Creepy Critters: Marine Life Surfaces for Halloween

The aptly named fangtooth fish has long, menacing fangs. But this "monster of the deep" is not as scary as it may seem--it only reaches about 17 cm (6 inches) in length.

The ghoulish blob sculpin, a deepwater fish that can be found off the Pacific coast of the U.S., is reminiscent of a famous terrestrial monster from 1950s horror film classic "The Blob."

This rarely seen smalleyed rabbitfish, belongs to the order Chimaera. Chimaeras are related to sharks and are cartilaginous animals—they have no real bones.

Zombie worms eat away at the bones of a dead whale that has fallen to the seafloor in Sagami Bay, Japan.

The suckers of this red octopod (Stauroteuthis syrtenis) flash on and off as it drifts through deep waters off the eastern U.S.

With seven pairs of legs, nine eyes, and shells the shape of flying saucers, horseshoe crabs look like aliens from the deep.

Blackdevil fish are quintessential monsters from the deep. The female lurks in the dark, drawing in prey with her glowing lure, while the male attaches to her like a blood-sucking parasite.

An alien life form from a distant galaxy? No, it’s a giant isopod (a crustacean related to shrimps and crabs) from the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Under white light, this shortnose greeneye fish looks unimpressive. But, in dim blue light—the type usually seen at depth—it shows its true ghoulish fluorescent colors.