50 Times Mother Nature Proved To Be Scary As Hell (WARNING: This List Might Be Too Scary For You)

Mother Nature continues to amaze us every day, even when we fail to treat her with the love and respect she deserves. There are too many dreamy landscapes and mind-boggling animals that exist right outside our urban surroundings, just waiting to be appreciated. But be careful though — if you get too close, things can go from mesmerizing to straight-up terrifying in mere seconds.

You see, not all wildlife surprises are pleasant. They sometimes crawl into the comfort of our homes to remind us that nature is not to be messed with. In fact, there are plenty of horrified poor souls that have experienced these unsettling terrors firsthand. Before running to the hills, they managed to snap a photo and share their horror stories with everyone online.

We at We scoured the internet and found plenty of cases where nature provided our world with alien-like creatures to scare the heck out of everyone who crosses them. Continue scrolling and let us know which ones made you say ‘nope’ the loudest! And if by some chance you think you can handle even more creepy and spooky examples, check out our earlier compilations of this feature here, here, and here.

#1 Caught This Storm Above A Bowing Field Of Sunflowers

#2 Due To The Low Temperature, Lake Michigan Shattered Into Countless Pieces Of Ice

To learn more about our fear of the natural world, especially insects, we reached out to Robert Bixler, emeritus associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University. He told We that if we were to grab several hundred children’s books right now, we would find invertebrates such as butterflies, ladybugs, and snails disproportionately used there.

“People who hate bugs love butterflies. Butterflies are insects but are perceived differently from all other insects and small invertebrates,” he said. This does beg the question, why do we respond positively to the story-like creatures yet feel annoyance and disgust when it comes to the creepy-crawly ones?

#3 This Is A Wasp Nest That Has Grown Around The Floodlights On A Garage

#4 I Share A New Jaguar Photo With You, Earlier Than I Wanted. Hopefully, You Will Like This Striking Image

The professor explained that people often look at insects in fear because some of them use us as a source of food. “Mosquitoes, horse flies, and gnats, along with pest beetles and moths that get into our food. These insects come around repeatedly to feed on us and annoy us. These repetitive and annoying experiences convince us that we hate bugs,” he added.

Another factor to take in is the startle effect. “A vast majority of the million-plus species of insects stay hidden to avoid being eaten. We have never seen them and are surprised when we actually do see these strange creatures” Bixler continued. “[Insects] are perceptually so different than vertebrate animals. They move differently, they make unmusical vibration-like sounds to communicate (e.g., cicadas and katydids all summer long in trees), and eye contact is difficult. From a threat potential perspective, we know that some are harmful and stinging. Yet we know nothing about the other million species. Better to assume the worst,” he said.

#5 A Melanistic & Albino Alligator

#6 Started Work This Morning, Put My Headset On, Felt Something Furry In My Ear, Looked And There Is A Bat In My Headset

Jeffrey A. Lockwood, professor of Natural Sciences and Humanities at the University of Wyoming and author of The Infested Mind, told us that at least 6 percent of Americans suffer from entomophobia (fear of insects). “Some studies report that as many as one-in-five women experience this condition in any given year. Conservatively, 20 million people live with an irrational fear of insects and their kin,” he added.

“Fear is the heart-pounding response to present danger and anxiety is the disquiet that comes with anticipating danger. In clinical terms, the patient experiencing fear is highly aroused and seeks to escape the situation,” Lockwood said. “On the other hand, the anxious patient is worried and focuses attention on possible sources of impending harm.”

#7 Moose In Fog

#8 Stygian Owl Is Known For The Red Reflection Of Their Eyes That Are Often Associated With The Devil

#9 Dead Man Fingers Fungus

Lockwood mentioned another study of more than 1000 households that revealed that 38 percent of the respondents disliked arthropods in their yards, and 84 percent didn’t want them in their homes: “So an aversion toward insects, if not full-blown entomophobia, is extremely common in our society.”

The strong dislike of insects is rooted in six “fear-evoking perceptual properties”, Lockwood said. According to him, insects can:

Invade our homes and bodies,Evade us via quick, unpredictable movements, to which it might be added that the furtive skittering of a cockroach, for example, with its head lowered as if slinking out of the room, evokes a sense that the creature is guilty or ashamed,Undergo rapid population growth and reach staggeringly large numbers which threaten our sense of individuality,Harm us both directly (bite and sting) and indirectly (transmit disease, as well as destroy woodwork, carpets, book bindings, electrical wiring, and food stores),Instill a disturbing sense of otherness via their alien bodies — they are real-world monsters associated with madness (e.g., Going Bugs by James Hillman),Defy our will and control via a kind of radical, mindless or amoral autonomy. #10 Man Finds Huge Spider Hiding Inside Ear Muffs After Feeling Tickle In His Ear

#11 Coconut Crabs Are Attracted To The Smell Of Food

#12 Hickory Horned Devil. Largest Caterpillar In The World. Turns Into A Regal Moth. Can Grow 6 Inches Long And Is Completely Harmless Except Visually Terrifying

According to Lockwood, researchers have found three mechanisms through which early experiences can spawn phobias: “Direct experience (e.g., a cockroach runs up a kid’s pant leg), modeling (e.g., a kid sees his mother scream in terror at cockroaches), and instruction (a kid’s father tells her a story about cockroaches burrowing into children’s ears).”

Although most of us developed negative feelings towards these sci-fi-like creatures we call insects, some people find them fascinating. “[They] can become an interest for children and adults. The late Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson has often remarked that children had a ‘bug period’ and that I never got over mine,” Robert Bixler told us.

#13 This Looks Like A Scene From A Movie. Six Waterspouts Simultaneously In The Gulf Of Mexico

#14 Well There Is A Water Snake Living In My Toilet Somehow

#15 A Huntsman Spider Stealing My Cousin’s Bacon

“[We] probably share childhood experiences of playing outside a lot in wild and semi-wild locations. Children have great eyesight and find, observe and play with lots of different insects that adults otherwise would miss,” Bixleradded. “Some local nature centers that have the job of helping people develop an interest in nearby nature are starting to create BUGket Lists — 90 insects every kid needs to find before they reach the age of 12.”

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#16 Infested Spider Tent

#17 Found In A Harpy Eagle’s Nest

#18 The Giant Devil’s Flower Mantis Looks Like Something That Crawled Out Of Hell

Even those alarmed by the strange and terrifying power insects have can fight their fear of the natural world by identifying the creatures they see. “People who are frightened by insects and spiders can find web pages showing the common stinging, biting insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates (centipedes) found in their area,” Bixler explained.

Another way would be to learn about their weird shapes and colorations. To be fair, we often fail to grasp the reason for all those horns and spines and long jaws. Bixler said that, for example, the female ichneumon wasp has what looks like a two to four-inch-long stinger. “Scares the hell out of people when they first see it. [But it] cannot sting at all. That ‘stinger’ is an egg-laying device (ovipositor) she inserts into tunnels made by beetles to lay eggs on the beetle larva,” he explained.

#19 Was Playing Video Games When I Heard Sounds To My Left. Looked Over And Saw This

#20 The Creatonotos Gangis Moth Unfurling Its “Hair-Pencils” To Spread Pheromones

#21 Went Into My Attic Looking For A Water Leak Coming Into My Living Room And It Appears That I’m Also In Quarantine With This Whatever Monstrosity Left This Behind

It’s soft to the touch so I’m assuming it’s still around.

“Once people get over their fear of insects, going on an insect safari can be full of fascinating surprises. Going out to look for ant lions and tiger beetles in your neighboring parks is much cheaper than a wildlife safari to some distant continent to see lions and tigers. The incredible variety of shapes, behaviors, and colorations of insects make them an excellent focus for nature photographers — you simply need to go looking for them in the right places — they will not come to you,” Bixler concluded.

#22 This Cluster Of Fossilised Creatures Look Like They Came From Another Planet

#23 Sometimes Mother Nature Can Be Creepy (Chesaning, MI)

#24 Does Anyone Know What Kind Of Puppy This Is?

#25 Snapdragon Seed Pods Are Kind Of Creepy

#26 Found This In My Apartment While Living In Japan. They Are Fast

#27 Angler Fish Washed Ashore

#28 This Moray Tried To Swallow A Pufferfish. Said Puffer Took Her With Him

#29 Heron Likes A Bit Of Crocodilian Dinner

#30 This Harmless Snail

#31 Remember To Check Your VR Headset For Spiders

#32 I Freaked Out A Little When I Met This While Cross Country Skiing

#33 Who’s That Pokémon?

#34 All The Brown You Can See Is Spiders

#35 Apparently, A Species Of Guarana Plant Looks Like A Large Cluster Of Eyeballs

#36 The Most Metal Eel Ever

#37 It’s The Legs For Me

#38 Ceiling Snake

#39 This Is A Wolf Eel, Pure Oceanic Nightmare Fuel

#40 Mouth Of A Emerald Boa

#41 Sigh. This Is My Bathroom Ceiling, That Is A Brush-Tailed Possum Foot

#42 Small Tick Sucking On A Big One

#43 The Wallago Attu Catfish

#44 Australian Problems

#45 These Button Plants (Conophytum Wittebergense) Look Like Creepy Bloodshot Eyes

#46 For All The Naysayers Who Think The Rest Of Us Are Paranoid

#47 An Old Friend

#48 The Foot Of A Kangaroo

#49 I Have Been Losing My Mind Over How My Work Shoes Are Always Spotless In The Morning After Being Out On My Porch Overnight

I wore different shoes to work last night and I found out why when I came home. There were about 50 and they only exist because of flour on my shoes.

#50 Just Here To Ruin Your Day

#51 Frost Pattern In The Hollow Of A Rock

#52 Moss Zombie

#53 Hawk Making His Way Through Town Devouring Every Pigeon He Can. The Total Is Up In The Double Digits So Far

#54 An Alligator Snapping Turtle Hibernating Under A Sheet Of Ice

#55 A Huge Banana Spider (Argiope Aurantia) Caught A Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat In Its Web Outside A Home In Poteet, Texas

#56 Who’s The Fun Guy? (Fungi Xylaria Polymorpha Aka Man’s Toes Fungus)

#57 This Cloud Formation Appeared In The Skies Above Portugal In 2016. It Has Been Dubbed The “Hand Of God”

#58 Camera Flash Made The Sheep Look Like Zombies

#59 This Root System Of My Calathea Plant. These Root Nodules Mean It’s Very Healthy, But It’s Unnerving To Look At

#60 You Never Know You’ll Find When You Open A Data Logger Box On The Prairie

#61 Underworld Is Leaking

#62 This Guy Says Hi. He’s Mr. Tapeworm And He Had His Photo Taken With A Microscope. Look At That Toothy Smile

#63 Got A Complaint At Work About “Very Loud Crickets” In The Bathroom

#64 Deep Sea Eel

#65 Damn Nature, You Scary

#66 Crazy Looking Hole Punch Clouds Over Central Florida

#67 Mother Nature Doesn’t Care About Mother’s Day

#68 Open Wide, Image Of A Port Jackson Shark, One Of Our Loveable Critters Found At Montague Island, NSW

#69 Brown Snake Squeezing Out Of The Shower Grid

#70 Hydrosaurus Philippine Sailfin Lizard

#71 The Way These Caterpillars Are Eating This Leaf

#72 Moth Infected With Cordyceps Fungus

#73 These Creepy Looking Clouds Are Called Scud Clouds

#74 Acanthacorydalis Fruhstorferi Or Giant Chinese Dobson Fly

#75 Prehistoric Parasites. One Of The Most Interesting Crustacea We Find Along The South African Coastline Has To Be The Tongue-Eating Louse

#76 It’s A Sea Of So Called “Portuguese Man O’ War”. Extremely Venomous. If You Ever See One, Stay Away, Don’t Touch

#77 This Is How My Morning Started

#78 Is It An Alien? No. It’s A Dutch Lobster Moth Caterpillar

#79 Long, Black, Slippery Freshwater Eels

#80 The Morning Shoe Check (Before We Put Them On) Saved My Wife A Bit Of Pain Today

#81 The Upper Jaw Of A Cachalot (Sockets To Fit Their Lower Teeth Into)

#82 I Open The Door Yesterday To Find This Hanging From The Doorknob

#83 Microburst In Phoenix

#84 Hatchling Eastern Brown Thought It Was A Nice Day For A Swim In Mawson Lakes Today

#85 Butterflies Often Feed From Decaying Animals, Rotten Fruits, Blood, Animal Feces And Urine

#86 A Rattlesnake That Went Down Fighting Against California Wildfires

#87 Had A Praying Mantis Nest Hatch By My Front Door

#88 This Spider With A Body In The Shape Of A Hellhound’s Head

#89 The Inside Of A Goose’s Mouth Is Pretty Scary

#90 These Blue Dragons Seriously Look Like Aliens To Me

Such a weird-looking creature but the best thing about them is that they eat bluebottles, so we need a lot more of these blue warriors to get rid of bluebottles.

#91 Found Out Why The Roomba Quit Working

#92 This Centipede Thing

#93 Found This Li’l Cutie On My Bed

#94 Bees Show Up Here Every Year. Stay For A Few Hours And Leave. No Hive

#95 In This Period Of The End Of The Year When The Temperatures Rise, We Sometimes Observe Thunderstorms. So Here Are My Very First Images Ever Of This Phenomenon

#96 Monday Morning Before A Coffee

#97 Classic Australia

#98 Local Servo Snake

#99 Woke Up For Some Water. Thank God I Turned On The Light Before Taking A Sip

#100 Essex, UK. It’s Not A Mating Pair, The Cephalothoraces Are Completely Fused. I Thought It Was A Mismolt, But All Sixteen Legs Move Independently

#101 A Snapping Turtle Grabs Hold Of A Duck’s Foot While It Was Swimming On The Surface Of A Pond And Then Drags It Down To The Depths

#102 These Things

#103 My Driveway Today

#104 Tree In The Napa Wildfire, Taken By My Buddy

#105 Was Going To Paint And Found Some Wasps In The Outlet

#106 I Found This Intact Elk Rack Along The Continental Divide Trail Near Yellowstone Last Summer. It Was Way Too Heavy To Pack Out

#107 My Newborn Kitten Was Born 3 Eyed

#108 Jelly Ear. My First Time Finding One

#109 Seagull Swallows A Whole Rabbit On Welsh Island

#110 Laccaria Masoniae In South Island, New Zealand

#111 I Took The Picture In Sindh, Pakistan In December 2010. It Shows Trees Cocooned In Spider And Caterpillar Moth Webs After The Extreme Flooding

#112 Vultures Keep Circling This House In My Neighborhood. Should We Call Someone?

#113 “Fungeye” Natures Expression Of Human Body Parts

#114 Man Catches Australian “Sea Monster” With No Eyes And A Mouth Full Of Sharp Teeth

#115 This 5-Inch Moth We Found In Our House Yard Today

#116 Found This Thing On The Bottom Of My Pool

#117 This Yam That Looks Like A Human Hand

#118 I Touched This While Removing The Fallen Leaves Off My Plant. I’m Calling It A Day

#119 Mantis. Let’s All Take A Minute And Be Thankful That Bugs Aren’t The Same Size As Us

#120 In 2020 One Of My Biggest Photographic Dreams Come True, Some Real Close-Close-Close-Up Pictures Of An Active Volcano

#121 Caiman With An Unusual Tail

#122 Female Anglerfish With Male Attached

#123 For Weeks We Couldn’t Find The Source Of The Horrible Smell In My Daughter’s Toybox Until She Asked Me To Untangle Moana’s Hair. I Guess It Got Tangled Up And Passed Away

#124 I Put These Bug Traps Down 2 Days Ago. Just Wanted To Check In Before I Burn The House Down

#125 Inside Out III Zoological Museum Of Kaunas

#126 Earthworm With Two Tails

#127 Assassin Bug Babies On A Death March Out Of Their Egg Clutch. Scary

#128 In My Dream, I Was Being Tickled By A Feather. On My Cheek. Ended Up Finding This In My Sheets In The Morning

Needless to say, I changed my bedsheets. Absolutely hate centipedes.

#129 This Tree I Found Has Eyes

#130 View From Inside The Eyewall Of Hurricane Dorian. Given To Me By A Hope Town Survivor We Evacuated From The Bahamas

#131 A Thousand Black Like Worms At My Doorstep Anyone Know What They Are?

#132 Izmir, Turkey. Huge Huntsman Spider. Haven’t Seen Her Since This Encounter In The Bathroom

#133 Opened Up A Tin Of Peas

#134 Wasp Hive

#135 Severe Warned Storm Near Traverse City Michigan On September 7, 2021

#136 Saw This Baby Lizard Being Eaten And Carried Away By Ants

#137 Orca Stranded After The 8.3 Magnitude Earthquake In Southeast Alaska

#138 Alligator Gar Skull I Found While Hiking Today

#139 Got Home Late Last Night And Fortunately I Saw This Before I Tried To Unlock My Door

#140 Very Very Tiny Creature I Felt Crawling On Me

#141 Wild-Caught Spotted Wolffish

#142 A Skittle Of Cactus Bugs, Is What I’m Choosing To Call This Aggregation

#143 This Spider Changed His Skin Several Times In The Same Spot

#144 A Wasp Carrying A Huntsman Spider

#145 This Fish Caught In N. Carolina (More Pics)

#146 Found This Hiking Trail In The Grey County, Ontario, Summer 2019. Not Sure What Animal, Probably A Deer? Decent Length And Had A Pelvis Attached

#147 A Lizard Has Been Ingested By My Carnivorous Pitcher Plant. Plant:1 Lizard:0

#148 I Found A Creepy Face Looking Growth On A Tree In Upstate NY

#149 Scary Spider. Massive And Almost Walked Into It

#150 I’ve Just Found Out That Horseshoe Crabs Have Five Eyes On The Top Of Their “Helmet”. They Also Have Light Sensors And Photoreceptors On Their Tail