If you’ve spent much time on the internet, you’ve probably heard the horrific viral fan theory about how The Rugrats are actually all dead, and figments of Angelica’s imagination, because she’s suffering from psychosis.

This groundbreaking if disturbing theory has since gone on to spark plenty more like it: Ash from Pokémon is in a coma, SpongeBob SquarePants is a product of underwater nuclear testing, Ed, Edd n Eddy is set in Purgatory.

There’s also another exceedingly popular one about a beloved childhood cartoon ready to give you nightmares (hooray!), and it’s about Peppa Pig.

Yep, Peppa Pig and all of her family and friends do not actually live in the happy colourful world you see on TV: instead, they’re all dead, each reaching their demise in incredibly disturbing ways.

Online writer animegeek00 has made a hobby out of sharing creepy-as-hell versions of childhood favourites, and this particular tale begins with a claim the author were given this monstrous information by a producer on the show in a top-secret envelope.

And what is this information? ‘All of the animals were based on dead children,’ and the show takes place in the afterlife. Lovely.

How did Peppa Pig die?

Peppa and all her friends died horrible deaths

According to the writer’s theory, main character Peppa was based on a sick little girl who ‘spent her short life in a hospital bed’, and suffered so much that her parents decided to euthanise her.

As she fell asleep, her parents injected her with poison and she died dreaming about fairies – which is apparently why Peppa Pig wants to be a fairy in the show.

Disturbed enough yet? Well, it gets worse.

After killing their daughter, Peppa’s parents couldn’t live with the guilt – especially as her little brother George kept asking where she was.

So, naturally, ‘Daddy Pig snapped. He took a knife and killed himself, his wife and child.’

How did the other Peppa Pig characters die?

Peppa Pig takes place in the afterlife, according tot he theory

There is plenty more where that came from: Suzy Sheep was hit by a truck while cycling her bike, Mummy Sheep overdosed after turning to drugs to cope with the death of her daughter, Mr Zebra died penniless on the streets (plot twist: he was the one who hit Suzy with the truck.)

Pedro Pony was drowned by his schoolyard bullies, and Madam Gazelle killed herself and all her schoolchildren in a fire when they were trying to bake cookies.

You can read the full version on Wattpad – if you have the stomach for it.

But you don’t actually need to go to the dark corners of the internet to find disturbing versions of your childhood favourites – sometimes you just need to go to the cinema.

An upcoming horror film based on the story of Winnie-the-Pooh made waves earlier this year when the first images from the set were released, showing a deranged Pooh and Piglet hog-tie and torture an innocent victim.

Winnie-the-Pooh is the latest childhood character to get the gory makeover

The beloved characters have become ‘these kind of unhinged, feral beings who are really sadistic and twisted.

‘It’s altered their perception so much that they’re just absolutely deranged,’ creator Rhys Frake-Waterfield told Metro.co.uk in a recent interview.

‘They just want to go around and cause loads of suffering… As the years have gone on they’ve struggled to survive,’ he explained.

‘Eventually, it got to the point where it was so dire and there was no food in the forest for Pooh and Piglet, and they made the tough decision to kill and eat Eeyore.’

Sorry, kids.