- [Narrator] Famous writer
Mark Twain once said, "Truth is stranger than fiction." It definitely is. But truth is also scarier than fiction. Don't believe me? Just keep watching and
you'll realize that many seemingly unreal movie
monsters actually go beyond the silver screen
and into our world with their very real counterparts. Here are the top 10 movie
monsters that exist in real life. (whimsical music) - A bad thing. - [Narrator] Number 10, acromantula. Ordinary spiders themselves
already create fear and anxiety. Now imagine the terror of seeing something that is as big as an acromantula from the Harry Potter series. Well, probably not that
big, but almost as bad. Meet the goliath bird eater, a native of the Amazon Rainforest in South America. These tarantulas are the
largest known spiders in the world, growing
up to five inches long in body length plus 11
inches longer with its legs. Contrary to what their name suggests, the goliath bird eater
doesn't actually eat birds. Well, not often at least. Its diet mostly consists
of insects and worms. However, due to its size,
it can also eat bigger animals such as certain native amphibians and has even been
witnessed eating a variety of even larger ones,
such as rodents, lizards, and snakes, including
perhaps an unfortunate bird or two, which it
definitely could crunch the life out of with its sheer size. Also, although you may want to straight-up burn this critter with fire,
you better not agitate one. When threatened, goliath
bird eaters can rub their body to launch their
hairs, which can sting and severely irritate the skin. Number nine, gremlin. Before revealing their hideous true forms, the eponymous gremlins are often disguised as pretty furballs, ready
for a hug with anyone who gets smitten with
their absolute charm. The pygmy tarsier isn't exactly as cute or as horrible as a gremlin, but it shares somewhat of a combination
of its cute image and real horrifying form. Native to the Southeast Asian tropical rainforest, it's essentially a hunter. Most tarsiers in general are carnivorous, which is a unique trait
among all other primates in the world. This means that hidden
within its seemingly harmless and tiny
exterior belies its fierce predatory instincts. Don't worry though. They're not hungry for
other primate flesh, as their diet mainly
consists of large insects. Still, witnessing a
pygmy tarsier on the hunt leaves somewhat of an
unsettling impression. It doesn't help that they're nocturnal creatures either, further
making the comparison to its movie counterpart
even more apparent. Number eight, xenomorph. The monster from Alien that results from an evolved chestburster
is the gruesome, terrifying xenomorph. It's real-life counterpart, the phronima parasite, is just as
terrifying and undergoes a similar evolution. It lives in the very
deep sea, and like most other oddities that live there, it has a semi-transparent body. It lives in the Pelagic
Zone of the world's oceans and survives mainly by feeding off much bigger salp. Much like baby xenomorphs,
it eats its host alive until it hollows out a
salp's gelatinous shell. If it's a female phronima,
it may then proceed to lay eggs into the
cavity, providing an organic home to her young using
the salp's dead carcass. The phronima's parasitic design, and even its way of life, is just so similar to that of a chestbursting xenomorph that the rumor of it inspiring its movie counterpart stays to this day. If you fear that it might attack curious marine biologists, don't fret. Phronima are about as big as the tip of an adult's finger. Besides, they are very
much happy to simply settle on their mushier
menu options for now. And if you're not convinced
because it isn't transparent, then maybe the xenomorph was inspired by the deep sea dragonfish. It's another deep sea creature, proving that we should probably be looking to the deep sea to find aliens
rather than out in space. Number seven, kraken. Seafaring legends tell
of tales of gargantuan monsters of the sea. The 18th-century kraken is perhaps one of the more popular ones with its rumored mighty size, able to completely embrace and capsize whole ships. Just like a scene from
Pirates of the Caribbean, the real-life version of
this legendary creature has to be the colossal
squid, which may not actually be able to
sink today's ocean-going vessels, but its size still inspires awe and wonder to witnesses of its existence. Another product of the deep oceans, colossal squids can grow as large as twice the average human. All sightings and observed
reports of the squid point its natural habitat being around the far lower hemisphere, particularly near the oceans of Antarctica. Due to its elusive nature,
very little is known about its life. In fact, it's often only
caught and mostly by accident. Though it's never been
seen active in its natural habitat, it's thought to be able to propel itself efficiently and quickly underwater, subduing its prey with sheer
force and great dexterity. It's also important to
note that the colossal squid is different from the giant squid, which is actually significantly smaller, although still several times bigger than what you usually eat at
your regular seafood place. Number six, monster alien fish. Okay, monster alien fish kind of sounds way too generic, but
if you ever come across a sea lamprey, you'd instantly know that it's a creature
that's worthy of being the next Hollywood nightmare. The most striking feature of any lamprey is its fang-studded disc-shaped mouth. It's essentially a
structure built as a tool that lets it latch and
lock onto its host firmly before its equally
horrifying fang-laden mouth digs onto its main meal,
the blood of its host. Like most animals that feed on blood from other animals, the
sea lamprey also uses secretions to prevent blood clotting, freely lapping up the
victim's life essence as the poor fishes are completely
unable to shake it off. Sea lampreys themselves are native to the western Atlantic Ocean,
wreaking havoc to all other larger fish native to the area. They have also since
then invaded the marine ecosystem of the five Great Lakes of North America, starting
in the early 19th century. In fact, quite soon sea
lampreys could very well make their way throughout
the American continent, finding new waters and
new victims to feed upon, and also to occasionally
become a traditional delicacy for one unlucky
English king to be killed with. Number five, the real-life hydra. One of the legendary
Twelve Labors of Hercules told the story of the
mighty Lernaean Hydra. It was a gigantic serpent
with multiple heads, all of which capable of
simply regrowing back should the would-be slayer
attempt to chop them off. Reality surprisingly
brings us to something that is also very similar
in a much smaller package. Also named the hydra, it's a type of tiny freshwater creature that
inhabits the temperate and tropical waters of the world. It's aptly named after
the legendary creature for its signature build,
a slender, elongated structure with smaller similar appendages growing out of its one end. Also, like its legendary
counterpart, it's also immortal. Cutting off any part of it simply regrows the detached part. Mince it and then put it back together, and its mass reforms the
creature from scratch. Cut it clean in two and it will even grow into two separate hydra. Cut off one head and two more
shall take its place instead. Hail, Hydra. The hydra is one creature that, along with the phronima, I'm very happy is only alive in tiny form. Number four, Chucky. Monsters don't always
have to be biological. Sometimes crazed, possessed living things like Chucky the doll are
often more than enough to send us into a sleepless
trance for an entire month. Meet Robert the Doll, AKA Chucky's closest real-life counterpart. Originally owned by Robert Eugene Otto during the early 20th
century, it was rumored to have been given to him by a young girl or one of his maids as a voodoo gift. Reports however point to its creation by an old German manufacturing company, given to its original owner as a gift from his grandfather. It started its creepy, unsettling history with stories about the
owner talking to the doll during his youth. There are also accounts of people hearing weird chattering noises when it's around. And there were even
rumors of it mysteriously getting misplaced at various locations. More disturbingly, it's even thought to afflict curses, which
rumored to eventually claim the life of the owner's wife. Seriously, there are
just too many unsettling stories of its dark
history that these episodes would make an entire list on their own. But it stands today
that the doll is widely believed to be heavily cursed and haunted. As of 2017, Robert the Doll quietly sits at the East Martello Museum in Florida where its empty stare still
haunts visitors to this day. Number three, Dart from Stranger Things. The affectionately-named
D'Artagnan, or Dart, turns into the Demogorgon, and is just one of the otherworldly monsters
introduced in Stranger Things. Yes, at this point the
pattern is already obvious. Turns out that there is actually an animal very similar to the
demodog, or at the very least similar to its earlier-stage forms. The hellbender salamander
already gets points for its badass name, but
here's where it gets weird. Contrary to its fiery name, it's actually an aquatic creature. Its home is the great wildlife of eastern North America, where it can be found in certain rivers, streams,
and aquatic rock formations. These creatures are a freak of evolution. Hellbender salamanders
have adapted so much to their home that certain individuals can only fit one specific
ecological niche, live in one specific
area, and survive in one specific environment at a time. They're essentially habitat specialists. That being said, the hellbender salamander is actually quite harmless as a creature, and no, you don't need to worry
about them eating your cat. Number two, monster worm. As we have seen earlier,
the deep, dark sea sure has a fine bestiary of nightmare fuel oddities just floating
around its alien environment. But if you want something that pales in comparison to all
others we have previously mentioned, then say
hello to the Bobbit worm, the real-life version of the Mongolian death worm, or exogorths
in Sarlacc from Star Wars. Despite its rather tame and quite uninteresting name,
Bobbit worms are predatory creatures that inhabit the ocean floor of the world's warmer regions. No specific areas. It just needs ocean
water and a nice seabed that's warm enough for it to thrive. When not hungry, or its just preparing for its next meal, it
appears as an unsuspecting coral or even an anemone,
but once a living creature goes near enough, bam. It literally disappears, quickly grabbed by the Sarlacc, I mean, Bobbit worm's now nightmare-inducing form. As it seems, these monsters of the deep feed on just about anything that moves. Small fry, shelled crustaceans, poisonous fishes, you name it. Even the smarter creatures like octopus are no match once it
goes for the ambush hunt. It doesn't help that
these one to three-meter monstrosities keep themselves buried under the ocean floor
so you never really see the full enormity of its horror. Before I reveal the
most outrageous example in this list, I'd like to remind you to subscribe to Be Amazed. We upload amazing
fact-filled videos every day, so don't miss out on learning some amazing new information. Also, hit that bell icon for notifications on more amazing, fact-filled videos. Number one, facehugger. This creature is the life form occurring in the second stage of the
xenomorph's life cycle. Its real-life counterpart is the almost mythical giant sea spiders of
the far, far south Antarctic. As its name implies,
these creatures are native to the southernmost part of the world. One particular 10-inch long specimen found somewhere along the Ross Sea Ice Shelf bears a form almost alien in appearance even among its related species. Quite oddly, online articles that feature these Antarctic wonders are sometimes introduced with a fake
photo of a facehugger prop. The real one does seem very
extraterrestrial, however. As for its gargantuan
size, the most common explanation is that high levels of oxygen in the Antarctic seawater
influenced its growth, very much like the same giant insects that ruled the Earth sometime during the oxygen-rich Carboniferous Period. In addition, it also
helped that the harsh, cold climate led to very few predators controlling their numbers. Thus, this nightmare of
the Antarctic thrives in large numbers to this day. Which creature gave you
the bad heebie-jeebies and what other iconic and
popular movie monsters do you think have real-life counterparts even scarier than the fictional versions? Tell me in the comments down below. Thanks for watching. (mysterious music)
