History Main / AttackOfTheMonsterAppendage

* Kur from ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' is first seen as a giant snake, but it's revealed later that the snake is just one of its tentacles.

Sea creatures often have these, especially [[KrakenAndLeviathan Krakens and Leviathans]]. {{Supertrope}} of GiantFootOfStomping and GiantHandsOfDoom; {{subtrope}} of OrganAutonomy. See also CombatTentacles and TentacleRope.

* In a ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' tie in to ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', a group of the DC's most powerful magic users, including the god like [[ComicBook/TheSpectre Spectre]], do battle with the Original Darkness, a vast, alien being that existed before the universe. They all fail to impede it, and they eventually make a horrifying discovery: they haven't been fighting the Darkness. They've been fighting ''its thumb''.

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'' When [[BigBad Jafar]] brings Abis Mal to the bottom of the ocean (ItMakesSenseInContext) [[ButtMonkey he's almost instantly snatched by a large tentacle.]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'': When Arthur is first confronted to the Karathen, all we see of the monster is its titanic squid-like tentacles trying to crush him. We see the full monster later, and it's quite colossal.

* ''Film/{{Conan the Barbarian|2011}}'' has said barbarian fighting the tentacles of an unseen EldritchAbomination.

* The 2007 film of ''Film/TheMist'' contains a scene in which a single large tentacle attacks several people in the loading dock of a grocery store. [[spoiler: In the end they see a huge four-legged monster sporting a bunch of these tentacles all over his belly/downside area. Note that these two weren't linked in the book, which had the tentacles but in the end only a monster so large, the mist prevented them from seeing the legs end]].

* In King's short story "The Moving Finger" the protagonist is confronted and attacked by a bizarre, multijointed finger poking out of the drain in his apartment's bathroom sink. After cutting it of, he starts thinking about the creature to which it must have been attached. Eventually, the police arrive and something starts lifting the toilet lid. The officer goes to the toilet to investigate and the story ends.

* ''Series/TheMunsters''[='=] pet dragon Spot. Usually, the only thing shown were his glowing eyes and teeth seen under the staircase. When he gets loose in one episode, all we see is the tip of his tail.

* In ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', you never see the whole [[BigBad Mom]] [[AbusiveParents Boss]]. Instead, you only see her legs, hands and eyes, [[spoiler: And later inner organs and heart.]]

* In the 1983 ''VideoGame/DinoEggs]]'' game, if you didn't have a fire burning the dinosaur mom (whose eggs and hatchlings you were stealing) would try to stamp you flat with her leg. You only ever saw the leg, not the dinosaur mom herself. Watch it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sihur0pcmBU#t=1m45s here]].

* One of the obstacles in ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' is a mass of gigantic alien tentacles sticking out of a rocket silo. Your guns only slightly annoy whatever it is, so you will need a bigger weapon. [[spoiler: like [[WeaponizedExhaust the rocket in the rocket silo]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008'', [[spoiler: you fight the FinalBoss Arhiman from his point of view, and you can only see his huge, dark hands.]]
* From ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' we have the Hydras, wich are enormous tentacles with giant jaws that they use to throw objects (Most commonly cars and trucks). Anything below the tentacle is a mystery, but there are hints they are somehow connected to [[PlagueMaster Elizabeth Greene]] [[spoiler:or at least the giant bloody entity she uses to fight against Blackwatch and Alex]].

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' has vines of [[ManEatingPlant Plant 42]] that emerge from the floor in the guest house. Similarly, in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', there are large tentacles in the Antarctic Base that are actually part of a T-Veronica mutated plant controlled by Alexia.

* In ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' the [[EldritchAbomination Faceless Ones]] can summon huge, spiky tentacles at will from the ground. In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', they and their Old God masters continue this. The Old Gods are buried and of unknown size, so what tentacles are part of what creature, and what these creatures look like, are mostly unknown. ''Cataclysm'' adds massive mouth creatures that we never see all of.

-->'''Berk:''' Who asked ''you'' in?

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* The Wampa in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. In both versions of the film, it's glimpsed first as a suddenly appearing, roaring face with a mouth full of teeth, and then a big ol' arm that attacks Luke and then his Tauntaun. We later do see the full creature very briefly. The Special Edition shows more of the Wampa in its cave, as opposed to one decent glimpse the original version gave.\\\
In a deleted subplot that involved a Wampa running loose inside Echo Base before the Rebels managed to trap it in a side room, there's a literal interpretation of the trope name in the form of a CallBack or BrickJoke (whichever you prefer), when some intruding Snowtroopers get tricked into going and opening the door. The Wampa's arm shoots out, grabs one (who we'll call [[WilhelmScream Private Wilhelm]]), and drags him in, whereupon Private Wilhelm's companions quickly close the door, looking as confused as FacelessMooks can look.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E2TheBeastBelow "The Beast Below"]], the characters encounter tentacles growing through the floor in several places before TheReveal that they're all from the [[SpaceWhale Star Whale]] that Starship UK has instead of an engine, and who is seen in full at the end of the episode.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'': a bunch of long, root-like tentacles snatching a corpse and dragging it under a shack is the first sign of the massive, vegetal-based B.O.W. known as Durga, who's later fought by Barry in the same area as a boss fight.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePiratesOfDarkWater'': in the first episode, the [[FedToTheBeast Constrictus in Bloth's ship]] first seemingly consists in a bunch of fanged leech-like monsters emerging from the watery pit... then, after Ren sets the water surface ablaze with oil, the real one emerges, revealing that the first three creatures were [[NestedMouths the "tongues" ]].

* In ''Film/TheSuperInframan'', one monster has long tentacles that attack the main character scientist in his laboratory. Creator/RogerEbert referred to them in his review of the film as "giant arms."

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePiratesOfDarkWater'': in the first episode, the [[FedToTheBeast Constrictus in Bloth's ship]] first seemingly consists in a bunch of fanged leech-like monsters emerging from the watery pit... then, after Ren sets the water surface ablaze with oil, the real one emerges, revealing that the first three creatures were [[NestedMouth the "tongues" ]].

* From ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' we have the Hydras, wich are enormous tentacles with giant jaws that they use to throw objects (Most commonly cars and trucks). Anything below the tentacle is a mystery, but there are hints they are somehow connected to [[PlagueMaster Elizabeth Greene]] [[spoiler:or at least the giant bloody entity she uses to fight against Blackwatch and Alex]].
* In ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest II'', if you get too close to the occupied prison cells on Vohaul's space station, the monster hands crush you.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' has vines of [[ManEatingPlant Plant 42]] that emerge from the floor in the guest house. Similarly, in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', there are large tentacles in the Antarctic Base that are actually part of a T-Veronica mutated plant controlled by Alexia.
* ''VideoGame/{{Dungeons}}'': the sequel has a Demon trap consisting in a massive tentacle poking out of the ground, best placed in the middle of a 3x3 room, that flails at intruders for a while, and can be powered up into a more massive, shelled version. The expansion adds the Undead, who have a similar trap in the form of a gigantic skeletric arm. The following game has the tentacle as a researchable spell that blocks a corridor tile and lashes at heroes.
* In ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheFateOfAtlantis'', a series of massive brown tentacles emerging from a canal reveal the presence of a giant octopus luring inside. After feeding it a crab, the tentacles will stop emerging, meaning that you can safely cross the canal.

* Cecil from ''WesternAnimation/BeanyAndCecil'' was never shown in full. This was justified when it was a puppet show, but it was kept when it became an animated show. WordOfGod is that Cecil's body was kept a mystery on purpose.

* In ''Alien from the Abyss'', the main creature (which the back of the DVD cover nicknames "The Big Claw") isn't seen until the very end of the film. Until then, it's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: a really, ''really'' big black crablike claw that randomly emerges from various places (usually from underground) to grab and snap at people.
* In ''Film/IslandOfTerror'', our first glimpse of the Silicates are their tentacles. We don't see a full Silicate until after it's already appeared as a grasping tentacle from offscreen twice.
* The Wampa in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. In both versions of the film, it's glimpsed first as a suddenly appearing, roaring face with a mouth full of teeth, and then a big ol' arm that attacks Luke and then his Tauntaun. We later do see the full creature very briefly. The Special Edition shows more of the Wampa in its cave, as opposed to one decent glimpse the original version gave.\\\
In a deleted subplot that involved a Wampa running loose inside Echo Base before the Rebels managed to trap it in a side room, there's a literal interpretation of the trope name in the form of a CallBack or BrickJoke (whichever you prefer), when some intruding Snowtroopers get tricked into going and opening the door. The Wampa's arm shoots out, grabs one (who we'll call [[WilhelmScream Private Wilhelm]]), and drags him in, whereupon Private Wilhelm's companions quickly close the door, looking as confused as FacelessMooks can look.
* In ''Film/AttackOfThe50FootWoman'', after Nancy grows all that it shown is her huge hand inside her bedroom. She is only seen in full after she breaks out to look for her husband, ten minutes before the end.

* ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}'': [[spoiler:The Spine]] makes its first appearances with its stinger tail, before fighting it directly.
* The Kraken from ''Franchise/ShiningSeries'' as it appears in ''VideoGame/ShiningForceII''.

* In ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' one of the first thing you notice in the now Eldritch Wonderland are large, fleshy tentacles in some areas. When you fight the Queen of Hearts is revealed that all those tentacles belongs to her.

* The Kraken (again) from ''VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld'' makes its presence known when you run into a massive flailing tentacle retracting in a hole. You later get to witness the behemoth in all its squishy glory.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' there is an underwater level where you fight tentacles, after defeating them you go on to fight a squid and its last remaining tentacles
* The [[LargeHam Great Mighty Poo]] from ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay''.

* Before fighting Scylla in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'', you first fight one of her snake-tentacles in a seperate boss room.

* In ''VideoGame/DeepTownMiningFactory'', each of the [[EldritchAbomination Elders]] are initially encountered as one of their appendages as a boss battle for the first 11 sections of an area. On the 12th section, you finally get to fight the full Elder itself.
* In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando'', Planet Oozla has a boss fight against a pair of large tentacles that emerge from the swamp. Once you get the Grave Boots, you can return to the planet and fight the whole monster as a BonusBoss.
* While visiting [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Halloween Town]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', Roxas is attacked by several "Tentaclaws" that eat Heartless. Eventually, he finds their main body, the [[BotanicalAbomination Leechgrave Heartless]]. Exactly how the Tentaclaws connect up to the Heartless's vines isn't shown as they tunnel through the ground to get to their (fixed) locations. That said, if one does manage to swallow Roxas during the boss fight, he's seen moving up the nearest of the Leechgrave's vines via DinnerDeformation to be spat back out through its flower.

* Kur from ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' is first seen as a giant snake, but it's revealed later that the snake is just one of its tentacles.

* ''Film/GraveEncounters'' has one scene where the titular ghosthunting crew is attacked by a series of ghostly black arms reaching out of the walls and ceiling. An earlier scene shows one of the characters being grabbed by an arm that bursts through a door window.

* ''Literature/TheCitadelOfChaos'' has a massive tentacle from an unseen, underground monster pretending to be a barrow in the courtyard of the titular fortress. Even after killing the tentacle, you're left in the dark about the nature of the owner.

* TheReveal of "Under the Pyramids" by Creator/HPLovecraft is that the five-headed creature that the narrator sees crawling out of the abyss (and which is implied to be the inspiration for the Sphinx) is merely the forepaw of some vastly larger EldritchAbomination.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has the Watcher in the Water, of which only tentacles are ever seen. Gandalf and Frodo aren't even sure whether it's one creature or several. (The trope is averted in Creator/PeterJackson's [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing film adaptation]], where we see more of the creature.)
* [[EldritchAbomination Bel-Shamaroth]] from ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic''. While he's mentioned from the beginning, only his tentacles are shown, and about the rest of his body, we only see a glimpse of his gigantic eye.
* The ''Literature/MyTeacherIsAnAlien'' series introduces "Big Julie", a massive alien who fills an entire room. Opening the door will reveal nothing but a massive eyeball filling the whole door frame. However, Julie is able to maneuver to some degree, as it can turn around enough to put its mouth at the door instead, allowing it to be fed buckets of swamp water.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' has the EldritchAbomination Gwydion, who/which appears as a mass of tentacles emerging from a dimensional rift. Even WordOfGod has stated that what lies behind is a complete mystery.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' module G3 ''Hall of the Fire Giant King''. If a certain specific ceremony is carried out near the altar of the Elder Elemental God, that deity will send one of its tentacles out of the altar to grab the closest living creature as a sacrifice.

* In ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' the [[EldritchAbomination Faceless Ones]] can summon huge, spiky tentacles at will from the ground. In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', they and their Old God masters continue this. The Old Gods are buried and of unknown size, so what tentacles are part of what creature, and what these creatures look like, are mostly unknown. ''Cataclysm'' adds massive mouth creatures that we never see all of.
* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKainDefiance'' has some spiky tentacles pop out of the ground in order to drag Raziel to the other world.

* ''VideoGame/NinjaShadowOfDarkness'': During the graveyard/ghost city level, you're required to cross a bridge spanning over a river where underneath it, the scythe-like claws of some unseen horror lunges out from its bottom. You'll need to move fast to avoid getting sliced apart by the claws, but even after you completed the level you ''never'' get to see what kind of monster those claws are attached to...

* In ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape'' there are some giant skeletal limbs in some level which will drag you inside their coffins.

* One monster from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' is a hand made of mud, said to belong to a larger mud monster who lives underground.
* The Echidna from ''VideoGame/LegendaryTheBox'' appears as a massive green tentacle/s who appears three times during the game and [[PressXToNotDie tries to drag the hero underground]], [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath where it can devour him]]. Considering that the original Echidna was a Snake Woman that might be her tail.
* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' has a a huge tentacle that pops out at least three times on the Ishimura and tries to drag Isaac towards a gruesome doom.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', a hand reaching out from underneath a bathroom asks for your help. The owner of the hand is never seen.
* In the 1983 ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_Eggs Dino Eggs]]'' game, if you didn't have a fire burning the dinosaur mom (whose eggs and hatchlings you were stealing) would try to stamp you flat with her leg. You only ever saw the leg, not the dinosaur mom herself. Watch it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sihur0pcmBU#t=1m45s here]].
* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII'' and ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'' there are the Arms of Hades: a swarm of (left) hands coming out of the ground to pull Kratos into the depths of Hades.
* In ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'', there is a dinosaur in Terrydactlyland whose only visible portion is its foot, as it's too large to depict otherwise. It constantly tries to stomp you if you wander into its "Stomping Grounds."
* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':
** In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance'', there's a unidentified, huge green arm in a section of the castle. By pulling a lever you [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential squeeze it under a giant spiked press]] and use the blood in order to reach the upper floor.
** The boss Balor in [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow both Sorrow games]] is never seen in full; all we are ever shown is his face (because his trademark attack in myth is EyeBeams) and one giant hand.

* The Kraken in ''VideoGame/{{Shining Force Gaiden|Games}}: Final Conflict'' appears as long tentacles that move on their own.

* In the fan remake of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestII'' if you choose the wrong books in Calduar's library, two green tentacles appear from the library and take you away with them to be eaten.
* "Reapervines" (and similar tentacles) in the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' series are stated to be appendages of some larger creature, but said "larger creature" is never actually encountered.
* One of the obstacles in ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' is a mass of gigantic alien tentacles sticking out of a rocket silo. Your guns only slightly annoy whatever it is, so you will need a bigger weapon. [[spoiler: like [[WeaponizedExhaust the rocket in the rocket silo]].]]
* One of the high-level summoning spells in ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawl'' opens a portal, out of which appears a multiple-space-long tentacle that attacks your enemies. After a time, the portal closes, severing the tentacle, which then turns on you until it dies a little while later.
* ''VideoGame/FatalFrameII'' has ghosts that grip on the twins and attempt to drag them away. They mostly appear on the bridge that connects to the Kurosawa residence and, even though Mio can photograph them to make them go away, they only appear as hands phasing through the bridge. The first installment also had ghostly hands coming out of the floor, but they were extremely rare-to-see entities.
* In ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', you never see the whole [[BigBad Mom]] [[AbusiveParents Boss]]. Instead, you only see her legs, hands and eyes, [[spoiler: And later inner organs and heart.]]

* In the SNES game based off of ''VideoGame/ThePagemaster'', the gigantic fist of Frankenstein's monster will emerge from holes in the wall to try and pound Kevin into oblivion. Only the big fist is ever seen, never the entire monster, and, judging by the hand's scale versus that of Kevin, the whole monster must be big enough to fight Film/KingKong!

* Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheMist'': Some of the men decide to go outside to try to fix the generator. As soon as the door opens, a very much one-sided fight ensues with several tentacles before they snatch their prey and sink back into the mist. Also at the end of the book the survivors encounters a giant animal so big that only his legs are visible in the mist.

* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain: Defiance'' has some spiky tentacles pop out of the ground in order to drag Raziel to the other world.

* One monster from ''VideoGame/DragonquestVIII'' is a hand made of mud, said to belong to a larger mud monster who lives underground.

* ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian2011'' has said barbarian fighting the tentacles of an unseen EldritchAbomination.

* In the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' series, eventually we see the whole Kraken, but most of the time it's just tentacles rising from the water. A half-version is used in the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl first film]], where a normal-sized appendage (an arm) gets removed from its owner and proceeds to attack Governor Swan on its own.

** In King's short story "The Moving Finger" the protagonist is confronted and attacked by a bizarre, multijointed finger poking out of the drain in his apartment's bathroom sink. After cutting it of, he starts thinking about the creature to which it must have been attached. Eventually, the police arrive and something starts lifting the toilet lid. The officer goes to the toilet to investigate and the story ends.

** In ''Videogame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance'', there's a unidentified, huge green arm in a section of the castle. By pulling a lever you [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential squeeze it under a giant spiked press]] and use the blood in order to reach the upper floor.
** The boss Balor in [[Videogame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow both Sorrow games]] is never seen in full; all we are ever shown is his face (because his trademark attack in myth is EyeBeams) and one giant hand.

* The second installment of ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' has ghosts that grip on the twins and attempt to drag them away. They mostly appear on the bridge that connects to the Kurosawa residence and, even though Mio can photograph them to make them go away, they only appear as hands phasing through the bridge. The first installment also had ghostly hands coming out of the floor, but they were extremely rare-to-see entities.

* From ''Videogame/{{Prototype}}'' we have the Hydras, wich are enormous tentacles with giant jaws that they use to throw objects (Most commonly cars and trucks). Anything below the tentacle is a mystery, but there are hints they are somehow connected to [[PlagueMaster Elizabeth Greene]] [[spoiler:or at least the giant bloody entity she uses to fight against Blackwatch and Alex]].

* Before fighting Scylla in Videogame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight, you first fight one of her snake-tentacles in a seperate boss room.

* ''Franchise/{{Tremors}}'':
** ''Film/{{Tremors}}'': The first few times the Graboids attack, we just see their tentacles coming out from the ground and think the tentacles are separate snakelike creatures.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': In the episode ''Sandy, [=SpongeBob=], and the Worm'', Bikini Bottom is threatened by [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Alaskan Bullworm]]. [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Sandy Squirrel]] volunteers to hunt it down, arguing that ''her'' idea of big, and [=SpongeBob's=] idea of big are entirely different. She succeeds in capturing its ''tongue'' before [[OhCrap realizing her mistake]] and making a run for it.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Rayman 2}}: The Great Escape'' there are some giant skeletal limbs in some level which will drag you inside their coffins.

* ''Film/GraveEncounters'' has one scene where the titular ghosthunting crew is attacked by a series of ghostly black arms reaching out of the walls and ceiling. A later scene shows one of the characters being grabbed by an arm that bursts through a door window.

* [[EldritchAbomination Bel-Shamaroth]] from ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic''. While he's mentioned from the beginning, only his tentacles are shown, and about the rest of his body, we only see a glimpse of his gigantic eye.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' has the Watcher in the Water, of which only tentacles are ever seen. Gandalf and Frodo aren't even sure whether it's one creature or several. (The trope is averted in Creator/PeterJackson's [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings film adaptation]], where we see more of the creature.)

* In a video game based on [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Fellowship of The Ring's book]] you get to fight the Watcher in the Water. While his large clawed tentacles slams on you, his moray eel-like main body is completely harmless through the battle.

* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWar III'' you have to fight back several large water creatures known as Hippocampi. Later you find that that said Hippocampi are actually the tentacles of [[spoiler: Poseidon]]'s war form.

* ''Series/ReturnOfUltramam'': An episode involves Jiro being trapped in an abandoned space station, and constantly being threatened by the snapping pincers of some unseen kaiju. It turns out those are the pincers of the crab-like monster Yadokarin, who finally reveals itself in the final battle.