Westport Woman Films Eerie Portuguese Man O’ War That Washed Ashore

It's something you expect to see in horror films and that you hope you'd never stumble upon in real life, at least for me. It is the Portuguese man o' war.

Well, it just so happens that one of these magnificent yet dangerous creatures had washed ashore in Westport in a beautiful but scary fashion. Lynn Hart, a Westport resident, was going for a nice walk on the beach when she ran into the giant siphonophore (although it may look like one, a Portuguese man o' war is not a jellyfish).

"It was to the left of the main entrance," Hart said.

She took out her camera, started filming and did not disappoint us with the footage:

This is the second spotting of the venomous creature Horseneck Beach has seen within the last couple of months. A Portuguese man o' war was called in on June 30, right before the big Fourth of July weekend. Massachusetts officials had warned potential beachgoers to be cautious if visiting for the holiday.

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It's certainly not rare to see these man o' wars around these waters, but it's never a pleasant experience whenever they pop up. Luckily for humans, they're not deadly, but their sting is pretty painful and can really do some damage.

Am I the only one who thinks these creatures closely resemble extraterrestrials? I'm sorry, but it's the slimy bodies, the poisonous tentacles that can extend hundreds of feet, and the bulbous head that get me.