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Okay, so here is the Chicago rat hole deity story! Please bear in mind that in me telling this story, and in you reading it, we are participating in the fabrication of a new mythology and lore about this new deity. It's pretty cool! It all started with an artist named Winslow Dumaine living in Roscoe Village in Chicago. He tweeted a photo of the imprint of (what is clearly) a rat in the sidewalk. His caption said "Had to make a pilgrimage to the Chicago Rat Hole!" Despite this hole likely being at least a decade old, his tweet absolutely blew up. Other people began making pilgrimages to the rat hole. People began leaving coins in the hole, and then people started offering shots of Malort poured into the hole. Some people even left petitions, flowers, and candles. The hole is now entirely filled with coins and even though Chicago had a huge freeze, it remains thawed and visible because of the constant Malort offerings. While this is hilarious, as a religious studies scholar I am so deadass that this is EXACTLY how folk deities are made. And I am loving every minute of it.