Why Do People Think an Alarm Clock Is Demonic?

While pumpkins, witches, and ghosts are already clogging up everything from grocery store aisles to suburban front lawns, it wouldn’t truly be spooky season without a controversy that combines a true love for the occult with good old fashioned satanic panic. And this year, the focus is firmly on sleep wellness company Hatch, after a few Halloween-themed advertisements sparked several viral accusations of demonic energy on TikTok. 

“Hatch is demonic,” said one TikToker in a video now well over 3 million views. “If you have a Hatch, you need to throw it away right now.” 

Best known for their viral sound machines and alarm clocks, Hatch is constantly promoted on TikTok, just one of countless companies whose products promise to fix sleep patterns and help people wake up easier. But ahead of Halloween weekend, Hatch had a small but incredibly loud contingent of Christians on TikTok posting videos of themselves throwing away their Hatch devices — and accusing the company of being demonic. 

Hatch released a series of Halloween-themed advertisements pegged to the return of the scary holiday season. But the biggest one was Goodnight, Phone, a short skit starring the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Mad Men actress Kiernan Shipka. The advertisement depicts Shipka as a normal woman who, after a stressful move into a new house, is haunted by a constant rotation of doomscrolling, late nights, and fatigue — represented by a monstrous double of herself. The answer to all of these problems? According to the ad, it’s buying a Hatch alarm. But for some Christian TikTok users, the video isn’t a clever marketing move with a little Halloween flair. It’s proof that one of the most popular alarm clocks on the market is filling people’s homes with demonic influences. 

For the past week, dozens of Christians on TikTok — many of them mothers — have posted videos throwing away their Hatch machines and encouraging others to throw them away as well. One of the most popular videos on the subject is from a Christian creator named Charity, who posted a video to her 16,000 followers saying she was “disturbed” by Hatch’s Halloween ads but even more convinced of demonic influences after reading through the company’s marketing materials. “Now why would a company that sells sound machines to adults and also young children and babies promote their product using horror films?” she said. “The weird thing about it is that Hatch themselves have admitted to practicing divination to create their sounds. On their webpage they actually state that they believe that sleep is a ritual and that we should have a nightly ritual to fall asleep to.” 

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When reached for comment by Rolling Stone, Charity said she stands by her video about Hatch — clarifying that she doesn’t think an inanimate object can actually house a demon, but that the Halloween commercials made her uncomfortable. 

“I wasn’t meaning to tell anyone what to do or not do when it comes to the company or Halloween in general. After many experiences in my life, it’s clear to me that as a believer in Christ Jesus I don’t want to be associated with darkness,” she says. “We are called to be the light of this world. Many people have and will continue to disagree with me about this situation, and everyone is allowed to have their own opinions and beliefs.” 

While some Christian creators seem to be taking the demonic allegations quite seriously, the Hatch backlash has become a bit of a meme online, with users accusing the women of being in religious psychosis or just flat out ridiculous. Many of the comments on the videos lean into the comedy of the warnings. “my son started levitating when we had the hatch in his room,” one commenter joked. “Now he only chants strange latin phrases every now and then.” “The only demonic thing about my hatch is the alarm at 6 a.m.,” reads another. After the videos went viral, Hatch released its own statement on the demonic accusations, pushing back on the idea that the company was promoting spiritual warfare with their alarm clocks 

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“It’s come to our attention that our recent Halloween ad may have unnerved some people,” Hatch said in a statement on their social media pages. “To be clear: we did not mean to imply our devices are literally possessed by dark forces. We were simply trying to show how our phones haunt our souls, steal our sleep and flood our eyes with unholy blue light. Totally different thing. Hope that clears it up. “ When Rolling Stone reached out to Hatch for comment, the company said “the only dark forces we intended to highlight were the evils of doomscrolling before bed. At the end of the day, our mission is simple: to help everyone get their best sleep.” 

But for those who still aren’t convinced that their Hatch machine didn’t come to their house with a demon attached, the company is encouraging anyone concerned to send their Hatch product back as part of their newly renamed RePOSSESED program, which allows people to buy refurbished and used versions of their products for a cheaper price.  Maybe someone else could use some dark spirits to get a good night’s sleep.