A routine whale-watching trip in California turned into an unforgettable—and slightly terrifying—encounter when a group of ocean enthusiasts stumbled upon something that looked less like a creature of nature and more like a monster from a horror film.
The sighting took place in Monterey, a coastal area already famous for its rich marine life, but this was far from the whales and dolphins tourists typically expect. What the group came across was a creepy, blood-red sea creature whose disturbing appearance made it seem as though it had slithered straight out of a nightmare.
The bizarre find, captured on camera, quickly made its way to Instagram where it went viral, igniting a mix of shock, fascination, and dread across social media platforms.
“What kind of creature is this—straight out of the Twilight Zone?” the group wrote in their caption, sharing a series of unsettling photos that left not only themselves but thousands of online viewers absolutely stunned.
One of the whale watchers explained how the unusual encounter unfolded. Early that morning, while checking the dock, they noticed something strange. Resting casually on the wooden planks was the creature, as though it had decided to make itself at home. Unsure of what they were dealing with, the group acted cautiously. Using a piece of cardboard, they gently scooped the writhing animal and placed it back into the water to avoid harming it—or themselves.
Video footage of the encounter later revealed the disturbing details: a long, squirming, wormlike creature, its body lined with delicate hairlike appendages that rippled as it moved. To many, it looked like something designed for a survival horror game rather than the real world, prompting comparisons to monsters from Resident Evil. Its alien-like body earned it nicknames such as “stuff of nightmares” and even the dreaded “nope rope” from horrified commenters.
Some social media users couldn’t help but inject humor into the unsettling discovery. One joked, “Hey, that’s my lower digestive system,” while others admitted they would run in the opposite direction if they ever encountered one in real life.
Despite its disturbing look, marine experts quickly identified the creature. The mystery animal turned out to be a bloodworm—a species of burrowing invertebrate known for its translucent skin that exposes the bright red, plasma-filled body beneath.
Though the name sounds harmless enough, bloodworms are infamous in the marine world. They can grow up to a foot long and are equipped with a terrifying weapon: a venomous proboscis. This appendage, hidden within their bodies, can suddenly shoot outward like a snapping jaw. Armed with four fanglike hooks, the proboscis allows the bloodworm to seize its prey in a way that eerily resembles the attacks of the xenomorphs from the Alien franchise.
Understandably, this biological feature makes them look far more menacing than they actually are. While their appearance is enough to cause panic, experts assure the public that bloodworms are not predators of humans. That said, they strongly caution against handling them recklessly. A bite from a bloodworm, though not deadly, delivers venom that can sting with an intensity comparable to a bee’s bite—painful enough to remember, but not life-threatening.
Interestingly, these unsettling creatures do play a practical role in human activity. Fishermen often value bloodworms as bait because their retractable proboscis acts like a natural lure, attracting fish with remarkable effectiveness. In fact, despite their monstrous looks, bloodworms are widely used in angling industries.
For the whale watchers who came face-to-face with this unnerving creature, however, the experience was anything but routine. The encounter not only left them rattled but also fascinated, sparking conversations both on the dock and online about the strange and often terrifying life forms that dwell beneath the ocean’s surface.
In the end, the Monterey sighting of the bloodworm serves as a chilling yet awe-inspiring reminder: the ocean is still full of mysteries. Many of its inhabitants remain as alien and intimidating as anything we could imagine, proving that sometimes the scariest monsters don’t come from movies—they’re hiding in plain sight, waiting just beneath the waves.