The snake spotted slithering through the brush has yet to be identified. This is the kind of stuff that shows up in my nightmares.

The four photos below are of a snake found at Rock Cut State Park. I've got to give it up to Joe Epps, the man who took the pictures, for staying around this potentially deadly creature to take these photos. By the time the fourth picture was taken, I would've still been running and screaming across town.

Because I apparently like punishing my dream life, I decided to see if I could identify this huge snake. I'm no expert, but from what I saw on this Department of Natural Resources webpage on poisonous snakes in Illinois, the snake very much resembles a cottonmouth. The cottonmouth pictured there is about the same length, width and the Rock Cut Park snake was photographed near a cottonmouth's favorite spot... water. Supposedly, cottonmouths are only found in the far south of the state, but maybe this one was on vacation.

Others on the original Facebook post have tried to identify the snake, and their guesses range from a fox snake, a king snake, to a diamondback water snake.

Here's the upside, at least it wasn't this snake I saw online the other day. Thank God this one is far, far away.

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