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Of Mermaids and Men

A small scattering of merfolk
stories exist around the UK and
Ireland. Some of the creatures are
said to protect hoards of treasure,
while others have uttered curses
which have wiped out entire
communities. While many believe
that most mermaid sightings can
be attributed to Manatees and
other aquatic mammals, not all
cases can be readily dismissed as
mistaken identity. What follows is
a list of the places where merfolk
have been encountered or were
believed to exist.

Image (right) courtesy

of:www.royalmail.com/creatures

Bathing Mermaid
Location: Aberystwyth (Dyfed) - Cliffs near the town
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: July 1826
Further Comments: Twelve people watched a beautiful pale woman washing herself in the sea, with what
appeared to be a black tail splashing around behind her.

Shape Changers
Location: Bantry (County Cork) - Bay cliffs
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The mermaids said to live in this area would be capable of changing their shape as they

came on to land. They would also be seen sitting on the rocks play harps.

Women with Child

Location: Barra (Outer Hebrides) - Reef in Caolas Cumhan

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Pre twentieth century
Further Comments: Crofter Colin Campbell raised his rifle to fire at what he thought was an otter eating a fish,
but stopped when he realised the creature was actually a mermaid holding a child. The creature dived into the sea
after Campbell made a noise.

Swan Eater
Location: Burscough (Lancashire) - Martin Mere
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 2002
Further Comments: An unknown large creature was seen to attack several swans from beneath the water of the
lake - it is believed to be a type of large catfish, which can grow up to sixteen feet in length. There has also been
at least one mermaid sighting in the lake, and Sir Lancelot's body is supposed to be buried nearby.

Mer Children
Location: Calf of Man (Isle of Man) - Rocky area, exact location not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1810
Further Comments: Three men from Douglas found two merchildren on the rocks. One was already dead, but
they saved the second child and took it to their town. The creature was described as around 60.3 centimetres in
length and brown in colour, although the scales around its tail were slightly violet, and the hair on its head light
green.

Shorted Armed Mermaid

Location: Campbeltown (Argyll and Bute) - Kintyre Peninsula

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 18 October 1811
Further Comments: Watched by a farmer for two hours, this mermaid had a pale upper body and a red/grey tail

covered in hair. Its face was human, with deep-set eyes and short neck. The creature combed the hair on its head
with what looked like short, stubby arms before diving into the water and washing its torso.

Teenager
Location: Castlemartin (Dyfed) - Off the coast in the area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Circa 1782
Further Comments: Henry Reynolds spotted a merman off the coast which he initially believed to be a pale
skinned teenager before noticing its brown tail which waved about. While the body and arms looked human, the
arms and hands looked too short and thick, while the creature's nose was long and sharp. Reynolds went to find
other witnesses, but by the time he returned, the merman had gone.

Mermaid
Location: Child's Ercall (Shropshire) - Pool
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This mermaid was so upset at the way she was treated by onlookers, she drove to the
bottom of the pool and never returned. It was thought that she guarded a mass of treasure.

Mermaid Curse
Location: Colmonell (Ayrshire) - Knockdolian Castle
Type: Curse
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The mistress of the castle ordered the destruction of a black rock which stood just a short
distance away, in order to prevent a mermaid sitting upon it and singing. As revenge, the mermaid cursed the
family, ensuring they all died without leaving an heir for the estate.

Llys Helig

Location: Conwy (Clwyd) - Conway Bay

Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Llys Helig was a mythical palace, which was sunk to punish its evil owner. The ruins of the

walls can sometimes be seen at low tide, though in recent years it has been discovered that the rocks are a natural
formation. Mermaids have also been seen in these waters, and one was said to have cursed the town of Conway
after she was washed up on the beach and no one offered to help her back into the sea.

Mermaids
Location: Cudden Point (Cornwall) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This area is another haunt for the Cornish merfolk.

Mermaids
Location: Deerness (Orkney) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Late nineteenth century
Further Comments: These women of the water were seen dozens of times during the last twenty years of the
nineteenth century.

Treasure Guardians
Location: Duncansby Head (Highland) - Cave system off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A team of mermaids and mermen are reported to guard a hidden cave full of treasure.

Enchanted Eel
Location: Dunkettle (County Cork) - Lake close to small graveyard
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This eel must have been of great size, as it terrorised the neighbourhood, eating sheep and
cattle. A man tending the graveyard encountered the creature one morning and severed its tail with a hook.
Enraged, the creature attacked but the man managed to run away. What happened to the creature after that is
undocumented, but the man in question died a few days later, and one of the headstones in the graveyard is said

to be decorated with a hook and an eel.

Captured Fisherman

Location: Dunnet Bay (Highland) - Underwater sea cave

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A good looking fisherman once caught the eye of a mermaid who fell in love with him - sh
kidnapped the fellow and held him in a secret cave under the sea, where he remains to this day...

Vanishing Twitchers
Location: Eynhallow (Orkney) - Exact location unknown
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 14 July 1990
Further Comments: Two birdwatchers that vanished without trace on the island after arriving with 86 other
people were thought by locals to have been taken by merfolk. An extensive search by the coastguard could find
no trace of the missing people.

Well Dweller
Location: Fornham All Saints (Suffolk) - Well in the village (exact location unknown)
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: An old story, most likely told to prevent children playing too close to the well, said a
mermaid waited within the well. She was ready to drown children who touched the water's edge.

Nygel
Location: Foula (Shetlands) - Mills with water wheels
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Nygel was a water horse that appeared to hang around locations with water wheels,
using its teeth to stop the wheel turning. It had a tail that arched over its back. One story said the creature once
entered a home; the occupant fled and the building was left empty for thirty years.

Mermaid
Location: Hayfield (Derbyshire) - Mermaid's Pool, near Kinder Reservoir
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Every midnight, the eve of Easter Sunday
Further Comments: Anyone who sees the creature is said to gain immortality. One man who came here once a
year lived to be 104!

Halibut-Tailed creature

Location: Isle of Yell (Shetlands) - Thirty miles off the coast

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1833
Further Comments: Three (or six) fishermen claimed to have caught a ninety centimetre long mermaid while at
sea. The creature had arms around 23 centimetres in length with webbed fingers, and while it had blue eyes and
nostrils, no ears or chin could be seen. It possessed a tail similar to a halibut and also had two fins on its
shoulders. After listening to the creature wail for three hours, the fishermen threw it back into the sea.

Mermaid?

Location: Kilconly Point (County Kerry) - Sea

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1960 - 1962
Further Comments: A mermaid which was spotted several times in this area was described as a 'normal' woman
leading one to conclude that maybe she was..?

Bloodied mermaid
Location: Killone Lake (County Clare) - Waters of the lake
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Every forty years, exact date unknown
Further Comments: A mermaid who frequented the lake would often steal wine from the crypt beneath the
church (or the cellar of Newhall, depending on the storyteller). She was stabbed (or shot) when caught, but
managed to drag herself back to the lake before dying. The waters are said to turn red with her blood every forty
years.

Mermaid
Location: Kinlochbervie (Highland) - Craigmore
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: A report exists of a mer-creature being seen here.

Sailor

Location: Kinlochbervie (Highland) - Sandwood Bay

Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1953
Further Comments: Leaving no footprints as he crosses the sand, this bearded sailor is one of the many who los
their lives in the sea nearby. He is particularly noted for the large brass buttons on his jacket. A red-headed
mermaid has also been reported in the area.

Killer Mermaid
Location: Leek (Staffordshire) - Blakemere, the Mermaid's Pool
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Midnight (reoccurring)
Further Comments: The fish woman surfaces to comb her hair at midnight - anyone approaching
too close are dragged down into the deep waters with her

Singing
Location: Lemorna (Cornwall) - Mermaid's Rock
Type: Crisis Manifestation
Date / Time: Prior to sinking
Further Comments: Although this creature has not been seen, it can be heard singing - a ship will sink nearby
exactly seven days later.

The Seal People

Location: Loch Duich (Highland) - Waters of the loch

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The area is home to a colony of seal people - sea creature while in the water, human when
they climb out... Mermaids have also been reported, as have sea serpents.

Seaton
Location: Looe (Cornwall) - Nearby beach
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Upset with the residents of the village Seaton, a mermaid caused all the buildings to be
buried by sand.

Angry Mermaid
Location: Lornty (Perth and Kinross) - Waters between town and Loch Benachally
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: These waters were once the swimming area of a mermaid who was renowned for her bad
temperament.

Thieving Mermaid
Location: Marden (Hereford & Worcester) - River Lugg
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: An accident sent a church bell into the waters of the local river - a passing mermaid took
the opportunity to steal the bell and can sometimes be heard ringing it.

Mermaid
Location: Mersey Estuary (Lancashire) - Black Rock
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A sailor once fell in love with a mermaid here. The woman gave him a golden ring,

informed the sailor that she would be back in five days to meet him. Five days later, the man died.

Mermaid
Location: Morridge Moor (Derbyshire) - The Black Mere, also known as the Blake Mere
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Appears at midnight, daily
Further Comments: This fishy female comes to the surface of the pool at night, ready to pull any witnesses
down to the dark waters where they remain forever.

U Boat Sighting
Location: Muckle Flugga (Shetlands) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 28 July 1918
Further Comments: The German submarine U108 encountered a giant marine saurian, estimated to be 18 to 24
metres in length.

Upset Mermaid
Location: Newport (Shropshire) - Aqualate Mere
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The last time this area of water was cleaned, a mermaid popped up out of the water and
threatened to destroy Newport and Meretown if the pool was emptied.

Mermaid's Grave
Location: Nunton, Benbecula (Outer Hebrides) - Exact location not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: The area reportedly contains the grave of a mermaid killed in the early nineteenth century.
The mer-creature had been seen for a couple of days, before a teenage boy threw a rock at it, killing the entity.
Accounts stated that the upper part of the creature was the size of an infant, while the bottom was like a salmon.

Merman
Location: Orford (Suffolk) - Coast near to Orford Castle
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 1197, or 1161
Further Comments: A man from the sea was caught and held in the castle for a period of six months before
escaping back into the ocean. He never talked, and appeared to have a preference for fish over other types of
food.

Angry Mermaid

Location: Padstow (Cornwall) - Padstow Harbour

Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local tale states that the harbour here was silted up by a mermaid, more than a little upset
after she was shot at by a fisherman. The area has also been home to sea serpents.

Selkie Prince
Location: Papa Stour (Shetlands) - Exact location not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A group of seal hunters who arrived at the island skinned a large number of seals before a
violent storm began to batter the island - unbeknown to the hunters, a selkie prince was amongst the seals. The
hunters finally return the skins to the seals, after which the storm ceased.

Merman
Location: Portgordon (Moray) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 15 August 1814
Further Comments: This figure normally warned of ill fortune at sea - if the crew of a fishing vessel spotted
him, they would return to port for the day. Two fishermen spotted two of the creatures in 1814 - one they
described as black in colour, with curly hair and long arms, while the other was female with long hair.

Mermaid
Location: Portland (Dorset) - Church Ope Cove
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: One story says that a mermaid came ashore here, but died soon after being found by local
people heading to church.

Rake

Location: Rendlesham (Suffolk) - Pond shaped like an 'S'

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This freshwater mermaid was reputed to be armed with a rake, ready to drag in any childre
who strayed too close.

Gipping Girl
Location: River Gipping (Suffolk) - General area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The mermaid that frequented the Gipping would prey on children who played near the
deeper waters of the river.

Mermaid
Location: Rostherne Mere (Cheshire) - General area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Easter Sunday (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Her reasons unknown, this mermaid returns once a year to ring a bell hidden deep
underwater and sing.

Remains of the Bay

Location: Scalloway (Shetlands) - Bay

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1810
Further Comments: The remains of a large mystery sea creature drifted into Scalloway Bay. Described as a
looking like an upturned vessel, it remained in the bay for two weeks before disappearing - during this time, no
one was brave enough to approach it for a closer look.

Cursed
Location: Shetland (Shetlands) - Exact location not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Pre 1822
Further Comments: A fisherman who caught a mermaid while out at sea killed the creature with a knife. It was
said that from that moment, he was cursed.

Noggle

Location: Shetland (Shetlands) - Near water wheels

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Noggle was a type of water horse that could be found stopping water wheels. When a
miller appeared to chase the beast off, he would often be tricked into mounting it - being taken to deep water and
his doom.

Dark Haired Mermaid

Location: Snettisham (Norfolk) - Snettisham Beech & The Wash
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Little is known about the sighting of a mermaid with long dark hair who was once spotted
here.

Glassy Eyed Mermaid

Location: Sound of Mull (Argyll and Bute) - Sea
Type: Cryptozoology

Date / Time: Pre twentieth century

Further Comments: Becalmed in their skiff after setting out from the Sound of Mull, two men spotted a creatur
in the water which had the head, neck and upper torso of a woman, although the hair was more coarse and the
eyes glassy.

Naked Mermaid?

Location: Thurso (Highland) - Sandside Bay

Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1798
Further Comments: William Munro, a schoolmaster from Thurso, watched a naked woman combing her hair on
a rock in the bay. After a few minutes she diving under the water and vanished.

Stolen Skin
Location: Unst (Shetlands) - Unknown beach
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A farmer who stole the seal skin of a selkie as she danced naked on the beach
forced her to marry him. Many years passed and the selkie bore the farmer several children, although
she would spend many hours down on the beach staring at the sea. Finally, one of the children found
her seal skin and took it to the selkie, wondering what it was. The selkie took the skin and was never
seen again.

Water Horse
Location: Unst (Shetlands) - Unnamed loch
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: A tired traveller mounted a horse he found at the side of the loch only to find that the
creature tried to drag him into the waters. The traveller managed to jump clear just before the horse entered the
water - the horse disappeared in a blue haze.

Saxi and Herman

Location: Unst Island (Shetlands) - General area

Type: Legend
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Saxi and Herman, two giants who were brothers, once lived on the island. They both fell in
love with a mermaid who said she would marry whoever would swim to the North Pole with her. Both brothers
began the trip, but neither returned.

Nygole
Location: Whalsay (Shetlands) - Exact location not known
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A water horse known as a Nygole was found by a traveller returning from the kriegs at
Skura. Mistaking the creature for a normal horse, the traveller mounted it, only realising his mistake after the
Nygole set off at a fantastic speed. The traveller escaped the creature after driving his knife into its back.

Mathew Trewhella
Location: Zennor (Cornwall) - Church and Sea
Type: Legend
Date / Time: 1400s?
Further Comments: A son of a church warden, Mathew Trewhella one day disappeared without
trace. A sea captain later told the village folk that Mathew was with a mermaid, living under the sea.