This Mystery Creature Is Like a Horror Movie Brought To Life
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You know how horror movies often say they are “based on a true story?” Normally, the reality is far more tame than what we see onscreen. However, something happened in real life with a scary creature from the sea out on the West Coast. And if you ask us, we think this might be too strange to base any movie on.
It all started when a creepy creature sprang out of the sea. The more answers we learned, the more questions we had. The mystery is ongoing, so if you think you can help solve it, keep reading to learn all about the miniature monster haunting California’s coasts!
An unexpected setting for something so scary
Remember when we compared this event to a horror movie? You may have noticed how most “creature feature” horror flicks are set in places that look and sound still and serene. Lake Placid, for example, plays with the idea that nobody would ever expect a horrific monster to pop up in such a peaceful place.
The particular incident we are about to explore takes place in Crystal Cove State Park in Laguna Beach, California. It’s a place for fun and family, and everyone loves to see the waves lapping up and down the golden coast. One fateful day, however, the water brought something completely bone-chilling from the depths of the ocean.
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The creature emerges
Last October 13, Crystal Cove State Park experienced a disturbance. That was the date that a creepy creature came out of the water. Many who first saw it simply didn’t know what to make of its bizarre features and ugly design.
As it turns out, the creature in question is a Pacific footballfish. Eventually, the experts were able to figure that out, but most who first saw the fish didn’t know what to make of it. This kind of anglerfish is typically found in ocean depths so deep the human eye will never see them. And the fact that this fish made its way all the way to the shore is just one of the mysteries surrounding its appearance.
What is an anglerfish?
Even if you typically love ocean creatures, it can be hard to find anglerfish very cute. They typically have the kind of sharp teeth that gave you nightmares when you were a child. To make things that much spookier, these fish generate a lure to help them hunt prey. That means that when these fish are caught on camera by researchers, the light perfectly illuminates every scary feature and every sharp tooth.
As for Pacific footballfish, they live deep in the water, sometimes as deep as 3,000 feet. That’s just one of many reasons that everyone from tourists to local marine life experts were shocked to see it washing up on these sleepy California shores.
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A growing mystery
Like we said, it didn’t take long for the local experts to declare that what had washed up was a Pacific footballfish. Similarly, it didn’t take long for Crystal Cove State Park to issue a statement that made many curious and even made a few people scared.
The park pointed out that another one of these fish was found by a visitor in May 2021. Nobody could explain what happened back then, and now the phenomenon repeated itself on (of all days) Friday the 13th. The statement asked us “what does it all mean” and, honestly, we’re still a little scared about why mystery monster fish keep washing up on the same unassuming shore.
The mystery continues
Another reason this incident became so mysterious is that the state park couldn’t find answers on its own. Instead, they turned it over to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for “further research.”
That’s all well and good, of course, but we can only assume the first of these frightening fish was also turned over to the authorities years ago. It sounds like the authorities never got to the bottom of that incident, either, meaning that we’re now dealing with an unexplained mystery years in the making. The very fact that we don’t have any real answers remains chilling enough to raise the hairs up on our arms!
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What can we learn from all of this?
While the official statement from Crystal Cove State Park brought up some scary questions and unexplained mysteries, they also went the extra step and helped us learn a bit from these recent fishy developments. It’s up to you, of course, to decide whether they are being too optimistic or not.
According to the official statement (as reported by People), the official statement ends with “Seeing this strange and fascinating fish is a testament to the curious diversity of marine life lurking below the water’s surface …and as scientists continue to learn more about these deep sea creatures, it’s important to reflect on how much is still to be learned from our wonderful and mysterious ocean!”
Sure, we’re going to do our best to learn and reflect. But given how sharp those teeth are, we’re also going to be careful about setting our feet back into the ocean!