This article is about the species. For the most common subspecies, see Standard Headcrab.
Headcrabs, derisively called "headhumpers" by Barney Calhoun and known as "parasitics" and "biotics" by the Combine Overwatch, are omnivorous, parasitic creatures. They are widely considered one of the most iconic alien creatures of the Half-Life series.
Headcrabs are small creatures, roughly the size of a pumpkin, they are covered in smooth skin, which varies in color between subspecies, and crawl on four short legs. These legs provide enough jumping power to leap up to 3 meters (10 feet) in any direction.
Their underbelly is almost completely covered by a large, jawless mouth, with a hidden "beak" used for feeding and for latching onto the skulls of victims (see below). As seen on Xen in Half-Life, Headcrabs appear to typically be born out of Gonarchs; therefore, some Headcrabs may mature into Gonarchs as part of their natural life cycle.
The Headcrab's natural predator appears to be the Bullsquid. Several scenes in Half-Life feature Bullsquids using their ranged attack to kill Headcrabs, who in turn attempt to defend themselves unsuccessfully. The Bullsquid then comes crawling over to feed on them.
During the Combine occupation of Earth, Headcrabs appear to have no external sensory organs, including eyes or ears, while the Standard Headcrab had 3 eyes on each side of its body 20 years prior. The Standard Headcrab can also be seen burrowing in and out of the ground, but not the other species.
There are several Headcrab subspecies:
- The Standard Headcrab - the first Headcrab introduced in Half-Life, seen in its infant form near the end of the game. It turns its host into a Standard Zombie, and in some cases a Gonome.
- The Fast Headcrab - introduced in Half-Life 2, and much faster than Standard Headcrabs. Turns its host into a Fast Zombie.
- The Poison Headcrab - a toxic Headcrab, causing more damage to the host. Also introduced in Half-Life 2, it turns its host into a Poison Zombie.
Headcrabs can be domesticated, as seen with Lamarr, Isaac Kleiner's pet Headcrab. Lamarr has been "de-beaked;" removing the beak of Headcrabs renders them unable to cut into a host's head, rendering them harmless and apparently more docile.
It appears that the flesh of both Standard and Fast Headcrabs is edible, at least by Vortigaunts. The former can be seen being prepared by Vortigaunts in Black Mesa East while the latter can be seen being roasted by the All-Knowing Vortigaunt. The Poison Headcrabs, however, are not edible; if a Barnacle eats one of them, it dies after swallowing the Headcrab.
Headcrabs are a parasitic species. Upon sighting a humanoid host, a Headcrab will leap for the victim's face and affix itself to the cranium, whereupon they will use their beak to break into the victim's skull. The Headcrab then proceeds to take over its host's motor functions through some unknown biological process. The host will then undergo physical changes, presumably induced through chemical means; although the mutations vary between Headcrab subspecies, common changes include the elongation of hands and fingers, reduction or removal of skin and muscle tissue across much of the body, and the exposure of the organs inside the chest cavity. Headcrabs keep their host alive throughout the entire process, helpless and unable to remove the headcrab or resist its control. As seen in Station 6 in Half-Life 2, it apparently takes anywhere from several seconds to several minutes for a Headcrab to turn humans into Zombies.
The host appears to retain partial consciousness once the Headcrab has taken control. Standard Zombies retain a certain ability to talk, always heard as violent cries for help. "Zombines" seem to be able to speak with their vocoders. Each Headcrab subspecies affects its host in its own unique way, producing a Zombie extremely distinct from the other types, in both appearance and behavior.
In Half-Life 2, the Combine are seen utilizing Headcrabs as a form of biological weaponry against the Resistance. "Headcrab Shells," as they are known, are large mortar shells containing a payload of Headcrabs, which are released on impact, free to infect or terrorize anyone nearby. If used in large numbers, these shells are highly effective in neutralizing a large Resistance base. The effects of large-scale Headcrab shelling are seen during Gordon's visit to the devastated town of Ravenholm, where most inhabitants have been turned into Zombies.
In Episode One, it seems that the Combine have begun to lose control over their bio-weapon; Headcrabs begin infecting Overwatch Soldiers, showing that the large-scale effects of shelling have caused even Combine-controlled areas to be affected.
Behind the scenesEdit
- Originally, a device holding a Gonarch's sack, nicknamed the "Combine Big Momma Pod" (a reference to the Gonarch's nickname), was to be used by the Combine for obtaining large numbers of Headcrabs for use in Headcrab Shells, and to be encountered in the Ravenholm mine. Since the device does not appear in the final games, it is unknown so far how the Combine breed their Headcrabs.
- While the Headcrabs found in Half-Life and its expansions are able to swim and survive in water but not in areas contaminated by toxic waste and radioactivity, this is reversed in Half-Life 2 and its Episodes; where Headcrabs can be found surviving in toxic areas, and drowning when entering water. The Headcrab's new resilience towards toxic and radioactive materials even appears to be passed on to the hosts they infest, as Zombies are frequently found in conditions that would otherwise be hazardous to their hosts.
- The Headcrabs in Half-Life 2 cannot attack the player if he is inside a vehicle. They will only rush at the vehicle and attempt to push it, but they end up being crushed by the vehicle instead. However, this can be advantageous to Poison Headcrabs since their attack can be very dangerous.
Half-Life and its expansionsEdit
Half-Life 2 and its EpisodesEdit
List of appearancesEdit
- Half-Life: Day One (First appearance)
- Half-Life: Uplink (Non-canonical appearance)
- Half-Life: Opposing Force
- Half-Life: Blue Shift
- Half-Life: Decay
- Half-Life 2
- Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
- Half-Life 2: Episode One
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two
|Creatures||Alien Aircraft · Alien Controller · Alien Grunt · Barnacle · Boid · Bullsquid · Chumtoad · Gargantua · Headcrab · Houndeye · Ichthyosaur · Leech · Nihilanth · Protozoan · Snark · Tentacle · Vortigaunt|
|Headcrabs||Headcrab · Fast Headcrab · Gonarch · Lamarr · Poison Headcrab · Standard Headcrab · Headcrab Shell|
|Zombies||Zombie · Fast Zombie · Gonome · Poison Zombie · Standard Zombie · Zombine|
|Vortigaunts||Vortigaunt · Vortigese · All-Knowing Vortigaunt · R-4913 and X-8973 · Sweepy · Uriah · Victory Mine Vortigaunt · Vortigaunt Camp · Vortigaunt Shepherd|
|Flora and minerals||Crystal · Fungus · Healing Pool · Light Stalk · Trampoline · Tree|
|Weapons||Ceiling Turret · Hivehand · Sentry Cannon · Snark · Snark Mine|
|Technology||Healing Shower · Thumper|
|Creatures (cut)||Archer · Charger · Fast Walker · Flocking Floater · Kingpin · Mr. Friendly · Panther Eye · Sand Barnacle · Snapbug · Stukabat|
|Weapons (cut)||Black Hole Gun|