Spooky Organism? I Think So!

I once had a terrible nightmare. I was quietly doing homework in my bedroom, and at first I heard a snuffling sound of a snout pressed to the floor and a clickityclacking sound. I realized it was the sound of an animal’s claws on the wooden floor of my house. Then I suddenly caught a whiff of the disgusting smell of wet animal fur combined with the nasty meaty breath of a carnivore. My heart sunk a second later when I heard a soft growl. I thought to myself, “This can’t be happening!” Immediately I jumped up and raced for the front door. On the way past the kitchen I saw the largest and scariest looking wolf you could ever imagine. Noting its razor sharp teeth, pitch black eyes that glow red in the middle, speed that is twice as fast an Olympic sprinter’s, and ability to attack predators that weigh five times my size, I screamed at the top of my lungs. This animal was threatening enough to spark fear in even the most rational person. While dashing toward the door, I realized the wolf was on my heels, snapping at my legs. I felt like everything was in slow motion. Fear was choking me as I commanded my legs, “Faster! Faster!” I could hear the animal’s pounding feet, and I pictured the beastly wolf gaining on me with every step until it pounced, its ginormous teeth tearing into my flesh, and ripping me to pieces. I finally reached the door and yanked it open as hard as I could. It didn’t move! It was locked! Flustered to the maximum, I couldn’t unlock the door because I was shaking so bad. A millisecond later, I spun around and watched in slow motion as my worst nightmare, with its claws extended toward my face and drool slowly oozing from its black lips, jumped 10 feet into the air to attack me.  Then I suddenly jumped to reality! I woke up screaming, crying, soaking wet with sweat, and panting like I just ran a marathon. “Holy cow!”  I said to myself, amazed by how real the dream felt, and thankful it was just a dream. Spooky? I think so!

Because of their large size, loud and threatening howl, sharp teeth, and fierce growl, wolves have always been portrayed as big, bad, and scary, including in fairytales. The “Little Red Riding Hood," "Three Little Pigs," "The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids," and "Peter and the Wolf," all reveal the scary theme of the hungry and voracious wolf. But don't worry! The wolf threat factor is more or less one big fairytale. There has never been a documented case of a wild wolf killing a person (wolf.org). Believe it or not, wolves tend to be more scared of us than we are of them! I, however, wouldn’t test this theory anytime soon!

Although maned wolves are not an actual "true wolf," they could be portrayed as one due to their appearance and common name. As a result, maned wolves can be considered "spooky" to many.

We had a theme for our class websites, and this year the theme was spooky organisms. Each student in the class was assigned to pick one organism that is spooky, research it, and create a unique website surrounding that topic.  These sites are all compiled at Multiple Organisms.