The good, the bad and the ugly:
Move over Ariel – most mermaids are pretty bad-ass! ith the torso and head of a woman and the body of a fish, mermaids appear in folklore all over the world. And, despite positive depictions of them in popular culture, they’re often rather evil! In Brita
Mermaid myths
Thekiryatyammermaid
In 2009, the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam hit the news when it was reported that a mermaid had been spotted sunbathing on the beach. A local man and his friends approached her – only for her to slip into the sea and disappear. Since then, so many people have claimed to have seen the mermaid leaping out of Haifa Bay, performing tricks, that Kiryat Yam town council have offered a million dollar reward to anyone who can provide concrete evidence that she exists.
Mambamuntu
The construction of a reservoir in Zimbabwe came to an abrupt halt in 2012 when the workers downed tools and fled, refusing to return. They claimed they were being harassed by the Mamba Muntu, a river mermaid who was angry at what was being done to her river. A water deity of great power, who charms with her singing and beauty but drowns swimmers on a whim, Mambu Muntu is both revered and feared in many African countries. Work was not resumed on the reservoir until a rite was performed to appease the mermaid.
Orangikan
One of the most well-documented mermaid sightings of the 20th century happened while World War II was raging. In 1943, Japanese soldiers stationed on the Kei islands of Indonesia reported spotting a strange humanoid figure playing in the sea. With spines on its head and neck and a mouth like a carp, it wasn’t a beautiful mermaid like those from European legends – but it was an entity known well to locals, who called it orang ikan, or the ‘human fish.’ One of the Japanese sergeants, Mr Taro Haribo, was taken to a local chieftain’s home where they’d caught an orang ikan in a fishing net. The shocked Mr Haribo described it as having red-brown hair, spines along the neck, and a humanoid face with a lipless, fish-like mouth full of needle sharp teeth. He urged zoologists to investigate – but, unfortunately, wasn’t taken seriously.