We’re willing to wager that you instantly think of cute and iconic ocean critters when you think about ocean creatures. The Majestic Orca and the Harp Seal are just a few examples. You can even see Sebastian from Little Mermaid cutifying crabs.

These are the creatures we think of most, but we forget about the ugly and disturbing creatures, or the simple, everyday creatures that live in the depths. Hagfish Day reminds us all that ecology needs all kinds to keep the world moving and healthy. So here’s to the unsuspecting creatures of the deep!

If it’s about the horrible creatures of the deep, then why is Hagfish Day called that? The Hagfish is a fascinating creature with many traits. It’s disturbing, icky and downright distressing to consider, but it also plays a crucial role in the ecology of deep sea creatures.

The Hagfish is a creature that looks like the eel. However, the Hagfish has no jaws, bones or scales and is basically a lump of slime. The Hagfish can ooze slime from its skin so fast that a 20-inch Hagfish can fill a 2-gallon bucket within minutes.

Are you still not squick-worthy? You can also imagine the hagfish having one of the worst eating habits. It will find dead prey, slide into its mouth or anus, and then slowly eats the inside.

This is a scene straight from a horror movie. Without them, however, there would be many more corpses littering the ocean floor.

The Hagfish is clearly the father of horror movies nightmares. It reminds us that while there are some horribly unpleasant creatures in the depths, it’s possible to make the world a less pleasant place if they weren’t around.

There are many ways to celebrate Hagfish Day, but most involve accepting the unpleasing. Writing haikus about all things ugly and icky by creating a bouquet from the most unattractive flowers that you can find.

You could even watch a marathon of Dirty Jobs. After all, dirty jobs is what the nasties in the deep excel at, cleaning up the mess we would rather not see.