I don’t know if you noticed, but summer has officially arrived here in the Northern Hemisphere. You definitely noticed if you’re in Ohio because the temperature is currently high enough to completely ruin my life. I hate it. It makes me want to go for a nice swim to cool off. Unfortunately, the water is full of unspeakable horrors that can and will kill you. At least that’s the case according to the many horror stories I’ve read, watched, or otherwise consumed over the years. The most recent example of this being the Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest story expansion to last year’s excellent Still Wakes the Deep video game. This expansion takes place 187 meters deep in the ocean where you explore the wreckage of the oil rig that served as the setting of the base game.
Let me tell you: it’s creepy as hell. I wasted no time burning through this new story, and it got me thinking about some of my other favorite aquatic-based horror stories. With that in mind, here are some of my personal favorites.
Novels and Short Stories
“Dagon” (1917) by H.P. Lovecraft
Any discussion of the horrors of the deep has to start with H.P. Lovecraft. “Dagon” is the first short story of his that I had ever read (emphasis on short; it clocks in at a mere 2,216 words), and it made me an instant fan of his writing. I’m not so much a fan of him as a person, but that’s a discussion for a different day. “Dagon” tells the story of an unnamed narrator who is a veteran of World War I. He is currently hospitalized and addicted to morphine. He recounts his story to the reader about how he escaped on a lifeboat after an encounter with an enemy German ship in the Pacific Ocean only to wash ashore on a small island that appears to have risen from the ocean floor. It shows evidence of an intelligent race of aquatic creatures along with the deity that they worship. Like many of Lovecraft’s tales, the narrator catches a glimpse of something that he should not have seen which leads to a mental breakdown and his current situation. It’s an excellent story that really sums up the qualities of Lovecraft’s cosmic horror that have become his hallmarks.
“The Call of Cthulhu” (1928) by H.P. Lovecraft
Lovecraft’s most famous story is quite a bit grander in scale than “Dagon,” but the themes and setting are very similar. The story is an international mystery as the narrator (Francis Wayland Thurston) tries to piece together the notes and objects left behind by his late linguistics professor grand-uncle. Two words that keep appearing are “Cthulhu” and “R’lyeh.” His investigation leads him to stories of mass hysteria, evil cults, and unspeakable evil gods. Thurston eventually comes upon a story involving a crew that had commandeered a ship called the Alert that led them to a mysterious island city and one of those aforementioned evil gods that had been slumbering at the bottom of the ocean. It’s a pretty mind-bending story that feels significantly ahead of its time, and it essentially created the template for cosmic horror.
The Shadow over Innsmouth (1936) by H.P. Lovecraft
I swear this is the last Lovecraft story I’ll be covering. The Shadow over Innsmouth holds the distinction as the only story written by Lovecraft that was published as a standalone novella during his lifetime. The story is set at a seaport in Massachusetts that has fallen on hard times. The narrator for this one visited this former seaport when he was a student at Oberlin College (Ohio represent!) as part of a tour throughout New England. He learns about a strange cult that was founded in the town called the Esoteric Order of Dagon (sounds familiar) as well as a hidden history of a species of fish-like humanoids called the Deep Ones that the inhabitants of Innsmouth may have interbred with. The more he learns about the town and its inhabitants, the more danger he realizes he is in. It ultimately leads to some shocking revelations of his own past as well.
“The Raft” (1982) by Stephen King
“The Raft” is one of the very first Stephen King stories I ever read, and it has certainly stuck with me ever since. The thing that makes it stand out for me is how it takes something so mundane and makes it terrifying. In this case, it’s just a group of friends going swimming in a lake in Pennsylvania. While hanging out on a wooden “raft” fixed to the center of the lake, an amorphous blob that resembles an oil slick on the surface of the water begins stalking them and brutally digesting them whenever it makes contact with them. What is it? How did it get there? Why is it doing this? None of these questions are answered. It’s just four friends doing their best to survive what initially started as a fun day of swimming.
Sphere (1987) by Michael Crichton
This one is probably more science fiction than outright horror, but I think there are enough horror elements to justify including it. I devoured Michael Crichton novels as a kid, and this was one I particularly enjoyed. The story follows a team of scientists assembled by the United States Navy to investigate what they believe to be a spacecraft at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Once they reach their destination, they find what appears to be a perfect sphere aboard the ship. Then all hell breaks loose. The novel is a fun mix of science fiction, psychological thriller, and the horrors of being trapped at the bottom of the ocean.
White Shark (1994) by Peter Benchley
I know. I chose a Peter Benchley novel, and it isn’t Jaws. The truth is I’ve never been a big fan of the novel. Maybe it’s due to seeing the movie first, but it just never clicked with me. White Shark (with some editions retitled as Creature) is a different story. The plot of this one is pretty bonkers compared to Benchley’s other novels. It’s about a potential Nazi super weapon that was lost at the end of World War II when the ship containing it was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1994, some divers stumble upon the wreckage and accidentally release the super weapon. What is this super weapon? It’s an amphibious genetically altered super soldier that was placed in hibernation prior to the ship being sunk. Now it’s awake, pissed off, and hungry. It’s essentially a throwback to old school creature features, but Benchley is able to make it compelling.
What Kind of Mother (2024) by Clay McLeod Chapman
If you want a detailed spoiler discussion on What Kind of Mother, then you should check out my discussion with author Clay McLeod Chapman on that very topic! For a more general overview, stay here. This book focuses on the most terrifying location on Earth: Virginia. Specifically, it’s set in the fictional town of Brandywine and follows a down on her luck palm reader named Madi who is enlisted by her high school boyfriend to use her gifts to try and locate his son who has been missing for five years. The book takes some heartbreaking and horrifying twists and turns that will have you looking at seafood in a much different way.
Movies and Television
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) directed by Jack Arnold
The way you can tell that Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of the true classics is in the way it was so seamlessly added to the roster of the Universal’s greatest monster movies despite coming out more than two decades later than most of the originals. The story is one that has become a bit of a template for creature features. A scientific expedition to a remote area of the Amazon leads to an encounter with a humanoid fish creature with deadly consequences. What makes the film such a standout for the time are the underwater scenes. They still hold up surprisingly well despite being over seventy years old.
Jaws (1975) directed by Steven Spielberg
Do I need to explain this one? Jaws is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, and it’s just as brilliant now as it was fifty years ago. Surely you know the story by now. A giant Great White is eating swimmers off the coast of a sleepy New England island community, and only the chief of police seems to recognize the danger. It eventually morphs into a Moby Dick style quest on the open ocean as our protagonists look to hunt down and kill this dangerous shark. It’s a masterpiece of filmmaking, and it remains my favorite Spielberg movie of all time. Do yourself a favor and watch it this summer.
Also, this movie has the same MPA rating (PG) as Shrek. Extremely funny.
The Fog (1980) directed by John Carpenter
I feel like John Carpenter’s The Fog doesn’t get enough love. It’s probably because it was released shortly after Halloween and shortly before The Thing. Hard to compete with arguably the two greatest horror films ever made, but it’s very much worth watching. It’s quite literally a campfire ghost tale, but it’s set in a coastal Southern California town. That means the ghosts in question are pirate ghosts. Or are they ghost pirates? Hard to keep that straight.
Regardless, these ghosts terrorize this town (and any ships off the coast of the town) whenever the titular fog rolls in. It’s a fun little mystery as to why this is happening with some very cool and creepy practical effects.
Humanoids from the Deep (1980) directed by Barbara Peeters
This one falls squarely in the “guilty pleasure” category for me. Humanoids from the Deep dates to ask the question, “What if Creature from the Black Lagoon was a sleazy exploitation flick full of nudity and gore?” This film also takes place in a coastal California town, but instead of vengeful pirate ghosts and/or ghost pirates, it’s extremely horny and violent fish people. It’s very much a schlocky B-movie (produced by Roger Corman), but the practical effects and scares are legitimately good.
Open Water (2003) directed by Chris Kentis
Loosely based on true events, Open Water tells the story of a couple on vacation who accidentally gets left behind on a diving tour in the middle of the ocean. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they happen to be surrounded by curious sharks that keep getting bolder and bolder as the film goes on. That alone makes this movie scary, but when you realize the actors are actually being filmed in the ocean with real life sharks it morphs into pure unadulterated nightmare fuel. I would recommend skipping this one if you suffer from thalassophobia.
The Call of Cthulhu (2005) directed by Andrew Leman
This film is as faithful an adaptation of Lovecraft’s work as you’re ever going to see. Produced by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, this adaptation is made in the style of black and white silent film as though it had been adapted at the time the short story was published. It’s very clever and effective, and the stop-motion Cthulhu looks awesome.
The Host (2006) directed by Bong Joon Ho
This was the first Bong Joon Ho movie I ever saw, and it’s a kaiju movie of all things. It’s about a weird mutated amphibian thing causing chaos in South Korea, but it’s really about the dangers of unrestrained capitalism, the American occupation of Korea, and the difficulties of raising a family in the twenty-first century. In other words, it’s a Bong Joon Ho movie.
Black Water (2007) directed by Andrew Traucki
We have another killer animal movie (very loosely) based on a true story. This one is about a group of people going on a little guided tour/fishing trip in Australia before getting ambushed by a saltwater crocodile. Not great. It’s a very grim and bleak story aided by a very clever method to portray the crocodile in the scenes with the actors. The filmmakers took real footage of crocodiles and filmed the actors separately. They then created composite scenes to make it look like they were in the same shot. It’s very effective and unnerving.
Lake Mungo (2008) directed by Joel Anderson
Okay. I am admittedly stretching the premise of my own piece with this one, but I’m going to make it work. It’s a mockumentary about a family dealing with the death of their teenage daughter who drowned while swimming in the titular lake. They soon come to believe that her ghost is haunting their residence and try to make contact with her. It’s more sad than scary, but the scariest scene in the entire movie does take place on a beach. That makes it count as an aquatic horror film in my mind.
The Reef (2010) directed by Andrew Traucki
Andrew Traucki makes another appearance! Much like Black Water, this is another killer animal movie based on true events and using the same composite special effects tricks. This time it’s a Great White instead of a crocodile. All of the positives for Black Water carry over to The Reef, but I find The Reef even scarier because being stranded in the middle of the ocean is just much freakier to me than hiding out in a tree. You just have so much less control of your situation in that environment.
Crawl (2019) directed by Alexandre Aja
Crawl is a perfect example of a B-movie concept elevated by a talented director and cast. On paper, it almost sounds like a Sharknado movie. A hurricane hits Florida causing severe flooding, and the submerged streets and buildings are taken over by hungry alligators. Pretty silly stuff, but the performances by Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper and the way Aja builds tension really make the film a fun thriller from start to finish. It also clocks in at under ninety minutes, so it’s a taut quick watch as well.
Underwater (2020) directed by William Eubank
I think Underwater is a hidden gem. It was a casualty of Disney buying 20th Century Fox. It was filmed in 2017, but then it sat on a shelf for three years because Disney didn’t know what to do with it. It was unceremoniously dumped into cinemas in January of 2020 where it performed poorly at the box office as well as with critics. It’s a bummer because this is a pretty fun little chiller. It’s about an underwater drilling station at the bottom of the Mariana Trench that accidentally awakens some pretty nasty critters. It’s a fun horror film with just a touch of cosmic horror as well. It’s worth checking out!
Dangerous Animals (2025) directed by Sean Byrne
Lastly, we have a movie that just came out this month. I think this is actually the fourth movie set in Australia that I’ve covered here. Would not recommend swimming there based on that. This one is about a serial killer who gets off on abducting women and feeding them to sharks as he films them for later use. Gross! In all seriousness, this is a really clever concept buoyed by excellent performances (especially by Jai Courtney as the aforementioned serial killer). It’s not yet available for home viewing, so catch it in the theater while you can.
No.. absolutely not.. to all of this 🚫🌊🤿🙅♀️