Frustrated with the slow progress town coding was making for the upcoming Adventure update, Minecraft creator Notch decided to create an entirely new type of mob for the game while taking a break.

Now officially called “Endermen” (a reference to the “slendermen” urban legend), these new beings are dark, have long and slender limbs, move slowly, and can pick up and move blocks.

Notch’s goal for the Endermen was “creepy”, and they are certainly sounding just that. The Endermen are strange beings that are passive until you look directly at one – at that point, they’ll freeze and turn to look back at you.

What happens then depends on what you yourself do. As long as you keep looking straight at them, they’ll remain frozen. The moment you look away, they’ll turn aggressive, running very fast directly in your direction in order to attack you.

Oh, and if you’re too far away for them to be able to catch up to you? They can teleport.