At Avon Wildlife Trust we’re all about championing nature, even misunderstood or unusual characters! It’s important to remember that nature is doing its best to survive and isn’t deliberately trying to scare you, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t wildlife with strange and surprising habits lurking in plain sight.  

There are some obvious choices when it comes to wildlife that might give you a fright. A fox’s cry during the night, an unexpected house spider in the bathtub or maybe a grass snake you spotted swimming in your local river. For me, it’s always a pheasant shrieking from the undergrowth and making me jump on an otherwise peaceful walk! But here are some spooky species you might not have heard of.

 Mystical Molluscs    

This predatory slug lives up to its name with a white or pale grey body. It also has some eerie habits, such as hunting earthworms through the soil at night. The ghost slug was only formally described and named in 2008, from specimens found in Wales. Its scientific name, Selenochlamys ysbryda¸references ysbryd, the Welsh word for ghost. 

South Wales is its main haunt in the UK, though there have been sightings in a few other spots in Gloucestershire and Devon. However, it’s not a native species and it’s believed it travelled here from the forests in the Crimea hidden in soil. 

Magical mosses 

Descend into the semi-darkness of certain caves and you might find the ultimate Halloween treat. These damp, dark places are the perfect spot otherworldly plant life. 

As the light starts to fade, look out for a golden-green glimmer on the rocks. A closer look will reveal moss sprawling across the surface, shifting from dull green to glowing as the light hits it just right. 

This plucky plant is known as goblin’s gold. It has evolved to thrive in gloomy places, where it’s too dark for other plants to survive. To get enough sunlight to grow, the moss has tiny lens-like cells that focus the faint light onto its chloroplasts, creating a golden glow. 

Freaky fungi 

Entering the world of fungi opens a pandora’s box of the weird and wonderful. You could take your pick of odd shapes, strange smells and fluorescent colours. But we’re going to dive a little deeper into the soil, where the mycelium, the root-like structures of fungi, are carrying out some unusual behaviour.  

Fungi are mostly known for decomposing plant matter, but there are certain species who hunt the tiny nematode worms that live in the soil. These predatory fungi species, trap nematodes by creating a loop out of their hyphae, which make up mycelium, and catch their prey as it slithers through, using them as a high nutrient food source.  

It’s such a successful survival tactic, that this behaviour is seen across multiple species. And to think we’re only just beginning to uncover the mysterious lives of fungi, there could be more spookiness to be uncovered! 

Why not embrace Halloween with a wander at our Goblin Combe nature reserve, believed to have been named for the twisted old trees in the valley resembling goblins!