What one woman found in the bins of a Goodwill store has captivated the internet.

Reddit user u/macierollinsart recently shared how her sister stumbled across a mysterious black cat-like object in a Goodwill bin. The strange figure, which has a long tail and what looks like mummified wrappings, was dubbed by the finder a "voodoo mummy cat." The curious find quickly sparked fascination, racking up over 36,000 upvotes in the subreddit "What Is It."

"My sister found this at the Goodwill bins and decided to put it on her bedroom door. None of us can figure out what it's supposed to be. It looks kind of strange and doesn't seem to have a clear purpose. Thought this would be the right place to ask—any ideas?" she wrote alongside photos of the object.

Goodwill bins, which are essentially the last stop for unsold thrift store items, are known for yielding everything from vintage treasures to bizarre oddities. Many shoppers visit them in search of unique, low-cost items—and sometimes, as in this case, they strike viral gold.

The Reddit thread quickly filled with theories and admiration.

"For what it's worth, I kinda love it. As soon as I saw it, it inspired many stories in my head about what it could be and where it came from and what its purpose is. I love detailed objects like this that ignite the imagination. To me, it looks like a cat mummy, so I would like to request that you officially name it Meowmmy," one user wrote.

Another offered: "It is a Wercat-Mermaid-Mummy. My head is also creating lots of stories how it crawled out of the woods before it was sacrificed..."

One commenter saw artistic potential: "I love it. It's very cool, I think it's an art piece; acquired taste, clearly lol. It's actually inspiring, I might try my hand at making something similar."

Still others believed it had spiritual properties.

"That little fella is protecting you they will take all the bad vibes, it does give them a dark appearance—but it's ok they are full of love," one user wrote.

Another user provided a more detailed explanation and ventured into the realm of cultural tradition: "I actually know what this one is!

"It's a spirit doll—maybe referred to as a healing doll in some parts of the world. They are supposed to bring comfort, safety and healing to anyone in the home. Important to know some cultures believe they can also pass on curses. They are usually hand made (as you can definitely see).

"Some cultures believe they hold spirits as a vessel of sorts. Best guess would be that this was made for a deceased cat and 'holds' the spirit of the pet for some shamanic purpose. Not all of these are good, however not all are bad. Not an expert—just seen a lot of these travelling South America."

Ultimately, the original finder chimed in to put minds at ease, writing: "I'm the sister & have had this thing for over a year now! Never have had any negative / bad energy come from it."

Whether it's a handmade spirit doll, a misunderstood piece of outsider art, or simply a conversation-starting curiosity, the find—described in the listing as a "mysterious unsettling handmade voodoo mummy cat figure"—is now on eBay, where bidding has already reached $115.50.

Newsweek reached out to u/macierollinsart for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

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