"Shambleau" is a short story by American science fiction and fantasy writer C. L. Moore.
It features one of Moore's best-known heroes, Northwest Smith, a gun-toting spacefarer, and is a retelling of the Medusa myth; it looks at themes of sexuality and addiction.
On Mars, tough smuggler Northwest Smith encounters a young woman being chased by a mob.
Smith eventually discovers firsthand that a Shambleau feeds on the life-force of others using the extensible, worm-like appendages it has instead of hair, while addicting its short-lived victims with pure ecstasy.
Later, he speculates that the story of Perseus and Medusa had its origins in the activities of a Shambleau on ancient Earth.