An artist has created a range of mysterious forest creatures in tress - using a mirror.

Elido Turco, 67, took to the forest of his native Italy to capture the quirky tree stumps and branches before mirroring the images to make the face of a tree monster.

The photographer, from Udine, spent four years looking for the perfect facial features in wood before uploading them to his computer to polish off the creepy images.

The artist, who dubbed his creations the 'dreams creatures', said his clever imagery brings nature to life.

Elido said: 'My love for nature and photography led me to travel the paths of mountains, trying to capture the visible and the invisible. I started searching for human form enclosed in the trunks and roots on the bark, but the catches have always been small. One day I tried to mirror an image on the computer and it opened a whole new world to me.

'From there I started using mirrors and a whole new range of fantastic creatures I like to call dreams creatures were born. The photographic study lasted four years and each of the images have their own story to tell.'

Elido Turco, 67, took to the forest of his native Italy to capture quirky tree stumps and branches before mirroring the images to make the face of a tree monster

The photographer, from Udine, spent four years looking for the perfect facial features in wood

The artist, who dubbed his creations the 'dreams creatures', said his clever imagery brings nature to life

Elido said: 'My love for nature and photography led me to travel the paths of mountains, trying to capture the visible and the invisible'

Wood you believe it: The images Elido created are as fascinating as they are spooky