Rocker gets rabies shots after bat pees in his eye

By Courtney Garcia, msnbc.com contributor

What is it about bats and heavy-metal musicians? Ozzy Osbourne famously interacted with a bat in another way back in 1982, but now a member of heavy metal band Torche is wishing he never came in contact with one of the winged creatures.

?Ok so... A bat peed in my eye,? guitarist Andrew Elstner wrote onhis Facebook page March 29. ?Whether or not you think I'm telling the truth is irrelevant at this point. What I'm worried about now is rabies. A bat. It pissed into my eye. [God] help me.?

The musician was staying at a friend?s house in St. Louis when he discovered a trapped and frightened bat in one of the rooms.

"I switch on the overhead light/ceiling fan combo and what I think at first is a shadow being cast from the spinning fan blades turns out to be a freaking bat,? the musician explained. ?It circles the room a few times at light speed, and on one of the turns, dive bombs my head and squirts a little nervous pee into my eye. Holy [expletive]. I'm laughing but run to the sink and attempt to flush my eye out. I'm pretty sure I'm fine but...Not the most common of occurrences.?

Elstner initially brushed it off, but, at the recommendation of both his parents and doctors, the musician went to the hospital to be treated a day later.

He added, ?With rabies, you have a short window to get treated, and beyond that, it is incurable and 100% fatal. Having said all that, I feel like I'm getting treated for a unicorn bite. Bunch of nonsense.?

Elstner told msnbc.com that his treatment "wasn't so bad." "I had five (shots) totally and while I'm generally terrified of needles, the nurse was pretty attractive so that helped."

The guitarist, whose Florida-based band is on the road promoting the April 24 release of their new album, ?Harmonicraft,? has since swapped his own Facebook profile photo for that of a fang-baring bat, and has continued to find humor in the situation, posting various updates and coverage of his story to fans.

?The bat peeing in my eye story has finally achieved critical mass,? Elstner wrote Wednesday, when his story was picked up by Pitchfork Media. ?What a truly strange, though now harmless, event in my life.?

He told msnbc.com, "I had written that post just for my friends because I thought the story was hilarious."

And for Elstner?s fans and followers, the encounter proved equally amusing.

Wrote Annie Zed, ?This pretty much cements your status in metal's immortal brotherhood."

What do you think of the batty encounter? Tell us on Facebook.

Related content:

?

deviled eggs pie crust pie crust stuffing recipe happy thanksgiving kennedy assassination kennedy assassination