolute hell for me and my neighbors. We have always liked the rat (or squirrel). it was a cute, quirky little thing in our neighborhood. People would smile and laugh as they walked by, and that was it. It’s been there at least 20 years,” stated by one of the neighbors.
Unfortunately, even though this hole was filled in, someone decided to go ahead and dig it out once again. City of Chicago is taking measures to fill in the hole once and for all.
Written by Erika Cano
Sources:
NBC News: Rat-shaped hole brings chaos to Chicago street, tormenting neighbors
CBS News: Neighbors have had it with people flocking to the Chicago ‘rat hole’
NBC Chicago: City ‘considering’ removing Chicago rat hole amid resident complaints
Top and features Image courtesy of calnenearley Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Alexa S. Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
