This morning, I went out into the yard—just to water the flowers and check if the cats had scattered litter, as usual. But as soon as I opened the gate, I immediately smelled a terrible odor. It made my chest tighten and my mouth taste metallic.

I took a few steps and froze. Something was moving on the ground next to the flowerbed. 

In front of me lay something slimy, reddish, as if turned inside out. It reeked of rotting meat, as if someone had hidden a dead animal somewhere nearby. I even recoiled—my heart was pounding, and the most terrifying thoughts rushed through my head.

“What is this? A larva? A strange creature? The remains of an alien?” I couldn’t figure it out. 

I picked up my phone, took a photo, and, wincing at the smell, went searching for answers online.

When I searched for “red slimy, rotten smelling mushroom,” the search engine returned a very unpleasant and strange result. I was horrified when I realized what it was  Continued in the first comment 

“Anthurus archeri – an alien mushroom known as devil’s fingers.”

It turns out this mushroom really does exist. It originated in Australia and Tasmania, but over time, it spread throughout the world.

At first, it looks like a white egg—but soon red tentacles emerge from it, like claws or fingers.

These tentacles are covered in slime and emit a terrible carrion smell to attract flies, which spread its spores.

People who see it for the first time often think they’ve found the remains of an alien. Some even call the police or rescuers.

But it’s just a mushroom. Alive, strange, and perhaps one of the most terrifying creatures on Earth, even though it was created by nature.

Now I avoid that place every day. I don’t water the flowers there anymore.

Let it grow—the “gift from the devil” shouldn’t be disturbed.