People are terrified by the return of King Cake Baby

Search for "King Cake Baby" on Twitter and you will find a large number of tweets that include the word "nightmare," descriptions like "hauntingly weird" and a general sense that many people will be losing sleep over a shared experience. While these trends might seem to indicate the return of a disturbing horror franchise, the spirited outcry is a reaction to the return of an NBA mascot — the New Orleans Pelicans seasonal oddity, King Cake Baby.

King Cake Baby, who's become something of a nightmarish Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans, reappeared at the Smoothie King Center when the Pelicans hosted the Los Angeles Clippers Monday Night. The horror went viral the moment he was spotted in the underbelly of the stadium:

From that point on, sleep seemed out of the question for many:

Naturally, the return of King Cake Baby prompted many to wonder why the Pelicans had gone through such trouble to give their day-to-day mascot Pierre such a kid-friendly makeover:

While others just combined the horror of old-school Pierre and King Cake Baby to further haunt your dreams:

Speedskating meets Mario Kart

Although the 2014 Winter Games are now officially in our rear-view, the Internet has a way of preserving its best moments and of course reinventing others. YouTube user timtimfed imagined what a Men's 500m Speedskating Final would look like animated in the vein of Mario Kart — and it may just be the visual stimulation you need to erase King Cake Baby from your mind.

Clowney did what?

Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina's talented defensive end whose work ethic has been famously questioned, quieted many of his critics Monday when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds at the NFL combine. The blistering time was not only tops at his position but faster than many of the top offensive prospects lauded for their speed.

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