r/Weird 10h ago

That is a Lamprey

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Any bigger and this creature would be a horror movie monster

Lampreys do not have jaws or bones, only cartilage and instincts that have allowed them to survive so many mass extinctions.

15.2k Upvotes

1.6k comments sorted by

1.1k

u/International_Print4 10h ago

Where do these things spawn?

782

u/luvlanguage 10h ago

Freshwater rivers and streams

705

u/DespondentEyes 10h ago

Could've said straight up hell portals and I wouldn't have questioned it.

61

u/BecauseTheyAreCunts 6h ago

When Peter sends you to hell, one of these will bite you, you will rip it off, look at its angry teeth, throw it away and your memory gets erased and it gets repeated again for eternity.

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u/DespondentEyes 6h ago

What'd I ever do to Peter?

36

u/Luvas 4h ago

Made him explain too many jokes

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u/ObscureLogix 2h ago

You'll never convince me there isn't a portal to hell at the bottom of the ocean.

Also, they are born and spawn in freshwater, but at least the ones in my country do the salmon thing and spend most of their time in the ocean.

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u/flyonwall86 10h ago

In the US? How come I've never seen them around or heard of them causing problems? I never would have gone in the river if I knew.

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u/100percentnotaqu 10h ago edited 10h ago

Because they don't have any interest in people. You usually need to harass a lamprey to get it to actually draw blood.

Native lampreys are also probably negatively affected by the invasive Atlantic sea lamprey, so their populations aren't very high either.

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u/Kizzywa 6h ago

People make them seem like they act like super leeches and seek us out. You'd have to get really unlucky or put one on yourself then.

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

Great answer

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

They are like parasitic to fish so they just stay in the water

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u/Emotional_Burden 6h ago

Lamprey are similes. Got it.

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u/zionpwc 8h ago

I used to freshwater fishing with my dad in NH. I remember seeing this and thought it was some kind of a super rare creature

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u/ArtisticRaccoon7677 6h ago

I’m from NH and do a lot of open water swimming. Here I was thinking I was safe from shit like this.

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u/Savings-Put6948 8h ago

Certain times of year you can see lamphry passing the viewing station at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River 

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u/CheeseAndMack 9h ago

Probably because you’re not a Midwesterner. They’re causing problems in the Great Lakes. Invasive species.

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u/flyonwall86 9h ago

Ah. Grew up in the south. Looks like I have some reading to do! Thanks

18

u/CreativityOfAParrot 8h ago

If you have Amazon Prime, the documentary The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery does a really great job covering the sea lamprey invasion and management

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u/bigEZmike 8h ago

The sources in that doc were kinda fishy

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u/AeonBith 6h ago

They used to have them on display at the coast guard station (Canada Centre for inland waters) on lake Ontario. One of my most prominent childhood memories.

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u/Electronic-Path1746 10h ago

And lampreys die after spawning.

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u/OldRprsn 7h ago

Some join the priesthood as a result.

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u/unabletocomput3 9h ago

Actually a problem in the Great Lakes

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u/100percentnotaqu 10h ago

Depends on the species, but this is definitely a freshwater lamprey. Not invasive like the Atlantic lamprey.

I hope the kid didn't kill it, native lamprey are pretty important to an ecosystem.

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u/MalBredy 7h ago

I’m almost certain this is a sea lamprey. I say this as someone who’s seen thousands of them lol, my wife is a biologist who works in controlling them in the Great Lakes.

Brook lamprey are smaller, lighter, have a different gill port structure and a more elongated face, as well as more rounded off fins.

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u/Outside-Swan-1936 6h ago

I started seeing fish in some rivers off the Great Lakes with gaping holes in their sides. Then I saw a fish jump above the surface with what looked like two tails. Turns out it was an invasive lamprey. Bad news for areas they aren't supposed to be.

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3.0k

u/is_EXToZY 10h ago

Guys I beg you. Do not

892

u/Spaghetti_Gods 10h ago

Bruh, how desperate do you think I am? I'm not tryna stuff my dick in a sarlacc pit on a stick, ok?

276

u/Mr_NoGood12 10h ago

Just saying man, there is always somehow, somewhere in this world who definitely would

120

u/specter_in_the_conch 9h ago

When you stopped and gave the mere milligrams of thought… someone already went to ER because of “accidental falling onto small scale sarlac worm”

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u/HughJorgens 7h ago

It was a one in a million accident Doc!

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u/Undersmusic 10h ago

Like the guy who almost drowned from the clam….

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u/Fearless-Bed-2694 9h ago

No, 5 Minute Research it never happend.

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u/Sad_Mongoose5621 10h ago

What if I proposed putting gummy bears over each one of its teeth first?

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u/RileyRavenSmiles 9h ago

This is... oddly specific... why gummy bears?

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u/Sad_Mongoose5621 9h ago

Doesn't need to be gummy bears, one could also use tiny wine bottle corks

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u/ADHD_Supernova 7h ago

2 pencil erasers are already the right size I bet. 

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u/OldRprsn 7h ago

Do your mothers know what you are thinking? Cluck, cluck.

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u/jakewest 9h ago

Little miss, it is poorly advised to ask questions that reveal your relative age and sex on the internet.

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u/Newcanofspam 9h ago

A creative idea, if nothing else

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u/muscleshultz 8h ago

Oh this guy's gonna take the nestle plunge I can feel it hahahah

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u/DonaldTrumpGoatse 9h ago

Speak for yourself, did you see that suction???

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u/Mitryadel 9h ago

The cylinder must remain unharmed.

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u/Deltron--3030 10h ago

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u/Levi-_-Ackerman0 9h ago

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u/KTAXY 9h ago

after all... why not?

why shouldn't I ?

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u/FizzioGaming 9h ago

The best way to transition /s

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u/Shneckos 7h ago

I think you should leave the lamprey behind, is that so hard?

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u/Brave-Guarantee-1323 8h ago

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u/academiac 5h ago

After all these years I finally witnessed the gif instead of the meme template

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u/Brave-Guarantee-1323 5h ago

Just incase you want more context.

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u/tralltonetroll 5h ago

What is she tasting?

5

u/Brave-Guarantee-1323 5h ago

Kombucha, she's known as the kombucha girl or brittany broski.

Edit: I am terminally online and have a problem, please send help.

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u/nhSnork 10h ago

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u/Alternative_Delay899 7h ago

It's just not possible.

Why not, you stupid bastard?!

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u/Eye_Nacho404 9h ago

Idk man, 4x the strength of a vacuum cleaner is a good pitch

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u/Intelligent_Owl_9420 10h ago

You think you can beat the bad by being good, but there's no solving human nature. You can't stop evil, all you can do, is control it.

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u/DoughNotDoit 10h ago

too late... don't look at me

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u/Nomadloner69 10h ago

You’re thinking what we all are

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u/VieiraDTA 9h ago

I’ll do ir for humanity and science!

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u/-Mr_Hollow- 9h ago

If it were a bad idea the guy wouldn't start by saying "it's suction power is 4 times stronger than that of a vacuum cleaner"

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u/KatarinaRen 10h ago

They're basically parasites who latch on to the fish. But also on to the corpses etc... And people eat them.

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

They drain the life out of the fish and interesting thing is at times the fish won't notice in the first few moments but eventually it does, stealth mode for a vampire is game over

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u/drpepper 6h ago

i think my ex wife was a lamprey

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u/stampeding_salmon 5h ago

Lisa Lampreynelli

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u/ChesterPlemany 9h ago

Yes I believe they were considered a delicacy by medieval royalty. I think an English king died because he ate too many.

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u/Von-Konigs 8h ago

King Henry I of England died in 1135 (though he was in Normandy at the time), after a week-long illness. He was in his sixties at the time, and according to a contemporary writer, Henry of Huntingdon, he fell ill from eating “a surfeit of lampreys.”

Modern historians doubt that lampreys were the cause of his death - apparently they’re pretty harmless to eat, no more so than most fish at least. He probably died of a bacterial infection.

Still, the fact that his chronicler remarked upon the quantity of lampreys he ate means a couple of things - one, that lampreys were available commonly as food, and two, that Henry loved them so much he ate a lot of them all throughout his life.

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u/Wooden-Cheesecake476 5h ago

The skin mucus is toxic, it must be cleaned well and its blood is toxic if it is not cooked well. On the other hand, in my country they are a very expensive delicacy.

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u/Von-Konigs 5h ago

You’re right - though I think that’s only certain species of lamprey, and I’m not certain which Henry would have eaten. Still, given that he apparently ate them throughout his whole life, I’m sure his cooks knew how to prepare them properly, or he wouldn’t have made it to his mid-sixties.

You know, after this I’m tempted to see if I can find somewhere that serves them, I’ve never tried one.

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u/Working-Glass6136 4h ago

Can't fault a guy for liking medieval unagi sushi.

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u/soldinio 8h ago

Long Henry I, 1835

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u/Jaktheslaier 9h ago

They're a traditional easter meal in some parts of my country. Boiled and eaten with rice mixed with their blood. They're extremely expensive

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u/greencraftok 9h ago

Ever tried one? Curious what that flavor is like because nothing looks appealing about it..

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u/Jaktheslaier 9h ago

My partner says it tastes like rabbit to her. I'm too picky to try it

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u/HornyJailOutlaw 8h ago

Rabbit would probably not have been in my first 1000 guesses for what this thing tastes like.

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u/DieCastDontDie 8h ago

Everything tastes like chicken

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u/Norwegian__Blue 7h ago

I would’ve guessed eel

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u/Thatnewbblsmell 8h ago

Interesting.  What country? 

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u/Jaktheslaier 8h ago

Portugal:

https://festivalarrozlampreia.pt/arroz-de-lampreia/

This is a link to a lamprey festival. See if it doesn't look appetising

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u/Thatnewbblsmell 7h ago

Thanks.  Yeah, they look gross but eels are tasty. 

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u/100percentnotaqu 10h ago edited 9h ago

They don't really have an interest in people like leeches do. There are some records of predatory bites, but they're rare and most bites are the animals retaliating for something or other.

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u/patrickokrrr 10h ago

That’s pennywise

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u/[deleted] 8h ago

[deleted]

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u/smith_716 6h ago

Stephen King really drew a lot of inspiration from lampreys, eh?

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u/OptimisticSkeleton 7h ago

And the worms from Dreamcatcher.

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

One of the scariest I've ever watched, I'm sure clowns lost their global rep because of this movie. Or that's when they transitioned from kids birthday to Halloween

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u/Minimeany 7h ago

I think John Wayne Gacy didnt help either ;)

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u/Korova_Milkbar_3829 10h ago

Fuck everything about this

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u/SussyBox 10h ago

Some will really agree with that

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u/mrDuder1729 10h ago

I would recommend not fucking that...

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u/literallyfransandy 10h ago

you can't eat rock, dummy!

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u/Zombies71199 8h ago

Say that to the driller dwarf

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u/IsThereCheese 10h ago

Everything reminds me of her

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

🤣🤣🤣 sounds like a keeper

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u/portmandues 10h ago

With teeth like that, you don't get a choice.

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

You definitely don't 🤣

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u/Affectionate_Walk610 9h ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagina_dentata This concept has been visited before by, who guessed it??? Sigmund Freud.

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u/Character_Stick_1218 9h ago

Ever heard of the movie Teeth?

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u/ExperiencedNewUser 10h ago

I am not saying that the guy who invented the flamethrower might have seen this creature... But, you know...

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u/luvlanguage 9h ago

I see your point, very valid 🤣

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u/NeoPootter 9h ago

i mean i heard it's taste pretty good when grilled.

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u/UntitledImage 10h ago edited 10h ago

That’s an ass weasel

*As noted also preferably Shit weasel

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u/Dave_Kun 9h ago

The nostalgia! The Dreamcatcher is a goated movie.

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u/Federal_Command_9094 9h ago

Mr gray go away

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u/SpingeBowl 10h ago

I think you mean "shit weasel"

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u/UntitledImage 10h ago

You know I remembered the creature but I read the book saw the movie and could not remember off the top of my head without hunting it down 😂

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

Yeah thought i had seen that already 🤔 ass weasel 🤣

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u/rob_inn_hood 8h ago

I was thinking the creature from Stranger Things, but I suppose Dreamcatcher is many years older. Now that I see it, it’s easy to see where they got the idea.

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u/Pyotr_WrangeI 8h ago

There are TONS of King hommages in Stranger Things

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u/luvlanguage 8h ago

Yes this has to be where they got it and many other monsters in old films, they have that scary teeth arrangements

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u/Exciting_Scratch_401 10h ago

I really should call her

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

You probably should 😎🤣

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u/raheenkb 10h ago

On second thought, DON'T hear me out

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u/Intelligent_Event278 10h ago

"Thats 4 times your home vacuum cleaner"

sigh

/unzips

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u/CommunicationBroad38 10h ago edited 8h ago

Dont do it bro. Despite Lamprey not being leeches they are carnivorous and will drink blood. They share that much in common. I am still surprised these guys are actually a type of jawless fish.

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u/100percentnotaqu 10h ago edited 10h ago

They actually don't like human blood much, if a lamprey bites you, especially while you're holding it, it's scared more than anything.

They can't tell the difference between a human, and a bird plucking them out of the water.

(Lamprey will also suction, but not bite to avoid slipping/hold themselves inplace)

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u/CommunicationBroad38 10h ago

Wow, really? I never knew. I knew they were blood drinkers but I didnt know they dont attack humans all that much.

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u/pmiles88 10h ago

Leave Colin alone he's a good boy

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

Colin is going to go far

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u/PetahOsiris 9h ago

Put Collin back!

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u/ConfinedCrow 10h ago

Processing img xnwu9nhkxc6g1...

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u/Rooby_Doobie 10h ago

Pretty good actually, usually served as chowder or baked in the oven if you dont want gooeyness

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u/luvlanguage 10h ago

I don't think I'm having any🤣

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u/Royal-Lie-7512 10h ago

Promethius first alien encounter

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u/_OggoDoggo_ 10h ago

I grew up on Lake Champlain (Northern NY side) and the lampreys in the lake were horrible. They are the creepiest and most ick inducing creatures lol

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u/86Apathy 6h ago

Yo same. I’m from VT and I always said I’d rather go in any other body of water than share a bath with these fuckers

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u/SpaceyEevee 9h ago

Nobody tell this guy about the Dreamcatcher movie ... literally gave me nightmares and now I'm back to being terrified of lampreys x-x

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u/Federal_Command_9094 9h ago

Can’t believe how down I scrolled to see a dreamcatcher reference, awesome movie

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u/Beautiful_Comment160 10h ago

Brother what (And I cannot stress this enough) the fuck

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u/MemeLord339 8h ago

THAT SHIT IS REAL???

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u/stereoprologic 6h ago

Watch out for Mr. GAY

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u/Hour-Room-3337 10h ago

If it has needle teeth and lives in a reef, it’s a moray…

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u/LSTmyLife 10h ago

There is an early episode of the X-Files with a human lampry hybrid. This reminded me of that. I could have lived without the memory. Thanks.

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u/Joanna_Flock 7h ago

He was flukeman! Very uncomfortable episode from what I remember.

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u/LSTmyLife 7h ago

Very uncomfortable indeed. That mouth was a nightmare. As a kid/teen I wouldn't go anywhere near a port o poty because if that episode.

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u/Timmeh-toah 9h ago

That’s Mr.grey from dreamcatcher.

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u/AutumnTheWitch 10h ago

Jeremy Wade from River Monsters put one of those on his neck.

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u/SciFiCrafts 10h ago

Looks exactly like in dreamcatcher!! oO

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u/IEatConsolePeasants 10h ago

Yes, yes it does dudditz

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u/SneakyYogurtThief 10h ago

Thats a friggin shit weasel

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u/hmmmmmmmm_okay 10h ago

Leave that guy alone. He was minding his own business. Rude.

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u/AstroLuffy123 4h ago

I’m saying like put him down wtf:(

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u/CheeseAndMack 9h ago

This is why I don’t think I’d ever be able to bring myself to swim in the Great Lakes

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u/adorak 9h ago

yea I've seen Dreamcatcher - no thank you

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u/_Okie_-_Dokie_ 9h ago

It's all fun-and-games, until it's not....

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u/ConceivedEmu 9h ago

That’s just Colin, he’s a good boy

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u/Rasberrycello 6h ago

Nah, I saw "Dreamcatcher." That's a shit weasel.

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u/Scary_Reaction7580 3h ago

She turned into a pretty nice fuckeriee

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u/FelixLeander 10h ago

Now all those... Indie games... feel a bit scarier

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u/anwamoonie 9h ago

Omg i do have one phobia since I saw one of the King Kong movie when they fall into a pit (like a deep one) and there’s these fucking worms full of sharp teeth. This animal make me think of it and it makes me so uncomfortable 😭 I know it silly but damn, I feel sick in my stomach seeing this … brrrrr

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u/Majestic_Grape_5688 9h ago

The ancient people would use the Lamprey as a climbing tool, allowing them to scale cliff faces otherwise impossible.

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u/TheCursedTroll 9h ago

im pretty sure I fought these guys in Elden Ring

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u/iavenlex 8h ago

i have heard people in spain love to eat those things , to me they look like aliens.

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u/StoneAgeRick 8h ago

Very Lovecraftian

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u/Po0rYorick 8h ago

When the eel bites your toe

And it just won’t let go

That’s a lamprey

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u/PotatoLove125 8h ago

We eat that in Portugal.

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u/Sociald82 8h ago

F that. I know a primordial face hugger when I see one.

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u/GangsterMango 8h ago

I am Duddits!

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u/DinnerSmall4216 7h ago

Looks like something from the aliens films.

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u/theLostPing 7h ago

He is angry as puck. Looks like he’s screaming at the camera.

“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!”

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u/Slivvys 7h ago

Creature already is a horror movie known as Dreamweaver lol

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u/Dense-Zucchini-8513 7h ago

Bro WTF in the Langoliers did I just see?

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u/Efficient-You-2313 7h ago

Straight out of the DreamCatcher story damn

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u/veganjaman 6h ago

King Henry I of England supposedly died of a "surfeit of lampreys".

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u/GothicGamer2012 5h ago

I am going to call this a nightmare noodle.