As scary as bodies of water may seem, they can always be scarier. For instance, below the surface may actually be something strange and unknown. Something the human eye wasn’t ever meant to see.
The usual suspects in terrifying water scenarios, such as sharks and crocodiles, don’t apply here. No, this curation is for those certain creatures that defy logic and, in a few cases, time and place.
Cinema offers a great number of aquatic monsters, but in keeping with the series Below, the ten following specimens hail from the small screen.
The Swamp Monster from Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Easing us into the watery horrors is “The Spanish Moss Murders”, a sort of kindertrauma for a certain generation. The namesake of Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974–1975), an investigative reporter who chased the supernatural, once encountered the moss-covered, Cajun boogeyman called Père Malfait. Said to be a dweller of the Louisiana swamps, this legend has been relocated to some big city sewers, all while it still preys on the impure. Now, sewers aren’t typically the first place that comes to mind in discussions of aquatic horror, but surely we can make an exception this time.
The Pool Corpse from Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Again, we’re a bit away from the greater depths of water, but hey, pools can be scary for some folks. Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1992–1996, 1999–2000) gave its young audience good reason to fear the deep end. In “The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float”, Midnight Society member Stig (Codie Wilbee) told of a school pool inhabited by a ghastly, zombie-like spirit. Back then, this was nightmare fuel for the youngins.
Big Blue from The X-Files
Major spoiler for those who have somehow escaped the cultural phenomenon that is The X-Files (1993–2002, 2016–2018), but the cryptid called Big Blue, from the episode “Quagmire”, was supposedly nothing more than a voracious alligator on the loose. However, the show didn’t let us leave without at least giving us a shot of the real Nessie or Ogopogo-like creature dwelling in Heuvelmans Lake. It’s the perfect ending for this fan-favorite monster-of-the-week episode.
The Sea Monster from Baywatch Nights
The X-Files‘ popularity urged some other shows to also cash in on the horror craze. This included Baywatch spin-off Baywatch Nights (1995–1997) taking on the supernatural in its second (and final) season. After David Hasselhoff‘s character dealt with more grounded criminal matters, he became an investigator of the weird and unexplained. This included a gelatinous sea creature in the episode “The Rig”. It’s not often you see a series take such a hard turn in genre, but in all frankness, that decision was for the best. It’s just too bad we didn’t get more of these horror outings from Mitch Buchannon and his very own Scooby Gang.
The Shark-Human Hybrid from Creature
The sharkman in Creature, a 1998 TV miniseries based on Peter Benchley‘s novel White Shark, wasn’t born from nature. No, this amphibious terror is the work of bad science. While the monster doesn’t show up on screen nearly as much as you would like, and the whole production is a bit overlong, there’s no denying the quality of Stan Winston‘s work. And this wasn’t the only Benchley adaptation to show up on TV; The Beast aired two years earlier, also as a miniseries.
The Mosasaur from Primeval
With the Doctor Who revival doing so well at BBC, ITV came up with its own time-related sci-fi show. Enter Primeval (2007–2011), a drama about displaced dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Time anomalies have randomly opened up around the world, and through them come these ancient beasts. One of which was a mosasaur, a type of marine reptile that you’d never want to meet during a swim. Generally, this series boasted a lot of water-based animals, even those from the future. In the Canadian spin-off, Primeval: New World, a different cast of anomaly hunters battled the Sisiutl, a.k.a. a giant, semi-aquatic snake called the Titanoboa.
Gobblewonker from Gravity Falls
In a cartoon like Gravity Falls (2012–2016), there’s no need to debunk legends like Gobblewonker; the show’s whole premise is built around the idea that the unreal is real. However, you’re led to think this lake monster is bogus, on account of it being a robotic replica piloted by Old Man McGucket. So it would seem that Dipper, Mabel and Soos’ effort to get a cash prize-winning photo of the creature of Gravity Falls Lake was all for nothing. Truth is, they shouldn’t have given up so easily, as the end of this episode reveals the actual Gobblewonker.
The Monster from Cryptid
It all started with a bang in Cryptid (2020)—literally. In the first installment of this Swedish young-adult series, a high schooler spontaneously explodes all over the place (and his peers). This gory incident then sets up a Scandi-story of grief, folk horror, and most importantly, the enigmatic monster residing in a local lake. The town of Odensfors appears peaceful, but something in its history is now causing teens to suddenly die in gruesome fashion.
Champ from Creepshow
Just when it seems like Nessie is the only mythical water monster to get any attention nowadays, the Creepshow series (2019–2023) delivered a solid depiction of Champ (or Champy) of Lake Champlain. At first, that famous American cryptid is only in the background of this ’80s-set, Joe Hill-inspired segment; the monster’s carcass washed ashore, and its human discoverers now fight over it. What they all fail to realize, though, is that these creatures don’t tend to exist alone.
The Sea Hag from Widow’s Bay
Finishing things off is the Sea Hag, that most creepy water entity from the acclaimed series Widow’s Bay (2026–). Yes, she falls more into the spectral category of aquatic frights, but that doesn’t make the Sea Hag any less intimidating. The episode “The Inaugural Swim” is also a stellar example of how to blend comedy and horror, plus it’s just a great vehicle for Matthew Rhys‘ talents as an actor.
