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The fleeches are creepy critters, but I never really thought of them that way. Things are really creepy when:
a) you're in a familiar location where something is awry, or:
b) you're in an unfamiliar environments, but where everything there belongs there. Except you. They won't always be creepy, but the creepiest ones do follow this pattern. Or:
c) there are corpses propped up on sticks.
The temples of AO were like (b). You were the one invading the place, everything there had been there for years, and their effect was a creepy one. The Free-Fire Zone was unashamedly the latter. Unfortunately, Oddworld is not exactly geared up to present you with a familiar location to mess up.
Now, Necrum. A beautiful oasis. A graveyard, yes, but for benevolent creatures who bear no grudge against you. Ghosts, even, but they're nothing but helpful. If one appeared you would soon get over the shock and have a pleasant conversation with him. The decorum is peculiar (skulls?) but not particularly occult, sinister or necromantic. The tombs are not loaded with vicious traps, although the wildlife certainly presents an inconvenience. But it is certainly not like a Mummy Returns-esque Ahm Shere
The fleeches feel out of place here. Not in terms of narrative or game design, of course not. They are an invasive species that have only contributed to the spoiling of the beautiful mudokon city of the dead. They aren't creepy. They are a dangerous pest.
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Mudanchee and Mudomo are the same as the temples in AO, and Abe isn't out of place there, since he's a Mudokon. Necrum is very dark, and you can hear owls. And Fleeches aren't just dangerous pests. Some people think they're creepy. Some people don't. I started playing AE when I was 6, and I might have gotten to the Fleeches when I was 6 or 7, so I think they're creepy.
Shut up, Kastere. You can't make people leave.