Creepy 'human ear' found on a tree at tourist attraction in Laois

One visitor to a tourist attraction recently got a nasty surprise when they found what appeared to be a 'human ear' stuck to a tree.

They discovered the "creepy looking" thing on the bark of a tree in the grounds of Emo Court in County Laois.

The white-coloured 'ear' was the perfect shape and size of a human ear, complete with an ear lobe and helix that curved around the top of the ear.

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However, on closer inspection it was discovered to be a type of fungus but they were still baffled as to how it could look "exactly like a human ear".

Taking to Reddit to ask for help identifying it, they wrote: "I was walking around Emo court and came across this creepy looking fungus, does anyone knows the name of this species?

"I tried to google it but I couldn't find any wood ear fungus that looked exactly like a human ear like this."

The fungus is called 'Auricularia auricula-judae' or 'Jelly ear' (Reddit)

People were quick to identify the fungus, with one person revealing that it was 'Auricularia auricula-judae'. It is frequently found growing on wood, especially elder trees, in Britian and Ireland and is usually brown in colour.

It is commonly known as 'Jelly Ear' or 'Judas’s Ear' because of the belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself on an elder tree after he betrayed Jesus Christ.

People jumped to the comments as they were shocked at the human-like appearance of the mushroom, with one person writing: "That's nightmarish."

A second agreed, saying: "Very creepy indeed."

However, a few took the discovery as an opportunity to make a joke with one person writing: "Ah so that's where it went."

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