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10 Scary Real Life Monsters That Actually Exist!

Here is a collection of 10 scary real life monsters, from deep sea marine life to inhabitants of remote areas on Earth. These are all real.

By Tim TrottCryptozoology • November 1, 2013
1,068 words, estimated reading time 4 minutes.
10 Scary Real Life Monsters That Actually Exist!

Explore the world of real-life monsters through my photography. From eerie deep-sea creatures to creepy insects, these photos reveal the terrifying side of nature. See the chilling details of these creatures up close and learn about the fascinating, yet frightening, aspects of our world.

Scary Real Life Monster #1 - The Giant Isopod

Front view of Bathynomus giganteus
Front view of Bathynomus giganteus 

Like something out of an alien movie, this real-life monster is the giant isopod. It dwells in the cold, deep waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They can grow to two and a half feet long and are a cousin of the common woodlouse. Like the woodlouse, they can curl up into a ball, where only the tough shell is exposed. This protects them from predators trying to strike at the more vulnerable underside.

Although generally believed to be scavengers, feeding mostly on dead whales, fish, and squid, they may also be active predators of slow-moving prey such as sea cucumbers, sponges, radiolarians, nematodes, and other zoobenthos, and perhaps even live fish. They are also known to attack trawl catches.

Scary Real Life Monster #2 - Goblin Shark

Goblin shark jaw
Goblin shark jaw 

The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is a rare, poorly known species of deep-sea shark. Sometimes called a "living fossil, " it is the only extant representative of the family Mitsukurinidae, a 125 million-year-old lineage. This species looks unlike any other shark, with a long flattened snout, highly protractible jaws containing prominent nail-like teeth, and pink colouration. It is usually between three and four meters (10 - 13 ft) long when mature, though it can grow considerably larger. Goblin sharks inhabit upper continental slopes, submarine canyons, and seamounts worldwide at depths greater than 100 m (330 ft), with adults found deeper than juveniles.

The goblin shark can sense minute electric fields produced by nearby prey with its long snout, and a retractable jaw is quick to snap any prey up.

Scary Real Life Monster #3 - Hagfish

Hagfish
Hagfish 

The jawless, spineless hagfish is the only known animal to have a skull but no vertebral column. It is a primitive creature that lives at the bottom of the ocean and dates back 500 million years. It has a special defence mechanism by which it exudes a very slippery slime, which it uses to escape predictors.

Scary Real Life Monster #4 - Goliath Tigerfish

Goliath Tigershark
Goliath Tigershark 

With a name like Goliath Tigerfish, you'd expect it to be one humongous, ferocious creature, and you'd be right. The goliath tigerfish (Hydrocynus goliath) makes a piranha look like a goldfish by comparison. The Goliath tigerfish is one of the most famous tigerfish, and it can grow to a weight of 50kg (110lb), with the largest ever caught nearly 1.5m (5 feet) long and weighing 70kg (154 lb). It's mainly found in the Congo River and Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Locals say it's the only fish that doesn't fear the crocodile and eats smaller ones.

Scary Real Life Monster #5 - Blobfish

Blobfish
Blobfish 

The blobfish (Psychrolutes Marcus) is a deep sea fish of the family Psychrolutidae. It inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia and Tasmania, as well as the waters of New Zealand. Due to its low-density flesh, the blobfish's shape is very different when it is out of the water and takes on a very grumpy look, so much so that it was recently voted the worlds most ugly animal.

Scary Real Life Monster #6 - Coconut Crab

Coconut Crab
Coconut Crab 

The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is the largest land-living arthropod in the world and can grow up to 1m (3ft 3in) in length from leg to leg and weighs up to 4.1kg (9lb). It is found on islands across the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific Ocean as far east as the Gambier Islands, mirroring the distribution of the coconut palm from which it is named.

Scary Real Life Monster #7 - Colossal Squid

Squid in Deep Sea
Squid in Deep Sea 

The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), sometimes called the Antarctic or giant cranch squid, is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only known member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis. It is known from only a few specimens, and current estimates put its maximum size at 12 - 14m (39 - 46ft) long. We still know very little about the colossal squid, including how it hunts, and we have been aware of the giant squid for centuries, but surprisingly, it still has not been seen alive in its natural habitat. This is mainly because it lives at depths of 2,000 - 3,000ft, and it is very difficult for us to conduct research without noisy and very bright equipment, which scares any marine life away.

Scary Real Life Monster #8 - Vampire Bat

Common Vampire Bats
Common Vampire Bats 

or a species that has inspired some of the best horror films in history, vampire bats themselves are a let-down. For starters, vampire bats rarely attack people; they prefer sleeping cattle and horses. Secondly, they're not bloodsuckers - they open a patch of skin on their victims using razor-sharp teeth and lap up the plasma that leaks out. The vampire bat's saliva contains chemicals that keep the wound from clotting, leading scientists to explore bats as potential stroke treatments.

They are not completely harmless, though; the messy, blood-to-blood transfer during feeding can spread nasty infectious diseases, and like a heat-seeking missile, vampire bats use infrared radiation to find their prey in the dark.

Scary Real Life Monster #9 - Burmese Python

Giant Burmese Python
Giant Burmese Python 

The Burmese Python is one of the largest snakes in the world and usually grows to 7.5 metres (25 ft) in length and some 90kg (200 lb) in weight, but there have been pythons as long as 15m (50 ft) and as heavy as 450kg (1,000 lb). They grab their victims with sharp teeth, wrap themselves around their target and squeeze. After their prey has suffocated, the pythons swallow them whole.

Scary Real Life Monster #10 - Blood Red Slug

Blood Slug
Blood Slug 

Recently discovered in May 2013, the blood red slug is a totally bizarre giant new species of slug. It was discovered living around Mount Kaputar near Narrabri in New South Wales - around 323 miles northwest of Sydney. In this remote part of Australia, the slug can grow to lengths of up to 20 cm (8 inches).

About the Author

Tim Trott is a lifelong explorer of the unexplained whose fascination with the paranormal began in childhood, sparked by ghost stories, eerie encounters, and a haunted house on his school grounds. As the creator of Your Paranormal, he invites readers to journey beyond the veil and uncover the mysteries of ghosts, UFOs, mythology, and the supernatural. What began as childhood curiosity has grown into a passion for unraveling the unknown—one story, one encounter, and one mystery at a time.

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