The scream comes from Tom, the blue-grey cat in the long-running Tom and Jerry cartoons, where his panicked yells punctuated slapstick chases and accidents. Online creators later took that familiar cartoon cry and remixed it with boosted bass, a style common in meme edits that makes short sounds louder and more dramatic. The boosted version spread through YouTube compilations, TikTok videos, and soundboards, where it became a quick shorthand for shock, pain, or a sudden fail.