'Unexpectedly Terrifying': Possum Caught in Ceiling Frightens Internet

A picture of a possum in an unexpected place has left the internet slightly frightened this week.

Shared on Thursday by u/DarthTheJedi on Reddit, the picture now has more than 49,000 upvotes and thousands of comments.

Alongside the caption "Possum observing at my wife's lab, Australia," the picture shows a ceiling with a gap where a common brushtail possum is peeking through to what is below.

Taken at the University of Newcastle in Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia, which has its campus surrounded by forest—the unexpected wildlife is no surprise.

But the shot of the "observing" marsupial has scared some internet users.

One Redditor said, "I cannot stop laughing at how unexpectedly terrifying this is," while another said, "Jesus Christ, I thought that was a Gremlin."

"Possums are so sweet. I have one in the tree next to my house," a user remarked. "However, it is creepy looking at two eyes staring at you in the dark."

According to the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, the common brushtail possum is one of the most widespread Australian tree-dwelling marsupials. It is found in woodlands, rainforests, and urban areas with strong claws, a prehensile tail, and opposable digits. About the size of a domestic cat, the brushtail possum has a pointed snout, pink nose, long whiskers, and large ears. It is active at night and usually spends much of the day sleeping.

"Honestly, that is a little frightening," said one commenter after seeing the viral picture of the wide-eyed possum.

But others were quick to point out that in Australia, the reality could have been a lot worse.

"For Australia, it's one of the least frightening things it could have been," said one commenter.

The poster u/DarthTheJedi later replied and said: "You are right. There was a huge snake in the roof in her lab just 10 days ago."

"It was cute until I zoomed in," wrote another viewer of the viral picture. "Now I'm pretty sure I unlocked a new fear."

It also appeared that the fear element of the unexpected possum may be something exclusive to those who don't live in Australia.

"Love how everyone outside of Australia is s***ting themselves scared, whilst all the Aussies are like 'aww that's cute.' Says a lot about us honestly," an Australian Reddit user commented.

The discovery also prompted other internet users to share stories of unusual visitors in their workplaces. One Redditor said: "That's fine, my office has a 2-meter long carpet python in the roof ('Steve') and a missing ceiling tile he likes to look through directly above the single toilet stall."

Newsweek has reached out to u/DarthTheJedi for comment.