Some are the size of a horse, some can paralyse you with a 500-volt electric shock and some are said to have developed a taste for testicles.
Beneath the still waters of the world's rivers lie a wealth of sharp-toothed, slithery and terrifying-looking creatures which send shivers down the spines of the locals who regale gruesome stories about their unpleasant underwater neighbours.
But intrepid British filmmaker Jeremy Wade has ignored conventional wisdom to track down the world's most frightening freshwater fish to find out just how scary they really are.