Petrifying Pages and Gruesome Engravings

As it turns out, not all vampires are pointy-toothed Transylvanian counts or lovelorn, sparkly teenagers. Sometimes, they're squid.

 

 

The vampire squid, or Vampyroteuthis infernalis (formerly Melanoteuthis lucens, as it was called in the plate above), dwells 2,000-3,000 feet under the sea. It has a dark body, red eyes and generally creepy appearance, perfectly suitable for such a horrofic name. This image, from Prince Albert I of Monacco's Résultats des campagnes scientifiques accomplies sur son yacht was recently digitized, but we've pulled together our all time favorite frightening images for  you in Flickr.

 

Here's a peek (note: slideshow requires Flash):

 

Did we miss your favorite ghoulish or gross image from our collection? Let us know!

Happy Halloween!