I remember I used to be frightened by opossums.
Let's be honest: when you catch one unawares, those 'smiles' they flash can be a bit... startling. But the more I learned about them, the more my heart softened. They're actually quite amazing creatures. And, as it turns out, they can be quite brave.
In a dramatic wildlife encounter caught on video, the small but fearless opossum stood its ground against a coyote, much larger than itself—and won.
You can find various online sources. However, Wikipedia claims that in addition to the regular "business" of housing POWs during the Civil War, there were horrible things that took place here during that time.