There are a lot of scary creatures out there – but the scariest are most definitely found in the most mysterious place on Earth – the very bottom of the ocean, a sunless realm where strangely beautiful and terrifying creatures live in absolute darkness.
While there are a lot of scary things down there, ranging from Anglerfish to giant eels, There are few to be extremely disconcerting in appearance to the point of just a little bit frightening.
1. Asian giant hornet
Asian giant hornet is an invasive species from Asia and a known predator of honeybees. Though not typically aggressive to humans, they will attack anything that threatens their colonies, which usually nest in the ground.
They might be the scariest insect we share this earth with. Its stinger is about 0.25in long and secretes venom which can cause tissue damage (not to mention extreme pain!). Several stings will flush your body with enough neurotoxins to kill you.
In late summer through fall, hornets may attack honeybee colonies in masses, resulting in the complete destruction of a healthy colony in a matter of hours. The attack leaves piles of decapitated victims in front of the hive.
2. The Viperfish
The viperfish is clearly a visually disconcerting creature, to say the least. To say the most, it’s absolutely and utterly terrifying. Much like a snake or eel, it has jaws capable of stretching wide in order to consume large prey, and its sharp jaws are capable of causing extreme laceration to anything it bites.
While we know quite a bit about viperfish anatomy from deceased specimens that wash up on shore, viperfish habits are still a mystery to scientists due to their location – living in pressures that would kill a human or any sort of surface fish, the viperfish’s habitat is barely accessible even by the latest technology. All we know is that the viperfish is an indiscriminate hunter, snapping at anything that moves.
3. The Bobbit worm
Bobbit worm, an undersea monster that, at only a foot long, fills the role of an apex predator. It’s got a strange name, inheriting its moniker from Lorena Bobbit, who in 1996 emasculated her husband with a pair of scissors. This spawned from the myth that female Bobbit worms consume their mate’s genitalia during mating, which is a completely false rumour.
Moving on from such, we get to why the Bobbit worm is terrifying. It’s an ambush predator and can hide under the sand near undetected. In addendum, it’s got razor-sharp jaws capable of slicing prey cleanly in half, making it the terror of the undersea. It’s been known to hide in aquarium sand and single-handedly depopulate entire fishtanks. Just keep your fingers away.
4. Dementor Wasp
This gorgeous animal, which measures just under an inch from mandibles to tail, lives across much of Africa and Asia, as well as a few Pacific Islands. Don’t be fooled by its lovely glittering appearance, though. This is a deeply sinister creature.
The wasp kills its insect victims by delivering toxic stings directly to their heads, injecting their brains with a neurotoxin that makes the victim completely submissive to the wasp’s will. The wasp then leads their new zombie-friend back to their wasp lair, at which point the wasp lays eggs inside its insect victim. The eggs feed off the insect carcass until they hatch.
So, you know. That’s maybe even a little bit worse than Dementors, who only suck out your soul, and will probably not lay eggs inside of you. Probably.
5. Colossendeis megalonyx
Would you dive into a frigid ocean to get close to a giant sea spider? Sea spiders aren’t actually true spiders. While they live all over the world, the really big ones (Colossendeis megalonyx) live in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
Little more than 8 long, spindly legs, and a piercing proboscis as big as their actual ‘body’ – which they use to literally suck the life out of their unfortunate prey items on the Antarctic Ocean floor. They are about the size of your hand, sometimes larger. They are so widespread that the seafloor where they live can be crawling with them.
