Everyone wants to have their “main character moment” — but maybe not when you’re the star of a horror film with a knife-wielding killer crab scratching at your tent.
That was the case for Kyle King, a Michigan native who now lives in Japan, who was woken up, while camping, by a member of the world’s largest crab species lurking in the shadows and carrying a steak knife.
He captured the terrifying interaction in a TikTok video that’s been viewed over 1.5 million times, captioning it “Lucky to be alive.”
King said he fell asleep after setting up his tent on the uninhibited Komaka Island in Okinawa, Japan, before he was woken at 2 a.m. by a “scratching” sound outside his tent.
When he ventured outside, he found a giant crustacean — knife in claw — looking like it was about to make a crab-run for it.
“Hey bro, bro?” he says in the clip. “I need that knife.”
King said he initially picked up his phone to use the flashlight, but started filming once he knew something was out there.
The crab then backs away slowly as King successfully grabs the knife from its claw, thanking the animal for its cooperation.
TikTok users were in equal awe and shock over the terrifying 17-second clip of the creature, which is a coconut crab.
“Killer crabs? My nightmare has come true?!!! I couldn’t cope,” declared one user.
“He had plans for that knife,” King joked in a comment. “If he’d been a little quieter he would have escaped with my steak knife.”
The enormous creature — which can weigh up to 9 pounds and a maximum length of 3 feet — is also aptly called the “robber crab,” as it has a fondness for stealing anything it can get its giant, powerful claws on.
It gets its name due to its ability to open hard-shelled fruit with its powerful pincers.
It’s not the first time the prehistoric-looking animal has caused a scene: In 2020, some Australian golfers were turned away from an afternoon putt after a coconut crab climbed on board a golf bag and grabbed a club, resulting in it being snapped in half when the golfer tried to get it back.
