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Poison Headcrab's... — Description
These things (and their Zombie forms) are the scariest enemies in Half-Life 2.

Not this one specifically, cause its dead.

First, the Zombies. Setting aside the terrifying body horror Headcrabs do to their victims by default, these guys take it a step further some how. Firstly, the zombies have three additional Poison Headcrabs attached to its back. And no, their not just for show. Enter the zombie's line of sight (and you will, inevitably.) and it will pull one off its back and throw it at you. Fun. Also, the bodies of the Zombies themselves are grotesquely swollen. No one knows why their so swollen, but some think its because the Poison Headcrabs on its back are pumping poison into it. Oh, and the skin on the back of the zombie is so flayed you can see the former humans spine. And the Headcrab on the poor victims head that started the transformation in the first place? It's flayed the flesh of its victim so much all that's left is a skull. These things imply that these parasites are actually eating their host. And that swelling I mentioned? It's caused them to have higher endurance then any other Headcrab Zombie, meaning it can literally survive a point blank grenade, something no other zombie can do. Oh, and once you kill it, if any of the Poison Headcrabs are still on its back (and the one on its head if you forgot to go for headshots, which happens with all zombies) will all come off of the now dead zombie, and skitter quickly so they can hide and ambush you. Sleep tight.

Oh, what, you think I'm done? Nah, we still need to talk about the Poison Headcrab itself. The good news is, that while slightly more durable then a normal Headcrab, they still die very quickly. However, just look at the thing. It looks like a spider mated with a Headcrab. That's bad enough, but the noises it makes are worse. It makes a combination of chittering and hissing, plus a rattling like a rattle snake. When they jump at you to attack, they scream. This is normal for Headcrabs. But the noise sounds like a wailing shriek, higher pitched they any other Headcrab. And if you hit them but don 't kill it? They run from you, but don't get comfy. They just repositioning themselves to ambush you again. You better hunt it down if you don't want to get jumped while moving through a previous area.

But the worst and most horrify part is the part of what happens if they hit you. You see, the scariest part of these Headcrabs is the fact that they are the only enemy in the game that can't kill you.

Yes, stay with me.

You see, their name is very fitting. If the Headcrabs (not the zombies) hit you, they will poison you with what the game describes as a neurotoxin. This toxin will instantly reduce your HP to 1. Now, your health will start to regenerate after a second, by 10 HP each second. However, until you get all of you HP back, the HP that is displayed is your current health, and if you take any damage greater then that, even during the second its at 1, that's it, your dead. Game over. Poison Headcrabs themselves can damage you, but they cannot kill you. Doesn't sound so bad? Well, imagine being bit by one of these guys, and being near any enemy that can kill you. Imagine suddenly being at one HP when suddenly a Fast Zombie jumps right in front of you, it attacks as you try to back away while your health still regenerates, and it hits and kills you in one shot. Or imagine getting hit by a Poison Headcrab, falling off the roof you were fighting on and taking fall damage. Have fun.