For most animals imprinted with spooky names, their “Boo” is much worse than their bite. Humans generally judge grotesque-looking organisms by appearance, so they conjure up nomenclature that would look right at home on the movie marquee for a “Creature Feature.”
But even the most menacing-looking animals with shudder-inducing names are more Treat than Trick — as long as they are treated with respect and given the space they need to thrive in their natural environment.
1. Goblin Shark
(Credit: 3dsam79/Getty Images)
This creature’s appearance definitely lives up to its monstrous name. Its jaws — filed with small, but sharp teeth — reside under a long narrow nose. It can thrust its jaws forward — kind of like the creature in the Alien movies.
The good news for humans, at least, is that it tends to live in very deep water . It is relatively unlikely that a person would bump into this shark that goes bump in the night.
2. Vampire Squid
(Credit: Ekaterina Gerasimchuk/Shutterstock)
This creature , like the goblin shark, tends to live thousands of feet under the ocean. It gets its name from a cape-like cloak structure that connects the upper parts of its tentacles. While its Latin name Vampyroteuthis infernalis literally means “vampire squid of hell,” this creature doesn’t seem as scary as its name would suggest.
Vampire squid generally max out at a foot long — not exactly an intimidating size. Its disproportionately large eyes are kind of creepy, though.
And as for its dining habits, it does not drink blood. Instead, it eats flakes of organic material (called marine snow ) that slowly sink in the ocean. The saying “I’ve come to collect marine snow” lacks the fear-inducing impact of “I’ve come to suck your blood.” No word on whether this creature speaks with a thick Romanian accent, though.
3. Ghost Bat
(Credit: Ken Griffiths/Shutterstock)
Despite its spooky name, the ghost bat looks, dare we say, almost cute. Its face resembles that of a mogwai, the cuddly fictitious creature in Gremlins before it transforms into a reptilian, sneering agent of mayhem.
Small critters — like insects, frogs, birds, lizards, and small mammals should not let the cuteness fool them, though. They are all potential prey for the only carnivorous bat in Australia.
4. Gila Monster
(Credit: Danita Delimont/Shutterstock)
The gila monster does look, indeed, monstrous. Its low-slung body and long head give it a dragon-like appearance. Maxing out at around two feet in length, this creature is not particularly massive.
Its most frightening aspect, though, is probably its poisonous bite . Unlike a snake, which injects venom through hollow fangs, the gila monster’s venom flows through large grooved lower teeth. The longer it chews, the more venom these teeth secrete. Its venom is about as deadly as that of a rattlesnake’s. There is no anti-venom to treat gila monster bite victims.
However, human death by gila monster bites are rare. Until March 2024, there have been no such reported incidents over the past 100 years. The 2024 incident happened when someone who was keeping two as illegal pets, got bit, the creature latched on, and its owner succumbed to the poison.
Gila monsters dwell in the deserts of the American Southwest. They tend to hide underground, are considered timid, and move relatively slowly.
5. Skeleton Shrimp
(Credit: Thierry Eidenweil/Shutterstock)
These tiny, boney-looking creatures do, indeed, have a creepy appearance. But maybe considering them by their alternate name “praying mantis of the sea” will reduce the fear factor.
Their size — even for a class of animal whose name means small — makes them even less intimidating. They only grow to about 1.5 inches. Other, larger shrimp sometimes feed on them. Intraspecies cannibalism ? Now that’s scary!
6. Witch Flounder
(Credit: NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration)
This fish rates pretty low on the spooky scale. The only witchlike thing about its appearance is its dark color. Even that’s a stretch though because this fish doesn’t wear official witch black. In a rebranding attempt, some people call it a grey sole . This is an attempt to differentiate it from the more expensive — but equally tasty — Dover sole.
Its thin, flat shape would make it fit nicely on a roll or piece of bread. Perhaps it should be renamed sandwich flounder?
7. The Bearded Ghoul
(Credit: Andriy Nekrasov/Shutterstock)
This is one weird-looking creature . Instead of scales, its elongated body is covered in warts. Flaps of skin cover its head. Fins near its belly allow it to walk along the bottom of the ocean, where it spends the bulk of its time. It dwells in brackish waters in the Eastern Indian and Western Pacific oceans.
It is also a stealthy hunter. It often buries itself in the ocean bottom, then attacks small prey that swims nearby.
At an average size of a foot in length, the bearded ghoul doesn’t appear intimidating. However, it can inject venom stored in its dorsal spines — which can be deadly to humans.
8. Dracula Parrot
(Credit:Affandi Rahman Halim/Shutterstock)
This is another creature that sports a vampire’s name but doesn’t feed on blood. But its appearance is another thing entirely; the Dracula parrot is essentially the avian equivalent of goth. That means, of course, that it primarily wears black. The crimson streaks under its wings give it the appearance of a cloak lined with red velvet — the same style as its namesake.
They live in New Guinea and live off fruits — primarily figs.
9. Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko
(Credit: Pere Grau/Shutterstock)
This creature is what you might get if you were attempting to summon the Geico mascot (perhaps via Ouija board) and something went awry. It probably drew its devilish description due to the horn-like protrusions behind its massive, lidless bulbous eyes and copperish color. While its appearance is hellish, its size — at two to four inches — is less than intimidating.
Rather than the fire-y pits of hell, this creature dwells primarily in tree branches of the Madagascar forests. They use their color and appearance as camouflage — diabolically blending into the foliage until its insect prey ventures fatally close. Their mouths are lined with a few hundred tiny teeth. When threatened, this gecko can open that mouth and emit a blood-curdling scream.
10. Werewolf Cat
(Credit: Nynke van Holten/Shutterstock)
This cat, the result of a genetic mutation , looks more like a haggard, partially hairless feline than a wolf-like creature, as its name would suggest. They were bred for the first time in 2011. They are about the same size and shape as typical domestic cats.
Read More: 5 Animals That Sound Like Mystical Creatures
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
Florida Museum. Goblin Shark
Ocean Conservancy. All About Goblin Sharks
NOAA. The vampire squid and the vampire fish
NOAA. What is marine snow?
Australian Museum. Ghost Bat
Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Institute. Gila monster
AP News. Colorado man died from pet Gila monster’s venomous bite, autopsy shows
Monterey Bay Aquarium. Skeleton shrimp
NOAA. Witch Flounder
Animal Diversity Web. Inimicus didactylus Bearded ghoul
Animal Spot. Dracula Parrot
AZ Animals. Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko
Pet MD. Lykoi (Wolf Cat)
Before joining Discover Magazine, Paul spent over 20 years as a science journalist, specializing in U.S. life science policy and global scientific career issues. He began his career in newspapers, but switched to scientific magazines. His work has appeared in publications including Science News, Science, Nature, and Scientific American.
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