Quantcast
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Favorite Five: Real-Life Animals Made For Horror Fans

When FDR uttered the immortal line: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” he clearly had not tangled with a crocodile, stumbled upon a King Cobra, or swam with a Great White shark. Many horror films, if not all of them, take cues from the real world, from science, from nature, from the terror that exists on this planet that Mother Nature has created. What can we conclude? Mother Nature clearly hates the human race. How else can you explain vampire bats and piranhas? The world is full of deadly, horrifying creatures.

Many people are terrified of spiders, others of snakes (Indiana Jones is perhaps the most famous snake hater), and some can’t dip a toe into a pool because of Steven Spielberg’s JAWS. There are those that are scared of everything, and lastly, there are the foolish few who say they fear nothing, but we all know their full of it. Me? I find the dead eyes of goats and sheep creepy as hell, I think that Ostriches and Emus are out to get me, and (like Indy) am not a big fan of snakes.

The animals and sea creatures that I have mentioned are the obvious ones, the ones we find almost every Friday night on the SyFy channel in giant B-movie fashion. Bears, sharks, spiders, snakes, alligators, piranhas… these are so prevalent in horror that the sight of an irradiated monstrous one (slightly) loses its impact. I’m here to freak you out about OTHER real-life animals that Mother Nature must have made just for fans of horror and monsters. Animals that shouldn’t exist, but do, whether they troll under the depths of the sea, soar across the open skies, or hunt in the dense jungle.

THE BOX JELLYFISH

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Pretty, but not for touching. Like Olivia Wilde.

Pretty, but not for touching. Like Olivia Wilde.

Some Jellyfish are alluring and some are beautiful. But they’re also undeniably eerie, almost alien like (BRAIN FROM THE PLANET AROUS, any body?), with a supernatural ghost vibe, floating underwater with a myriad of tentacles, watching, waiting. These deadly drifters roam mostly the waters surrounding the Australian and Indonesian portions of the Pacific Ocean, but there are species in Hawaii and Florida that can cause heart failure. Beware snorklers.

The Box Jellyfish, or the Sea Wasp or Marine Stinger, has the deadliest venom in the world. The 10 foot long creature has 24 eyes (anything that doesn’t have two eyes automatically gets horror points), and a ton of tentacles, each one packing a 5,000 stinging cell punch. Many have enough venom in their tentacles to kill 60 humans, let alone measly little you. The venom is activated by contact with fish, shellfish and humans, and can cause heart attacks, devastate your nervous system and consume your skin. Many victims die at sea before they can reach safety If you encounter a Chironex fleckeri box jellyfish, you should just give up. A sting from one can kill you in less than three minutes, or a single commercial break.

Dozens of people, perhaps even 100 or more die each year from the many types of box jellyfish that can be found in all oceans. If you’re in the Phillippines, stay indoors, as 20-40 a year of the previous figure come JUST from that area. The numbers may be even higher, because the box jellyfish is mostly prevalent in water bodies near cultures that don’t require death certificates.

If, however, you’re a turtle, you’re in luck. Sea turtles are unaffected by the tentacles and their venom, and even eat the box jellyfish. So, if you’re a diver and want to menace the spaghetti serial killer of the sea, make like Nemo and ride that puppy to safety.

RUNNER UP: The LION’S MANE JELLYFISH. It’s not as dangerous as the box jellyfish, but imagine a jellyfish that has tentacles up to 120 feet long and you’ll know why I seriously considered it. Its sting is rarely fatal, unless it causes you to drown, which is kind of the freakiest thing about this. If you’re underwater and get stung, a few moments of paralysis is all it takes to cause a permanent trip to Davey Jones’ locker.

THE FRILL SHARK

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Frill is another word for evil

Frill is another word for evil

You’d think with a name like “Frill Shark,” this may be a shark you can chill with or at least make fun of its fashion sense. Take one look at what it looks like and I think you’ll reconsider. Remember, anything with shark in the title tends to be dangerous. The Frill Shark, or Frilled Shark, may or may not be dangerous to humans, because they are so rarely found alive. But they live, and lurk, deep down in the Ocean’s depths.

Consider that the Frill Shark is called “the living fossil” and compared to the Loch Ness monster and may have spawned the “sea serpent” mythos, and that it possesses the skills of an eel and snake in a shark’s body. The Frill Shark is a part of a primitive species of shark that has remained much the same over millions of years. Clearly, evolution got this baby right from the get go, and didn’t need to change to survive. It’s dangerous enough as it is.

The Frill Shark’s mouth runs completely to the end of its head, allowing for 300 teeth in 25 rows. While it only can reach 6 feet in length, it is believed to trap its pray by contorting its body and lunging at you like a snake. Its long, flexible jaw, like an alligator’s, allow it to swallow its prey whole, with the aforementioned teeth preventing its victim from escaping.

It may not be as big or as daunting as the great white, but it’d still make the ocean turn a bit yellower if one of them was heading my direction.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Trending Articles