Terrifying dead creature with 'needle teeth' and hollow eyes washes up on beach... do you know what it is?

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 23:19, 9 May 2026 | Updated: 23:19, 9 May 2026 A frightening dead creature with needle–like teeth and hollow eyes suddenly washed up on a North Carolina beach, leaving terrified locals wondering what the animal could be. Lynsie McKeown, of Charlottesville, Virginia, made the discovery on April 30 as she stayed at Kelly Wosahla's home near Salvo on Hatteras Island. McKeown was on vacation in the state's Outer Banks hoping to unwind and 'reset,' and she had just arrived to Wosahla's house. 'As soon as I got in, I wanted to get out,' McKeown told the Daily Mail. 'It was a long drive and I just wanted to take a walk on the beach.' That was when she spotted a bizarre 'dark mass' sprawled along the shoreline. Curiosity got the best of McKeown, who took a closer look at the creature and recorded the scary creature on video. McKeown told the Daily Mail that the creature looked to be around 5–foot–9, with its mouth hung open and its sharp teeth fully exposed. A stick was poking directly out of one of the animal's eyes, her footage showed. Lynsie McKeown, of Charlottesville, Virginia, found the sea creature while she was vacationing on North Carolina's Outer Banks McKeown told the Daily Mail that she immediately knew the creature was a shark because of its teeth. However, she did not immediately know what type of shark she had sighted on the beach. Her unusual video was posted by Wosahla on Facebook on Monday, prompting all sorts of guesses from locals. 'By the looks of the tailfin Small thrasher shark,' one commenter said. 'Goblin Shark,' another user posted. 'Rare, deep–sea species of shark.' Another kept his guess more simple: 'Looks like a shark with bad teeth.' In the end, the North Carolina Shark Conservancy (NCSC) told the Daily Mail that the mysterious dead creature had been identified as a sand tiger shark. The shark was identified through its tooth structure, though it was 'very difficult' to know how it died because of how its extreme decomposition. 'There was evidence of some sort of fishing interaction with the presence of fishing line, but it's impossible to determine whether that was a contributing factor,' the NCSC added. The creature had a stick poking out of its eye, which conservation officials later said had likely been placed there by a beach-goer McKeown told the Daily Mail that the dead animal, which she captured footage of, looked to be about 5-foot-9  The North Carolina Shark Conservancy confirmed the creature was a sand tiger shark and that other types of sharks had also been sighted along the state's east coast (Photo of Salvo) The stick was likely jabbed into the shark's eye by a beach–goer who saw the creature, the agency added. However, that could not be confirmed and an animal autopsy would be unable to obtain 'much valuable information.' Shark strandings are not considered uncommon in North Carolina, and there have been other types reported along the state's east coast. Those include angel sharks, sand bars, common threshers and both smooth and spiny dogfish, the agency said. The NCSC noted that North Carolina was one of the 'sharkiest' areas in that part of the US. There was 'generally speaking' no cause for concern whenever one washes ashore. Still, there have been 80 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks since 1837 in the state, the Wilmington Star–News reported.  Sand tiger sharks, known for their needle–like jagged teeth, can swim down to more than 650 feet below water, according to NOAA. They can reach up to about 10.5 feet in length. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.