Headcrabs first appeared in Valve's Half-Life in 1998 as parasitic aliens from Xen that take over human hosts. The slower, darker Poison Headcrab variant was introduced in Half-Life 2 in 2004, recognizable by its swollen body, long legs, and the rattling screech it makes before leaping. Clips of its random idle and attack sounds were ripped from the game files and shared on soundboards, where gamers began using the short shriek out of context as a reaction for disgust, panic, and sudden infection jokes.