From Chelsea High School art teacher to viral Tik Tok sensation: Spooky Lake Month with Geo Rutherford

Former Chelsea teacher Geo Rutherford combines art, science and spooky sea stories to captivate millions on TikTok.

Photo courtesy of Geo Rutherford

Um yeah, hello, it's Spooky Lake Month! For avid Tik Tok users, this catchphrase might ring a bit of a bell; Former Chelsea High School art teacher Geo Rutherford has called this the opening of each of her videos for the month of October.

Her Tik Tok account has more than 1.7 million followers and for the 31 days in October, Geo highlights another national or international lake and its more haunting and morbid qualities – which she describes as “haunted hydrology”. What started as a passion project and pastime in 2020 quickly grew into a viral phenomenon and, as of this year, a published book.

After separating from the Chelsea School District in 2019, Geo pursued higher education at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee for the second part of her art degree. Geo credits her thesis with truly expressing her passion for limnology, the study of inland waters.

She explained: “My entire 75-page paper was about going to the beaches, collecting material and spending time on the shores, and how that collection ultimately served as evidence of what was going on with the Great Lakes .”

She posted videos about this project and it was actually what first went viral on her Tik Tok account. She continued: “It kind of comes full circle; I started Tik Tok because of the Great Lakes, I started sharing educational content because of the Great Lakes, and then I just happened to sneak into other lakes.”

Due to her early success on Tik Tok and increased free time in 2020, Geo made the somewhat impulsive decision to release a video about Haunted Hydrology every day in October. She laughs about this first Spooky Lake Month installation and says, “I had no plan. These videos are so embarrassing because they are very chaotic; I think this was a product of 2020, and also a 35-year-old trying to figure out what to do on the internet.” Regardless, Spooky Lake has only grown in quality and reach since that first year.

According to Geo, “2021 was, so to speak, the first wildly successful year for Spooky Lake Month.” Following this installation, Geo gained interest in publishing a book. She explained: “Several literary agents reached out to me, so I was sort of guided through the process. I had to make a proposal, which I then gave to a group of publishers who essentially argued about it.”

After deciding to work with Abrams Books, Geo began the formal book writing and illustration process; It took about two years to complete the book from start to finish. True to her artistic passion, Geo explained: “The writing aspect was so difficult for me that after all the hesitation and writing, the painting was a creative relief.” From September 2024, the official “Spooky Lakes” book will be available online and in stores, along with stickers (artwork by Geo) and other Spooky Lake items.

Spooky Lake Month has opened countless doors for Geo and her artwork. When asked about her favorite aspect of achieving social media success, Geo explained, “I like that, strangely, I've been able to do this thing in my life where I've combined the things that I think “most fun: art, science, education, lakes,” and horror. It was like a strange marriage of all my favorite things.”

Most importantly, she attributes her rise to social media success to giving her the opportunity to be “a working artist.” She is also very proud that her success has given her the opportunity to give back; “I’m really excited this year because we’re donating the entire amount (around $7,000) from my Founder’s Fund to the Hurricane Helene effort.”

In the end, Geo celebrates “how people can use the internet in a positive way” and along with that positivity, she wants to continue to spread her passion. The fifth installation of Spooky Lake Month is more than halfway over, but the Spooky Lakes book and merchandise are available for purchase year-round.

Immerse yourself in the ghostly history of the Great Lakes and other international inland waters – the secrets that lurk beneath the surface (like the acidic properties of Lake Natron and the alien extremophiles of Lake Vostok) are sure to make your hair stand on end.

Also be sure to check out Geo on Tik Tok or Instagram @geodesaurus!