Nightmare 9: The NCAA tournament’s creepiest mascots

68 teams will participate in this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

And all 68 enter with dreams of cutting down the nets in Houston. It's parity, it's March, and it's beautiful.

What is not so beautiful is the gaggle of silent misfits tagging along behind the teams, dancing, clapping and posing for photographs with terrified youngsters. They have dread-inducing names like Crusaders and Blue Raiders and Shockers, and they're invading cities across America.

We call them "mascots," but that word evokes warm memories of kindly bulldog puppies and affable gingers. It's not suitable for the worst of these malformed role-playing weirdos taking the court this week. No, we need another term for them.

Let's call these oddities the Nightmare Nine:

The Providence Friars

Friar Dom

Should be called: Friar McCreepyface, Friar Doom

Good luck sleeping.

Wichita State Shockers

WuShock

Should be called: Yellow Frankenstein

It's as though Frankenstein and Marge Simpson had a child. And oh, that nose! Better not go there.

Holy Cross Crusaders

Iggy the Crusader

Should be called: Sir Stabby

Game of Thrones fans will be familiar with the massive, hairy, evil Ser Gregor Clegane ('The Mountain'). Iggy doesn’t really remind us of Clegane. Iggy reminds us of what Clegane looked like after he turned into a zombie.

Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

The Lumberjack

Should be called: Frank the Strangler

So this is literally just a guy with a giant purple ax. You say there's nothing creepy about that, but if you saw him walking toward you on the sidewalk you'd be singing a different tune. A tune that sounds a lot like someone dialing 911. Also, I don't trust that haircut.

Oregon State Beavers

Benny Beavery

Should be called: Nibblin' Benny

It's the eyes. This Beaver has a taste for human flesh.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Lightning (a blue winged horse)

Should be called: Death

"He's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye." Remember the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? This is the horse.

Weber State Wildcats

Waldo the Wildcat

Should be called: Rosemary's Cat

Some cats are sweet, and purr when you pet them. Waldo wants to eat your face.

West Virginia Mountaineers

Mountain Man

Should be called: Who would even remember his name? He’s got a dead raccoon on his head!

It's not so much the Mountain Man himself, or his 1860s hipster attire, as it is the dead raccoon on his head. Think of all the dead raccoon flavored sweat this guy swallows during the summer.

Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue Pete

Should be called: A suspect in cold cases near Purdue's campus

“That's a big hammer. His eyes are kind of wild, right? And what's with that expression? He looks angry. Shh. He’s getting closer. Did we do a background check on this guy?” -Last words of the person in charge of casting mascots at Purdue

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 11:13 PM with the headline "Nightmare 9: The NCAA tournament’s creepiest mascots."