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 Bored Panda 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.
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Caught This Storm Above A Bowing Field Of Sunflowers
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 Bored Panda 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?
This Is A Wasp Nest That Has Grown Around The Floodlights On A Garage
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.
A Melanistic & Albino Alligator
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."
Moose In Fog
Beautiful actually. Hope it was taken with a long lense, otherwise, they probably found this picture in the camera beside the body!
Stygian Owl Is Known For The Red Reflection Of Their Eyes That Are Often Associated With The Devil
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.
Man Finds Huge Spider Hiding Inside Ear Muffs After Feeling Tickle In His Ear
after feeling tickle in his ear - I think I'm about to pass out
Load More Replies...I’m severely arachnophobic. I did a course at my local Safari Park with an arachnologist. My first question was “you’re not going to bring in a spider are you? Because if you are, I’m leaving now!”. Second question was “Are there any spiders in the building?”. By the end of my fifth session I held a shed spider exoskeleton. Ok, I confess, I was shaking and crying but I did it. I finally did get to be in the same room as a Chilean Rose Tarantula. I was again, shaking and crying but eventually it stops and you start feeling better, exhausted and a bit off but better. I actually held that same tarantula later the same day. I was petrified but I could actually see that in a way, she was necessary and actually, a little bit lovely. It’s still my proudest moment because I was so scared and I still managed it. Before, I’d rather have jumped out of an aeroplane without a parachute. I’m not cured but at least I know to ride out the “run or die” reaction.
That is an incredibly brave thing to do. In all seriousness, it takes a tremendous amount of courage to face down a true phobia. I'm impressed!
Load More Replies...Australian here - that's a Huntsman. They're harmless to humans and actually very shy - they'll run away from you if you bother them. BUT I would still freak out and scream if I found one in my headphones. And then throw the headphones across the room.
So polite of the spider to just tickle his ear. "Excuse me, human..."
Load More Replies...@MellonCollie, I honestly skipped that part. You can NEVER unfeel that tickle😯
Load More Replies...Funny you say that, because I plan on doing the same thing from now on 🤣🤣
Load More Replies...Hello good sir do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior Jesus Christ
IMAGINE THAT S**T CRAWLS INTO YOUR EAR AND LAYS EGGS. I WOULD BURN MYSELF TO THE GROUND
I would've said burn it with fire, but if it's in Australia it's already happening
Holy m**********r absolutely not no thanks nope nyet neon nada f**k no AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
I would just freakin' DIE if I found that in my headset 😵😵😵
Huntsman. I had a similar problem with boots. Pretty scary for both of us
The one who found the bat in the headphones was lucky as you can see.
Those things are harmless. But they are reeeally fast and can get reeeeally hugs. Second biggest spider in the world, that is.
I actually have LESS fear of huge spiders than I do of small ones. Maybe it’s because I look at the big ones and I’m like “Aww you’re so huge that you’re kinda cute” XD And I feel like for the most part, the giant spider species usually aren’t aggressive/venomous on the whole…? Might be wrong about that but I know at least tarantulas aren’t and neither are huntsmen like this little cutie.
I think I lost my hearing (and my sanity) just seeing this... Oh man just NOOOOO
Aw poor girl she's just trying to find a safe spot you know. It didn't go in there to be a d**k.
The spider tickled his ear and said "Excuse me sir, I was here first, get your own headphones"
Looks like a huntsman. Not venomous but can give you a nasty bite nonetheless.
Eeeeeek! I preferred the previous photo of a tiny bat found in a person’s headset. Spiders creep me out…but I do hope he, too, was returned to his natural environment!
Yeah, i woulda straight up passed out the moment i saw that. Just thinking about feeling that next to my ear makes me woozy. Actually when i was around 6-7, my grandma was helping me put on my shoes and i said there was a stick inside when i put my foot in. She stuck.her hand in, nope nothing there, i put my foot in, can feel something. So she turned the shoe upsidedown and a spider came out. Not a huge one, think large house spider. I have gad terrible arachnophobia all my life, that memory haunts me to this day. There's something extra horrible about knowing i felt it without knowing it was there. Im NOT joking about the passing out.
So... the spider was still in there after they yeeted the headphones as far as they could, I presume? lol
Looks like a huntsman. They're fairly common. We have one living in our fuse box that waves when you open it
Load More Replies...HELL NO I am not afraid of spiders but that crosses the LINE.****
I will forever be checking my clothes, shoes, and headphones! Nope nope.
Maybe this will teach you to keep your earphones in a cleaner condition. Skanky.
That's what happens when you listen to Iggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
There was this one time where I was sitting on my couch and felt something tickle me back. I opened the couch and a rat scurried away into the couch. I ended up doing the honors and killing it after it got caught in a trap.
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Coconut Crabs Are Attracted To The Smell Of Food
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.
This Looks Like A Scene From A Movie. Six Waterspouts Simultaneously In The Gulf Of Mexico
Well There Is A Water Snake Living In My Toilet Somehow
See? And I'm the weird one for checking my toilet bowl before I sit.
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," Bixler added. "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."
Infested Spider Tent
Found In A Harpy Eagle's Nest
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.
Was Playing Video Games When I Heard Sounds To My Left. Looked Over And Saw This
The Creatonotos Gangis Moth Unfurling Its “Hair-Pencils” To Spread Pheromones
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.
This Cluster Of Fossilised Creatures Look Like They Came From Another Planet
Sometimes Mother Nature Can Be Creepy (Chesaning, MI)
Does Anyone Know What Kind Of Puppy This Is?
Snapdragon Seed Pods Are Kind Of Creepy
Found This In My Apartment While Living In Japan. They Are Fast
The one creature I may actually find more terrifying that spiders. It's the legs.
Angler Fish Washed Ashore
Wow! Must have come a long way since they typically live deeper in the ocean!
This Moray Tried To Swallow A Pufferfish. Said Puffer Took Her With Him
Heron Likes A Bit Of Crocodilian Dinner
'Later gator. I see that pretty often this time of year in the bypass canals.
This Harmless Snail
Remember To Check Your VR Headset For Spiders
I Freaked Out A Little When I Met This While Cross Country Skiing
Who's That Pokémon?
All The Brown You Can See Is Spiders
Apparently, A Species Of Guarana Plant Looks Like A Large Cluster Of Eyeballs
The Most Metal Eel Ever
It's The Legs For Me
Ceiling Snake
This Is A Wolf Eel, Pure Oceanic Nightmare Fuel
When the date doesn't go well, but the person still tries to kiss you.
Mouth Of A Emerald Boa
Sigh. This Is My Bathroom Ceiling, That Is A Brush-Tailed Possum Foot
Small Tick Sucking On A Big One
The Wallago Attu Catfish
Australian Problems
These Button Plants (Conophytum Wittebergense) Look Like Creepy Bloodshot Eyes
For All The Naysayers Who Think The Rest Of Us Are Paranoid
I turn my shoes upside down and bang them on the floor beforehand. Traumatized by squeezing a cockroach inside my shoe when I was a child.
An Old Friend
The Foot Of A Kangaroo
that's nature giving us the middle finger. just don't f**k with kangaroos man.
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.
Just Here To Ruin Your Day
Need to have faith in the BP title before choosing a before bed post to read.
I really couldn't finish it because I'm just feeling weird now. But it was interesting. Sickening but interesting
I feel like I need to shower for a million years. And also burn my house down
Here is a safe space. Please, help yourself to anything on the menu. Menu: Eye Bleach, Brain Bleach, Everything Bleach, Soothing Tea, Ice Cream (because ice cream makes everything better) And, of course, complimentary tissues. 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧 Enjoy!
as soon as i clicked on this post I was not surprised there was only 174
Dang, now I need to be extra careful with double checks of everything ...🤐🥲
The spiders on this made me wish the British gun laws were less strict
Not all of them are creepy, some´re funny, some´re even cute, but I´m wondering about the animals coming through ceilings, do those guys all have paper ceilings??? Ours in the skyscraper´re all made of concrete, like the walls are either.
Now just think about how scary the human race is compared to all that, terrifying
My SO and I made a bike trip last summer. On the first evening (it was already dark) we leaned our bikes against a loooong line of bushes, set up our tent and went to sleep. On the next morning when I wanted to get our bikes I saw that a big wasp spider had built a neat net on my bike Ok, fine... and just a few centimeters next to it another one in another net. So i stopped to take a closer look. In fact, this whole line of bushes was occupied by wasp spiders. Each one had a net and some of them had used the night to build their homes on our bikes or between our bikes and the bushes. It was quite a creepy sight... :D (And yes, we claimed our bikes back!)
I've been humming "put that thing back where it came from, or so help me" throughout the whole post.
There's a lot to dislike about living in the UK but thank goodness we have nothing like these creatures! All we have is Adders and I've never met anyone who has been bitten by one
Welp, because of this I found some really cool creatures, and some creatures that made me want to crawl up in my bed and not come out for a while
Need to have faith in the BP title before choosing a before bed post to read.
I really couldn't finish it because I'm just feeling weird now. But it was interesting. Sickening but interesting
I feel like I need to shower for a million years. And also burn my house down
Here is a safe space. Please, help yourself to anything on the menu. Menu: Eye Bleach, Brain Bleach, Everything Bleach, Soothing Tea, Ice Cream (because ice cream makes everything better) And, of course, complimentary tissues. 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧 Enjoy!
as soon as i clicked on this post I was not surprised there was only 174
Dang, now I need to be extra careful with double checks of everything ...🤐🥲
The spiders on this made me wish the British gun laws were less strict
Not all of them are creepy, some´re funny, some´re even cute, but I´m wondering about the animals coming through ceilings, do those guys all have paper ceilings??? Ours in the skyscraper´re all made of concrete, like the walls are either.
Now just think about how scary the human race is compared to all that, terrifying
My SO and I made a bike trip last summer. On the first evening (it was already dark) we leaned our bikes against a loooong line of bushes, set up our tent and went to sleep. On the next morning when I wanted to get our bikes I saw that a big wasp spider had built a neat net on my bike Ok, fine... and just a few centimeters next to it another one in another net. So i stopped to take a closer look. In fact, this whole line of bushes was occupied by wasp spiders. Each one had a net and some of them had used the night to build their homes on our bikes or between our bikes and the bushes. It was quite a creepy sight... :D (And yes, we claimed our bikes back!)
I've been humming "put that thing back where it came from, or so help me" throughout the whole post.
There's a lot to dislike about living in the UK but thank goodness we have nothing like these creatures! All we have is Adders and I've never met anyone who has been bitten by one
Welp, because of this I found some really cool creatures, and some creatures that made me want to crawl up in my bed and not come out for a while