‘New Fear Unlocked’: Woman Discovers Possum Hiding in Her Christmas Tree

Most people have heard of a partridge in a pear tree, but how about a possum in a Christmas tree?

Well, for one TikTok user, that became a reality.

"I am literally freaking out right now. I have no idea how this possum got in my house and up into my tree," TikTok user Brettbratt359 said in the viral video.

The video zoomed in on a pair of black, beady eyes above a pointed snout nestled in the branches of a frosted Christmas tree in Brett's home.

"I'm trying to get him out but it will not let me," she said in the video.

Over 4.5 million people saw the video of the unwelcome creature in the tree.

"Ah, the Yule Opossum. May he bless you with his prehensile tail," one TikTok user commented.

Not everyone was pleased to see the animal indoors.

"My soul would leave my body," another user wrote.

The removal process was, unfortunately, not captured on camera, but Brett posted a follow-up video to explain what happened.

Some may imagine it unfolded similarly to the classic "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" scene in which a rogue squirrel creates chaos at an already fraught holiday gathering.

But, rest assured, life did not imitate art in this instance.

It all started when Brett heard an unidentified sneeze.

"As I was looking around, I see this really big, long-looking rat tail, and I just kind of stop because I was in shock – I didn't know what it was – and I look up and see this giant, gray, breathing ball of fur," she said.

She said she immediately called her boyfriend "so he could witness this and believe me when I told him what I found." Next, she put on some rubber gloves and began the extraction process.

"I ended up just giving it my all and plucking his fingers from the branch one at a time," she said. "It was a struggle."

Eventually, the possum fell on the floor and hid under her couch. Thus began a chase, with the possum scurrying under her living room furniture, she said.

"I moved the couch with all my force and just went for it and tackled him like an NFL football player," she said.

She threw a sweatshirt over him and ushered the possum out of the house.

"He was not mean, he was not aggressive," she said.

Brett said she keeps several animals as pets and considered keeping the possum, but one thing kept her from welcoming him into the family.

"I probably would have kept it if it did not smell so horrid," she said.

Users commended her gallantry in the battle with the possum.

"You are so brave I would have literally died," one user commented.

"Girl, this story sent chills up my spine. I would've left my house and called the police," another wrote.