22 True Stories From The Deep That Prove You Have Thalassophobia (With Pictures)

These are shocking true accounts of people who are still haunted by their experiences in the watery abyss of our oceans and lakes. Many horrifying experiences were also caught in breathtaking pictures. Experience them for yourself to see if you have thalassophobia — fear of the sea.

“I Saw His Arm Flailing Out Of The Blackness…”

"With the arm span of a paddling pool, it lunges, squirting him with ink and dissapearing. The octopus had him by the leg, groping him in a mass of inky horror. Had a chunk of flesh the size of a tennis ball out of his calf. Still has marks from the suckers. He's scared of baths." –/u/Relic123

“Were Eye To Eye When I Gasped For Air. Then He Went Under…”

"Water skiing when I flew off I landed on top of an alligator. I felt my leg hit him and we were eye to eye, I gasped for air. Then he went under. I was certain Id feel him bite my foot any second and drag me under. I started screaming and couldn't stop until the boat was back." –/u/tsim12345

“I Think He Was Still Curious About How I Tasted…”

"About 30 miles off shore, I felt the tug on my leg. I looked down to see a 12' tiger shark pulling my dive fin and taking me for the ride. In a second he ripped the fin off my foot. The shark swam circling at visual range. I think he was still curious about how I tasted."-/u/EnderWiggin3rd 

“It Came Completely Out Of The Dark Of The Ocean…”

"I was snorkeling in Hawaii. All of a sudden a sea turtle the size of a mini cooper starts swimming towards us – came out of the dark of the ocean. Scared the piss out of me (literally), never swam so fast in my life. We got back to the shore could see the turtle's shell on the surface." –/u/icanhe

“It Was Pitch Black…I Couldn’t Tell If I Was Right Side Up Or Upside Down”

I was knee boarding in a lake. The front end of the board dipped down in the water but I kept holding on to the rope. I shot 20+ feet deep in a couple of seconds and when I let go I completely lost my place in space. It was pitch black. I couldn't tell if I was right side up or upside down. –/u/Bdag

“A Bobcat Was Staring At A Shark In The Surf…”

The bobcat was standing on the edge of the beach, following something in the water. Turns out, the bobcat was staring at a shark in the surf. As the shark was feeding on some fish, the bobcat pounced and dragged it onto the beach.

“The Thing Was In The Exact Same Spot, 4 Feet Away, Like I Hadn’t Even Moved…”

"I vividly recall being a few feet underwater and looking over my shoulder at a nasty row of barracuda teeth about 4 feet away. I swam away calmly as I could for a full minute, stopped, looked over my shoulder, and the thing was in the exact same spot, 4 feet away, like I hadn't even moved."-/u/bwc6

I Was Scared To Death The Shark Could Hear My Heartbeat…

I was snorkeling in the Andaman when I came within a few meters of a shark. I could hear my heart beat in my ears it was beating so fast, and I was scared to death the shark could hear that. Husband reacted by trying to take a picture. I swam fast as I could back to the boat.-/u/typoglycemicshock

“Crabs Had Eaten The Flesh…”

"I was diving off the OR coast and found a body in the creepiest condition. He was a surfer who'd gone missing a few days prior so he wore a wet suit with legs, arms, and head exposed. Crabs had eaten the flesh so basically he was a torso with a skull and skeletal limbs." –/u/pteam-pterodactyl

“Suddenly Everything, For No Apparent Reason, Is Tinted Red…”

Divers know this is weird because red disappears at depth (usually at 30ft-40ft), and we were over 70ft (23m). Dive buddy and I are going through a cave and suddenly everything is red. Upon exiting, it was back to blue. The local dive shop had no idea what we were talking about. –/u/MakeYouThink

“Every Single Animal Swam Clockwise Around It…”

“We dove a huge wreck of a battleship. There were 11' tiger sharks, hammerheads, and even a white shark a ways out. Creepier, though, was diving Truk. It's the site of our retaliation for Pearl Harbor against the Japanese and it's filled with bones and odd bits of people's lives.” — /u/andwhyshouldi

“They Hadn’t Received Any Kind Of Report Of A Guy with A Missing Hand…”

“I was diving with some friends and found a fisherman's glove with a hand still inside it… We brought the glove to the local police and they told us that they hadn't received any kind of report of a guy with a missing hand.” — /u/gdwcifan

A Police Diver Died The Following Day Attempting To Retrieve The Body…”

"A diver entered this underwater cave, became lost in the labyrinth of tunnels that extend 190 ft deep, and then committed suicide by stabbing himself in the heart rather than drown. A police diver died the following day attempting to retrieve the body." — /u/bulbaplup

“The Water Just Lit Up Under The Boat…”

"One time while in the Bahamas the water just lit up under the boat. Like in the movies when aliens come. It stayed that way for a few minutes. I awesome it was a whale under the boat churning up the plankton, but it was weird." –/u/diegojones4

“We Get To The Buoy And I Just Have The Biggest Sense Of Dread…”

"We're probably a 15 minute swim from shore and this wound on my arm leaking shark bait. I see something swimming towards me, it's dark. I started swimming away from it, and see two more coming at me. My face goes white, I'm expected to get grabbed and pulled under. Nothing happens." –/u/rrepulsar

This Sealion Will Likely Leave The Rest Behind…

This photographer was just able to capture the moment a sea lion attacked a massive sunfish, and is lucky he wasn't the target.The sealion bit a massive chunk of flesh out of the about 10 foot long, 2000 kilogram fish, but likely won't finish the massive fish off in one meal.

“I Felt Something Heavy Inside My Shorts…”

"I went snorkeling in Coron, Philippines reefs. When I went back on the boat I felt something heavy inside my shorts. I thought it was just water caught up in there and shaked my shorts and this came out. My sister was able to take a picture of the coral reef snake before it went back." –/u/mynameisjuvy

“All Of A Sudden That Shark Decided He Wanted One…”

Diving in Palau once. There's a wall on one side, then the ocean drops as far as the eye can see.  A Tiger shark started swimming with me like I'm his dive buddy. A school of tuna appeared, shark dive bombed and cut one in half. In a split second a couple more sharks cleaned up. –/u/believuefineart

“We Go Back To The Beach. It’s closed. Like Area 51 Closed…”

"All of the beach, and I mean every square foot was covered with half moon bubbles of air with purple-blue squishy looking tentacles coming out of them. these were "Mexican Jellyfish" who migrate up the Gulf. Apparently they were poisonous, until you "pop" the bubble on its head." –/u/17jetsons

“I Came Across What Looked Like A Deformed Whale…”

"While sailing, I came across a whale that had been cut in two but was still alive. There was no blood but I figured maybe he'd bled out.I had all these awful thoughts thinking he'd gotten torn open by a fishing net? I was beyond relieved when I discovered I'd just seen a sunfish." –/u/iwonthefight

He Swam Closer To Look inside. As He Neared, The Porthole Blinked…

During a deep water wreck dive, the visibility was low. He was looking for the wreck, when suddenly he came across a big gray wall. He swam along the side of it until he came to a porthole. As he neared, the porthole blinked. He was inches from the eye of a goliath grouper.-/u/honeybadgergirl

“The Water Glows Just Enough To Reveal A Fourth Person Sitting In Our Circle…”

"On a night dive in the Puget Sound and we're 100ft deep, the pitchest black you could imagine. We'd turn off our lights, then stir up the water and watch the bio-luminescence float around us like stars. The water glows just enough to reveal a fourth person sitting in our circle. He was alone. I don't know how he swam so well without fins or didn't get hypothermia without boots or gloves. We wore drysuits because it was so cold but this dude was in a wet suit with exposed skin and we thought we saw a giant gash in one of the legs. The guy just smiles, then swims away." -/u/pteam-pterodactyl