More Ratmen in 40k: An interesting little detail in the lore

In a prior post, I discussed the very rare occassions in which the Skaven have appeared in/been linked to 40k lore, which can be found here: https://madministratum.blogspot.com/2026/04/skaven-in-40k-not-as-crazy-as-you-might.html

In future, I will uploaded a series of posts about the space hulk The Gallowdark and its history and denizens. And, you know, you can find some very interesting things hidden away in its depths.

Including, it turns out, a reference to ratmen I missed in my initial post:

The denizens of the Gallowdark are countless in number and myriad in their diversity. The screams and howls of tortured machine spirits, strange sentiences and unnatural, malign entities haunt the corridors. Deformed arachnid predators and flesh-craving ratmen dwell in the darkest tunnels, while winged monsters hang from iron rafters ready to strike at any unfortunate who roam into their territory. Many of the Gallowkind’s monsters defy any kind of categorization and hail from long-forgotten times. These beats are known by such monikers as the Nine-tailed Ravener, the Maw, It That Slithers, and the Crawler in the Rent, given to them by the space hulk’s more recognizable denizens.

Kill Team: Gallowfall (2023), p. 7.

Now, we are unlikely to ever get any follow up on these specific ratmen, and this is almost certainly just intended as a knowing wink to readers.

The idea that they might be just a warning sign of a far more expansive, hidden under-empire of ratmen across the galaxy is preposterous. That is merely an urban legend, a story told to scare young hivers...

More seriously, this is obviously not confirmation that the Skaven exist in 40k, despite what the post title inplies (sorry - but I had to name it something, and that was the best I could come up with!)

It is just a jokey reference, found in an obscure piece of lore, and ratmen who aren't Skaven could easily exist in 40k, being perhaps also created by the warping nature of the Warp (perhaps as a space hulk enters and leaves the Warp). Or they could be genetically-modified humans, or a rat-like Xenos species.

But, given the the way the Warp links the different Warhammer realities, and that there have been those very scant prior links between the Skaven and 40k, this could also be used as a hook for anyone who wanted an excuse to bring them over in their own homebrew. And hey, maybe Kweethul turned up at the Siege of Terra because there were enough ratmen out there cruising around on space hulks to make him take interest in the 40k galaxy?

If anyone has any ideas as to whether the named creatures - the Nine-tailed Ravener, the Maw, It That Slithers, and the Crawler in the Rent - could be references to anything specific, I'd love to hear them. They just sound like generic creepy ghoulies/Lovecraftian horrors or even just 'nid bioforms (though that would be boring), though perhaps I'm overlooking something more specific.

There is, of course, the Great Maw on the Warhammer World in Fantasy, a gigantic pit which seems to be alive, and is ringed with teeth (akin to a massive Sarlacc pit). That was seemingly created by a warpstone meteor hitting the planet, and the Warp corrupting the crater. So perhaps the Maw on The Gallowdark is a also a similar warp-manifested entity? Or maybe it isn't - who knows?

Anyway, I hadn't seen this little bit of lore be discussed before, and wanted to add to the prior post about the topic - so hopefully you found it interesting.

Other than that, keep an eye on the shadows, the dark places, and any entrance or hole which leads underground. You never know what might be lurking just out of sight...