Terrifying ‘creature from hell’ is identified

A terrifying mystery insect from Western Australia dubbed the “creature from hell” has finally been identified.

The "creature from hell" has finally been identified.

A terrifying mystery insect from Western Australia dubbed a “creature from hell” has finally been identified.

People from around the world have been left scratching their heads after a clip of a horrifying insect rearing its body in an aggressive way went viral.

The chilling video has been viewed over 10 million times on TikTok and has attracted thousands of comments from stumped viewers across the globe.

The strange blue-greyish creature appears to be half stick insect, half scorpion, but also has wings and a tail that goes up and down menacingly in a ‘stabbing’ motion.

Dubbed a “creature from hell” in the now viral clip, the uploader claims that the insect was spotted in the outback town of Laverton, Western Australia – about a 10 hour drive from Perth.

The clip, which was uploaded earlier this week, has already attracted almost 20,000 comments – many of which are from people overseas who are now “terrified” to come to Australia.

“Australia looks gorgeous but the insects carry guns and smoke cigars, never going,” one joked.

Many also thought it looked similar to the 'Arachnids' from the film Starship Troopers. Picture: TriStar Pictures

“Yeah, nah, just another reason to never go to Australia!” another said.

“Too many spicy scorpion, fan, pencil thingys like this.”

Others spoke about how it looks like an “alien” and likened it to alien and monsters seen in movie, like Jumanji (1995),Alien (1979) and Starship Troopers (1997).

“Looks like the facehugger thing in that movie Alien,” one pointed out.

“Hate it so much.”

“Reminds me of that evil vine monster in Jumanji,” another said.

Others thought it looked like a "face hugger" from the movie Alien. Picture: 20th Century Fox

While many were hoping the creepy crawly was located only in that remote part of Western Australia, some commented saying they had been them in other parts of the country.

“Saw one of these in Woodford, Queensland, a few days ago,” one recalled.

“It was definitely not something I wanted in my house!”

There was one question though that kept popping up in response to the terrifying clip.

What on earth is that thing?

News.com.au spoke to a Perth-based entomologist – otherwise known as an “insect expert” – in order to get to the bottom of the mystery.

“This is a walking stick insect, in the family Phasmatidae,” Nikolai Tatarnic, Curator of Entomology as the Western Australian Museum, told news.com.au.

People have likened it to the weird vine monster from Jumanji. Picture: Sony Pictures

“While most people are aware of their camouflage (i.e. looking like a stick), some species also engage in threat or startle displays (also called ‘deimatic behaviour’) to ward off potential predators.

“We think the insect in the clip is the genus Paronchestus, probably P. cornutus, as it closely resembles a specimen in our collection, which was collected from Laverton.

“Phasmids are herbivores and are not venomous. The terrifying display in the video is all a ruse, but it clearly works.

“Phasmids are found all across Australia, but because of their amazing camouflage, they mostly go unseen.”

Originally published as Terrifying ‘creature from hell’ is identified