History Main / CreepyCockroach

* ''TabletopGame/D20Modern: Urban Arcana'' has the Roach Thrall, which is nothing less than a giant bipedal cockroach [[PuppeteerParasite wearing a human body like a suit.]] They reproduce by [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong using their host's sexual organs to inject their eggs into a victim during intercourse]], and within six to eight hours the newly-hatched Roach Thrall larva will have consumed its host's brain and taken over its body. They don't inherit any memories from their host, but Roach Thralls are intelligent enough to learn to speak (while in a human body) and try to blend into society to some extent, usually as street people with a disgusting hunger for garbage, or a weird "cult" that seeks to acquire more hosts to breed the next generation. If forced into combat, a Roach Thrall is likely to explode out of its human shell to fight in its more dangerous natural form, though this is a one-way process.

-->-- '''[=AllenPHD=]''', ''LetsPlay/{{Critikal}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjsDoHICAk0&lc=Ugy-4GlgdlpDSm2BhA94AaABAg All Cockroach Encounters This Year]]''

* An episode of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' features a jewel-encrusted Madagascar Hissing Cockroach worn as jewelry, squicking out some of the team.
* ''Series/{{ER}}'' had a woman who had a small cockroach removed from her ear. She immediately freaks out and stomps on it.

* Cockroaches are a recurring motif in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' representing evolution and survival. This especially applies to BigBad Sylar, who is resilient and hard to kill. One graphic novel had a character ride a giant cockroach in her dreams.

** The original ''Series/KamenRider'' had Cockroach Man, a Shocker monster created from a con-artist selling fake bug spray with the mission to spread a deadly virus that can age humans to death in three days.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' once had to save some cockroaches from Officer X. It was especially hard on Private.

* The Creator/WilliamCastle feature ''Film/{{Bug|1975}}'' (1975) has cockroaches that are able to set things on fire.

* The "They're Creeping Up On You" segment from ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'' features an hygiene-obsessed man being antagonized by roaches.

* The direct-to-video film ''Film/HoneyWeShrunkOurselves'' has a scene where a truck-sized cockroach attacks the shrunken parents. The cockroach goes so far as to start nibbling at Diane by grabbing her trapped leg in the roach motel with its mouth.

* The ''Film/SilentHill'' film has cockroach-like monsters with screaming human faces on their underside.
* The made-for-TV film ''Film/TheyNest'' had cockroaches that nested inside people.

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''WebVideo/VShojo'' has the Vtuber Matara Kan, a cockroach alien woman wielding an array of [[BadPowersGoodPeople creepy-sounding powers]], whose [[https://twitter.com/VShojo/status/1711864185045340667 debut trailer]] plays up the associated horror aspect for all it's worth. While Matara is a CuteMonsterGirl with a tender, motherly streak, she can unfurl [[SpiderLimbs a set of nasty-looking insectoid legs with scythe-like claws]] at the drop of a hat, and the way her model's HairWings occasionally [[FurryReminder twitch in a disturbingly bug-like way]] doesn't help.
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* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' has the Radroaches, giant cockroaches mutated by radiation. They're still [[TheGoomba the weakest enemies in the series]], though ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' made them more dangerous in that their puny bites cause radiation damage as well, which reduces your maximum total health until healed with [=RadAway=] or a doctor.

* In an episode of ''Series/TheXFiles'' titled "[[Recap/TheXFilesS03E12WarOfTheCoprophages War of the Coprophages]]", cockroaches were the MonsterOfTheWeek, and at one point one scurries [[CameraAbuse across the TV screen]] (as if [[TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse it's IN YOUR HOUSE!]]).

* Website/NobodyHere: "[[https://nobodyhere.com/justme/omen.here Omen]]" talks about a cockroach that once leapt out of the author's lunchbox, which he describes as "an omen foreshadowing the string of misfortunes which filled the rest of my day".

[[folder:Web Original]]

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' has the demon roaches who follow the bad guys around and provide commentary. Though they do quite a bit of structural damage, especially to the [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth wall.]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Grace [[https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/fantasywasteland-03 comes]] across a giant fire-breathing roach.

People with a crippling fear of cockroaches would likely rather be around [[SavageWolves wolves]], [[PantheraAwesome lions]] [[CatsAreMean and tigers,]] [[ThreateningShark sharks,]] [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile crocodiles,]] or even something like [[KillerGorilla gorillas,]] [[BrutishBulls bulls]], [[CruelElephant elephants]], [[RhinoRampage rhinos]] and [[BearsAreBadNews bears]] than these little creeps.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' introduces Pheromosa, an [[StarfishAlien Ultra Beast]] that resembles a [[CuteMonsterGirl slender, feminine, humanoid cockroach]]. It's not so much actively scary or evil as it is just weird.

* An OptionalBoss in ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' is a giant mutant cockroach that can [[WhipItGood whip you with its antennae]] and sometimes poison you. It can also lay an egg that can hatch very quickly and grow into a new cockroach (which can also lay an egg as well should the first roach die), requiring you to have a lot of firepower and speed to be able to kill the boss quickly and end the fight before you're caught in an endless loop.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Hisako Yakumi uses pheromones to command a swarm of genetically modified cockroaches that can eat people alive and chew through metal, concrete, plastic, etc. Their creepiness can often disturb an esper so much that they cannot concentrate enough to use their powers, making them vulnerable.

* In an extremely rare, but nonetheless terrifying protagonist example, Kyouhukou in ''LightNovel/Overlord2012'' is a 30-centimeter-tall cockroach king (complete with ornate crown, scepter, and cape), who commands millions of his subjects to act as an [[BossRoom Area Guardian]] of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. In volume seven, two adventurers are led through a trap into his quarters, to which he responds by regally answering their questions, then chuckling upon their attempt to negotiate freedom before finally [[FauxAffablyEvil having his subjects]] [[DevouredByTheHorde eat them alive.]]

* Roaches hold the distinction of being the only monsters to appear in every entry of the ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' series, ''VideoGame/{{Koudelka}}'' included. As a GeniusBonus, they are called [[Literature/TheMetamorphosis Gregor]] in both ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World''.