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A headcrab is a fictional alien species found in the Half-Life and Half-Life 2 video game series created by Valve Software. Small and relatively weak on its own, the headcrab's primary goal is attach to the head of a human host, whereupon it takes control over its victim's body, rendering him a mindless zombie-like being.
Additionally, the headcrab's alien physiology causes various mutations to rapidly manifest in its host, such as elongated claws, and increased strength, but the results may depend on the type of host and/or the length of time the headcrab is attached.
For instance, in Opposing Force, headcrabs have infected some of the Marines. In some of these cases, the result is a "normal" zombie, but in others, it results in a so-called "Gonome", a larger, stronger, more intelligent creature, which also has a large mouth in its chest cavity that produces some sort of volatile saliva the creature can throw. It is unknown if this variant is a result of a physically more powerful host, a longer gestation, or if it is an ability only certain headcrabs possess.
In most cases, a headcrab remains attached to its host until destroyed, although in Half-Life 2, they demonstrated the ability to occasionally detach from the host if it is damaged significantly.
Also new to Half-Life 2 are two previously unseen varieties of headcrab. One type has longer, thinner, almost spider-like legs, allowing it move much faster. This type seems to produce zombies that are astonishingly fast, agile, and have the ability to leap and climb. The second type, the "poison headcrab" is identified by its distinctly darker coloring. Its bite injects an extremely powerful neurotoxin in its victim. It seems to produce a hunched-over "carrier" zombie that is usually encumbered with several other poison headcrabs hitching a ride on it. The zombie is able to hurl these headcrabs at an enemy a great distance away.
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