Aquatic encounters of a different kind: MERMAIDS and their kin throughout the ages
Compiled by: Albert S. Rosales
A mermaid is a supposedly mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk". Mermaids are represented in the folklore, literature and popular culture of many countries worldwide. However as in most folklore and myth there is always a basis of truth to the lore. As recently as July-August 2009 in the coastal community of Kiryat Yam, Israel, there were several apparent encounters with such a creature. According to Schlomo Cohen, one of the first people to see the mermaid, “I was with friends when suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way. At first I thought she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared. We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail.” (1)
A very early and bizarre account perhaps describing a mermaid-like creature or a sort of underwater humanoid species is found in an ancient work entitled “Agaub el Malkowkat” by Cafornia, a celebrated writer, in it, the following statement is made:
“In the year 894 (A.D.) a fish was caught in the Caspian Sea and opened in the presence of the Prince Salem and within the fish was found a ‘sea girl’. She had on a pair of pantaloons without a seam, made of a skin like that of a man, and which came down to her knees. She sometimes held her hands to her face and at others over hair. She drew heavy sighs, and only lived a few moments.” No other information. (7)
One of the earliest reports recorded reportedly took place at Orford, East Anglia, England in the year 1204. One day several local fishermen (anglers) caught something unusually heavy in their nets. As they pulled and pulled on the nets in an attempt to get them back on board their boats, they saw what they thought was a large creature tangled up with the rest of their catch. v They were extremely surprised when they finally managed to get their catch aboard because there, in the bottom of their boat was a man staring angrily at them. He was described as being naked but with a hairy body, as having a long straggly beard and the top of his head being completely bald. Attempts to speak to him failed so the fishermen restrained him and took him back to the town. The ‘merman’ was taken to Orford Castle where the castle custodian, Bartholomew de Gladville, kept him prisoner. He and the jailers tried time and time again to question this ‘merman’ but the creature only uttered grunts and strange noises. They noted that when he was fed raw fish he would squeeze the water out of them into his hands and then drink it. Bartholomew de Gladville became frustrated at the creature’s silence and he had the merman tortured by hanging him upside down by his ankles. Despite this ill treatment the merman still did not (or could not?) talk and eventually his jailers gave up.
Bartholomew de Gladville then took him to the nearby church but it was obvious that the creature had never seen a church service before either. One day some time after he was first captured, the merman was taken down to the harbor. Nets had been strung across the entrance and he was set free so that he could enjoy a swim but without escaping. He made straight for the nets and easily escaped under them and headed out to sea, leaping out of the water with joy. Although he spent a little time that day in sight of the harbor, he was never seen again.
(2). interestingly, this supposed merman was never described as having a fishlike tail (!).
Another historical account comes from Edam, The Netherlands (Holland) from the year 1403. Two girls on their way to fetch some milk spotted a strange female creature on the muddy banks of the Edam Canal. According to chronicles of the time the strange female creature was hairy, and was covered with moss and small ‘sea plants’, it didn’t say a word but was seen to ‘sigh’ on several occasions. This being was given the moniker of “The Purnermeer Mermaid”. (3)
Another anecdotal account reportedly took place on January 9 1493 in the Atlantic Ocean near the Central American Coast. According to a chronicle by Father Bartolome de las Casas, the famous navigator Christopher Columbus (Cristobal Colon) reported seeing ‘three mermaids in the high seas’ but according to Columbus “they were not as beautiful as they say, these had man-like or male countenances”. (4) Perhaps a flock of manatees cannot be ruled out in this case.
Another account by famous navigators is that of two of Henry Hudson’s crew, Thomas Hilles and Robert Raynar who on June 15 1608 on Hudson’s second voyage in search of a northeast passage saw a mermaid off the coast of Novaya Zemlya, Russia at about 75 degrees north latitude. It was as big as a human and had a woman’s back and breasts, white skin, and long, black hair. When it dived, they could see its speckled, porpoise like tail. (5) Another interesting account comes from the Faroe Islands Denmark, from the year 1723. Members of a Royal Danish Commission investigating supposed sightings of “mermaid” like creatures in the area watched such a figure approach their vessel. It sank into the waters but surfaced shortly afterwards to stare intently at them with its deep-set eyes. A few minutes of this scrutiny proved so unsettling that the ship affected a retreat. As it was doing so, the merman puffed out his cheeks and emitted a “deep roar” before diving out of sight. (6)
Sometime before 1791 in the coast near Castlemartin, Dyfed, Wales, Henry Reynolds ran across what looked to be a youth of about sixteen sitting in the sea. As he came closer, he realized it had a huge, eel-like tail that moved constantly in a circular pattern. Its arms and hands seemed thick and short. Brownish, ribbon-like streamers came out of its forehead and flowed over its back. Reynolds watched it for about an hour as it swam near a rock only 35 feet away. (8)
On January 12 1809 early in the morning, in Sandside, Caithness, Scotland, two women standing on a beach in a remote area of northeastern Scotland saw what looked like the face of a young woman “round and plump and of a bright pink hue” in the sea. It then disappeared into the water, to reappear a short time later. When they were able to observe more of the top part of its body, they could see that it had well-formed human breasts. From time to time it lifted a long, thin white arm above the waves to toss back its long green hair. (9) A truly bizarre anecdotal account comes from South America, specifically, Lake Lacar, Neuquen Province, Argentina from the year 1850. A mermaid like creature, apparently half amphibian, and half human was reportedly seen in the area. The mermaid was reported to be able to levitate over the water, and supposedly lived in an underwater city. Unfortunately there is no additional information. (10).
Somewhere in the Bahamas Islands (exact location not provided) in the year 1869, six men rowing a canoe into a bay noticed in the shallow area a beautiful “mermaid” type creature with bluish hair that floated on her shoulders and hands. Upon seeing the men the mermaid emitted some eerie howls and disappears into the depths of the ocean before the men can approach her location. (11)
In the summer of 1890 in the locality of Deerness, Orkney Islands, England (Scotland) there was a series of sightings of a “creature” that came to be known as “the Deerness Mermaid”. A regular visitor to Newark Bay in Deerness, the mermaid went on to achieve considerable fame, with hundreds of eyewitnesses swearing to the validity of their encounters. From documented reports, it appears that the mermaid stayed some distance from the shore, so exact details are vague. But one account does provide a good description of a sighting and, as you will see, it was a far cry from the archetypal storybook mermaid: “It is about six to seven feet in length, has a little black head, with neck, a snow white body and two arms, and in swimming it just appears like a human being. At times it will appear to be sliding on a sunken rock, and will wave and work its hands.” (12). In the year 1900 a landholder in Sandwood, Highland Region, Scotland heard his dog growling and noticed a strange creature lying on a ledge by the seashore, only a few feet from them. The being was described as a female, human in size with beautiful features with curly reddish hair, greenish blue eyes, and arched eyebrows. The creature, which was mermaid-like in appearance, gave the witness a frightened and angry look causing the witness to run away from the area. (13).
What appeared to have been one of the first modern day sightings of a mermaid-like creature occurred during May of 1935 during the day off the coast of Redondo Beach California. A fishing boat crew saw, 3 miles offshore a bizarre merman like creature, described as having shiny eyes, a broad smooth forehead, dark hair on its head and a beard. It appeared to be between ten to twelve feet long. It flipped its tail and disappeared into the waters as the anglers attempted to approach it on a small boat. (14) In 1947, the same year that ushered in the modern era of the Flying Saucers, 80-year old Alexander Gunn, an angler in the Island of Muck, Highland Region, Scotland, saw a mermaid-like creature off the coast of the island. The being was a female humanoid in appearance, and sat on a floating wooden box and appeared to be combing her long blond hair. She plunged into the sea when she noticed the witness looking at her. (15)
Another relatively modern day encounter surfaced out of Chirundu, Zimbabwe one evening in the year 1951: 16-year old Cleo Rosin had gone with her mother to the Zambezi River in order to collect some drinking water. When they arrived at the river there was a canoe anchored along the bank, and Cleo climbed inside in an adventurous way. When she sat down, she noticed that there was a small round island in the middle of the river, which was especially wide at this point. And sitting on the island, near its edge, with her lower body partially in the water, was a particularly beautiful woman with long black hair. To Cleo’s surprise, the woman was naked and she was white. At this stage, Cleo’s mother was still filling the buckets with water. She called out to her mother: “Mommy, just look at that woman over there.” Her mother looked up and said, “Sh…Sh…you’d better keep quiet.” And then she added, “Look away.” But Cleo had already seen the bottom part of the woman’s body and it was like a fish and the woman was looking directly at them. But as her mother advised, Cleo looked away, and when she looked up again, the woman was gone. Her mother told her not to tell anyone about the encounter or else the “mermaid” would return and take her. (16) A bizarre incident apparently describing some other type of species of underwater species was reported at Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela on November 8 1965 when three families reported seeing a bizarre creature, reported as resembling a large serpent with three human-like heads. No other information is known. (17)
At an unknown date in 1967 in the area of Active Pass, British Columbia, Canada, British Columbia ferry passengers saw what they claimed to have been a mermaid sitting on rocks at the entrance to Active Pass. Reports indicated that the mermaid had long blond hair, the lower body of a porpoise and was sitting on the rocks eating a salmon. Photos taken by a man in an aircraft support the ferry passenger’s description. The Times-Colonist newspaper reported the sighting and printed the photo, but unfortunately none of the passengers who reported saw the mermaid are available for further comment. (18). Unfortunately there is no image provided in the source of the supposed photograph.
The following complicated tale comes from the remote Amazonian region of Rio Tambopata, Chonta region, Peru and reportedly took place in 1976. It again alludes to perhaps underwater civilizations existing in a different dimensional realm as ours: The main witness, a woman by the name of ‘Elena’ was washing her small canoe at the river, was suddenly approached by a young woman rowing a small canoe. As the stranger came up to the witness she greeted her and sat next to Elena, talking to her about several subjects, and before leaving told Elena that her name was ‘Rogelia’ and that she was going to return another day. According to Elena the young woman was very beautiful, with very white skin, long very blond hair, with intense green-colored eyes. She wore a shiny green outfit, with low cut boots. After finishing Elena then went back home. The next day ‘Rogelia’ returned, Elena invited her for breakfast and after talking for a long time, Rogelia again left. From that day on the visits became very frequent, all during the morning. Elena’s husband, Heliodoro would go to work every morning to the fields and had not yet seen Rogelia since she always arrived after he left for work. One day Elena told her husband about Rogelia’s visits, who she wanted him to meet, but somehow always left before he got home from work. Her husband did not believe Elena and forgot about the whole thing. One day once Heliodoro returned from work Elena told him that Rogelia had just left again, but this angered Heliodoro who began to insult her.
One day as Elena’s son suffered from a terrible bout of diarrhea, Rogelia arrived for a visit. Rogelia then told Elena that her mother was a ‘doctor’ and they should take her son to see her immediately. Both Elena and Rogelia walked to the river and as Elena boarded Rogelia’s canoe it seemed to sink into the water, this frightened Elena who immediately jumped to her canoe that was floating next to Rogelia’s canoe. Elena then told Rogelia that her canoe was to small and is best that they go another day, she then ran home frightened. The next morning Elena’s husband Heliodor arrived home early from work (around 10am) and found his wife Elena apparently talking to an unseen person or entity, which he couldn’t see. Upon seeing this Heliodoro threw his machete on the ground at the front of house, this seemed to snap Elena out of her trance and she told him, “Heliodoro you must be careful you almost cut, Rogelia’s feet” apparently the machete had landed next to the invisible Rogelia’s feet. Angry Heliodoro went back inside the house and then Rogelio told Elena that she had to go. On each occasion that the waters of the river had risen Elena could see Rogelia in her small canoe rowing in the middle of the high waters, she would point it out to Heliodoro but he of course was unable to see anything.
One day as Rogelia spoke to Elena she mentioned that she had seen her neighbor’s young son ‘and liked him very much and wanted to steal him”. This caused much concern in Elena and she promptly visited her neighbor (Ernestina) and warned her to keep an eye on her young son since ‘somebody’ wanted to abduct him. On another occasion, Rogelia approached Elena and angrily told her that she had seen another neighbor last night sitting in his canoe and defecating into the waters of the river and apparently on that same boat Rogelia had inadvertently left a small ‘beautiful machete’ . The next day Elena went to look for the machete but only found a small rusted one in the canoe, she took it back to her home and saved it for Rogelia.
When Rogelia spoke to Elena about themes relating to the river she told Elena that under the river waters there were ‘new lands and houses, just like the ones here’. But Elena was skeptical and pointed out that she could not live under the waters because she would drown, but Rogelia insisted that it would not happen, that everything ‘was the same below as above’. On another opportunity Rogelia gave Elena a rock as a gift and told her to save it but never told Elena what the rock was for. Apparently Elena still has the rock today. One day Rogelia told Elena, “Elena let’s make a pact between you and me, because I no longer want to visit here”. Surprised Elena asked what kind of a pact they were supposed to make. Rogelia then told her that at midnight she would come back one last time and whistle for her and that Elena was to come out and acknowledge her. That night Elena heard the whistling sound but was frightened and did not go outside. Later in dreams Elena would see Rogelia and Rogelia would ask her, “Elena why didn’t you go outside, I didn’t want to hurt, and I don’t want to bother you, I only wanted to sealed a pact with you so you could live better; but don’t worry I will not visit you again”. After the dream episodes Rogelia kept her word and never again returned to visit Elena. Later Elena made inquiries with neighboring towns and villages but no one knew who Rogelia was and apparently no one else had seen her. (19) (Translation by Albert S Rosales).
Another, perhaps even more bizarre tale reportedly took place in Sablayan, Mindoro Island, Philippines on the night of June 21 1978. A Filipino angler Jacinto Fetalvero reported that one moonlit night he had met a beautiful mermaid, with “amiable bluish eyes, reddish cheeks, and green scales on her tail.” She helped him secure a bountiful catch. According to Fetalvero he was accompanied by 3 other anglers. A torrent of ridicule ensued, and Fetalvero thereafter refused to discuss the subject. (20).
Encounters with strange-looking amphibian humanoids or creatures continued into the 80’s. sometimes in the most unexpected settings like the following account from the Indian Ocean sometime after midnight during August of 1986: Onboard the Odessa based Black Sea steamship “Uelen” on its way to Singapore, sailor Victor Tanygin had just returned from watch and was lying very tired on his cot in his room, reading a book. Suddenly he felt someone’s stare upon him. Looking up he saw in the round portholes, the face of a strange looking female who was staring at him very attentively. Her hair was dark in color, her skin very tanned and her eyes were blue and much bigger than normal humans. For several seconds they stared at each other and then scared, Victor jumped from his cot and ran out of the room screaming, running to the room of some of his colleagues. He gathered them and told the men to accompany him in order to see the strange entity. But a search failed to locate the entity, she had completely disappeared (it had obviously dove into the ocean depths). However Victor refused to sleep in his cabin alone and went to sleep in another room with friends. (21)
A truly unnerving event involving some type of amphibian creature reportedly took place one afternoon in 1988 several miles of the coast of Florida, on the Atlantic Ocean side. Professional scuba diver Robert Froster was diving alone looking for mysterious undersea formations, when he noticed a disturbance in the water. When he turned to look, he saw a vague, shadowy figure slashing toward him. All around him the water had begun to churn wildly, and clouds of sediment were swirling. As the creature rushed toward him, it appeared to undulate, rather than glide. When the fast moving form got to within 20 yards of him, he noticed something odd about it. Appendages like arms, seemed to be reaching out toward him, and the end of each arm appeared to be sharply talon hands. He then saw the creature in full view. He saw an unmistakable pair of breasts, long flowing hair, smooth skin, and scaled tail from the waist down. It appeared to be half woman, half fish. Froster said, “I’ve never seen such evil hate in the eyes of any human or animal before.” Before the creature could reach him, Froster shot up toward the surface and was able to scamper over the side of his craft to safety. He never saw the creature again. (22)
The following account appears to have been an encounter with a totally different species of amphibian creature or humanoid. On August 18 1991 around 23:30 near Batiliman, Cape Aya, Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine, the following experience was reported: Vyacheslav (Slava) Tertus, the leader of the Sevastopol based music group “Oreol” was swimming alone at night in the area of Cape Aya, between Sevastopol and Foros. As a strong swimmer he was about 100 meters from the rocky rugged coast of the southwestern Crimean Peninsula. The Black Sea was completely calm and there was a magnificent full moon. Enjoying the magnificent sight of the moon Vyacheslav swam slowly along with the sea current. Suddenly the witness felt someone jabbing his shoulder, he immediately turned around but did not see anyone, only heard the splashing of water. He thought that maybe his friends, who were staying on the shore, were playing a joke on him, so he began to swim towards the shore. Suddenly he again felt a jab or kick on his shoulder. When he turned around this time he saw the face of a young woman with long light hair, clearly visible under the full moon. Her eyes were much bigger than normal human eyes and seemed to emit a phosphorescent light. Scared, the witness stroke the woman’s hand and then began swimming towards the shore at very high speed, behind him he could hear the water splashing but he did not turn around to look. Near the shore he felt a very strong jab on his back and when he finally turned around he saw the face of the woman again which appeared to be “disappointed”, but he didn’t stop and upon reaching the shoreline he ran out screaming. His friends ran to him and briefly noticed a shiny silvery body that appeared visible for a moment in the narrow strip of water lighted by the moon and also heard a splash of water. Vyacheslav only managed to calm down several hours later after a hefty drink of vodka. However later he somehow felt the desire to see the strange “mermaid’ again and on several occasions visited the location and swam alone at nights in the Black Sea but apparently he never saw her again. He had dreams of seeing the mermaid beckoning to him. (23).
The high strangeness events continued into 1992 where we an incident reported one afternoon at Playa Media Luna, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, takes us way past the outer edges of the twilight zone:
Mr. Anibal Perez and his young nephew had come to the beach with their grandmother and were enjoying themselves when suddenly and apparently out of the depths of the waters a “young man” about 12 years of age, emerged and approached the two witnesses. The stranger appeared curious and friendly and followed the two witnesses apparently looking for companionship. They asked him who he was but the stranger only emitted a sound similar to that of a “dolphin.” Suddenly the boy dived into the waters and seemed to swim down to the depths. Moments later he re-appeared again bringing some sand in his hand, which he offered to the two, now befuddled witnesses. Apparently he wanted the men to “eat” the sand, but they demurred. They were then even more surprised to see the “boy” eat the sand like material. The stranger was described as completely human-like, somewhat thin with long black hair, wearing light colored yellow shorts. As the two witnesses swam about, the strange seemed to imitate their every move. He dived into the deep again, this time returning with some algae, which he also offered to the witnesses. Emitting strange whistling sounds he seemed to want to communicate with the witnesses. After some questioning by the witnesses, the stranger began to imitate their speech, repeating everything that was said to him. After a while he seemed to be able to speak some coherent words and said he was from “the bottom of the sea.” A few minutes later he stared at the two witnesses then bid them farewell saying “Goodbye humans,” he then dove into the waters never to be seen again. Which begs to ask: Is there really an underwater “alien” civilization(s) on earth, or possibly underwater bases? (24).
Translation by Albert S Rosales Another high strangeness but unverifiable event reportedly took place one day in the summer of 1997 in the Bay of Finland, Saint Petersburg region, Russia:
Officer-submariner, Nikolay M. an amateur diver had been diving in shallow water in the bay when he spotted a strange elongated object, shaped like a cucumber. Thinking that it was part of the wreckage of an old vessel, Nikolay tied a rope around the object and tried to pull it to the surface. However he was not successful and decided to attach some slings to the strange “cucumber” and connect it to his automobile bumper to pull the thing out of the bay. He came to the surface and obtained the necessary equipment in order to perform that task. He brought a pneumatic drill with him for the purpose to drill holes on the object and attach the slings. Nikolay descended to the bottom again and attempted to drill the holes on the object. Suddenly a stream of dark liquid resembling oil spewed out of the object hitting him on the face. But instead of switching off the drill Nikolay increased its air pressure in an attempt to make the hole deeper. He heard a loud crunch within the “cucumber” and noticed a blood like substance in the water. The object suddenly then split in half revealing a large cavity inside, from it a large dull bubble floated out. At this moment Nikolay encountered a strange entity, apparently human-like with unnaturally white skin and what appeared to be a wound on his back caused by the drill, the wound appeared to be bleeding. The entity’s face was distorted by pain and anger. The entity looked at Nikolay with an immovable hypnotic glance, soundlessly opening and closing his mouth. The witness attempted to push away the cucumber-shaped object along with the strange entity, but the entity succeeded in grabbing his hand. The humanoid had clawed fingers, very sharp, which tore into his sleeve and cutting him deeply. Struggling, Nikolay used the drill with his free hand and stabbed the entity directly into the chest. After that Nikolay apparently lost consciousness. He was pulled out of the water and saved but he had lost part of his hand. No traces of the strange humanoid or object were found. Apparently the cucumber-shaped object had been some type of alien “cocoon” which the witness had accidentally stumbled upon. (25)
For our next account we go back to Zimbabwe in Africa, more specifically the town of Charmwood one late evening in January of 2000:
Marko Batau was walking from Chawarura Shopping Center and as he approached the Hunyani River, he saw what appeared to be a white woman basking in the sun and sitting on a rock, half immersed in a pool of water. The woman was naked and Marko was surprised at this. Then he noticed that what he initially thought to be her leg, drawn up on the rock, was actually a scaled fish tail. The woman did not notice him at first, until he deliberately made a noise while walking on the gravel to get closer, and in an instant she disappeared into the water. A few days later, his curiosity aroused, Marko took the same route home. To his amazement, the woman was there, basking on the rock again. But not only that: this time there was laundry laid out on some stones to dry, with some draped over the bushes nearby. Unfortunately, in his astonishment and perhaps some fear, he did not see what type of washing it was, whether clothing or merely pieces of cloth. Again Marko drew nearer to get a closer view. Suddenly, the woman became aware of him and looked at him as though admonishing him. The next thing, she had disappeared in the water. The following week, Marko deliberately took this rather isolated shortcut home. Immediately when he reached the pool on the river, he saw the same creature there. Only this time, she was holding a baby in her arms and giving it a bath. Still puzzled by what he was seeing, Marko tried to draw closer to verify what he was seeing, but the moment the woman heard his footsteps on the gravel, she and the baby disappeared into the water together. (26)
During March of 2005 a series of incidents were reported in the Caspian Sea area, mostly off Astara and Lenkoran, Azerbaijan:
Residents of a few towns on the Caspian shores in Iran and Azerbaijan say they have seen an amphibious man, he was reported to be swimming amidst huge shoals of fish. Rumor has it that the waters where he swam were becoming sparkling clear. Recently eyewitnesses onboard the Azeri trawler, “Baku” reported seeing the creature. According to Gafar Gasanof the captain of the trawler, the creature was swimming in a parallel course near the boat for a long time. At first they thought it was a large fish, but then they spotted hair on its head and his fins looked very unusual. And incredibly the front part of his body was equipped with arms. Shortly after this report was published in an Iranian newspaper, numerous readers came forward describing their own sightings. The readers pointed out that numerous fishermen had repeatedly seen the strange creature at sea and on the shore after seabed volcanoes in the area of Babolsera became active in February and offshore oil production operations intensified in the Caspian. All the eyewitness accounts provide a similar description of the marine humanoid. His height is about 165cm to 168cm, it has a protruding stomach, his feet are pinniped and he has four webbed fingers on either of his hands. His skin is pale white in color. The hair on his head looks black and green. His arms and legs are shorter and heavier than those of a medium-build person. Apart from his fingernails, he has nails growing on the tip of his aquiline nose that resembles a dolphin’s beak. There is no information as to his ears. His eyes are large and orbicular. The mouth of the creature is fairly large, his upper jaw is protruding and his lower lip flows smoothly into the neck, his chin is missing. Iranians have dubbed the creature, “Runan-shah” or “Master of the seas and rivers”. Other stories report that the waters remain crystal clear for days in the area where the creature has been spotted. Fishermen report that the fish that are caught in their nets seem to sense the creature when it approaches and produce a barely audible gurgling sound. It is said that the creature answers the call of the catch by making similar throaty sounds. According to a theory the creature is not alone and that there is a family of underwater humans, who are on a mission….to tackle environmental problems in the Caspian. The reproduction of flora and fauna in the Caspian has significantly deteriorated due to a surge in offshore oil production operations and underwater volcanic activity. The Astrakhan fishermen have long complained about the decrease in the stock of sturgeon. (27)
Summarizing all the amphibian or aquatic humanoid reports in my humanoid files, would be repetitious and tedious, so I will end this high strangeness summary by detailing a last case from South America.
In September of 2007 in Lake Quistococha, Iquitos, Peru the following event took place: More than 20 students of the “Maria Parado de Bellido” school claimed that a mermaid-like entity appeared to them in the middle of Quistococha Lake, and called them (signaled to them) with her hands. The small kids, whose ages oscillated between 7 and 8 years old, said that while they bathed, a fish tailed woman surfaced in the center of the lake and acted as if she was bathing, collecting water with her hands and throwing it into her head. When the ‘mermaid’ realized she’d been spotted, she made a gesture inviting them to join her. However, the students were terrified with the unusual apparition and left the place, while the entity dived beneath the surface. The children said the young woman was very pretty. She had golden hair in the shape of waves and very white skin, but lacked legs. Instead, they managed to see a very thin fish-like tail.
According to them, the lady seemed very nice and did not represent any danger. Local people said that a mermaid sighting at noon was very unusual, since she generally does surface at night, especially when she moon reflects its light in the middle of the lake. According to the neighbors, in those occasions she’s often heard crying and the sound is sad, melancholic---even devastating---and incredibly intense. The creature has never harmed anybody, though, and actually is well respected as the guardian of the location. (28).
What are we to say about these alleged encounters? Is it possible that such things can be? If only one or two of the reported experiences are true, then we have to accept the possibility of an unknown humanoid species or civilizations living in the bottom of our oceans and lakes! Are they extraterrestrials? Or denizens of the Earth that have been here for millennia or perhaps even before humans arrived? I don’t have the answers, only more questions.
Albert S Rosales January 8 2012 “The more I know the more I realize that I don’t know a thing”
1. Lyly Fu MYFOX International and other news sources
2. http://hidden-england.netfirms.com/orford_merman.htm
3. Cryptozoological Manual also George Eberhart “Mysterious Creatures”
4. Cryptozoological Manual by Fabio Picass0
5. George Eberhart, “Mysterious Creatures”
6. Jerome Clark, Unexplained!
7. Kay Massingill in ‘Magonia list”
8. George Eberhart, “Mysterious Creatures”
9. Jerome Clark, Unexplained!
10. Fabio Picasso, Strange Magazine # 10
11. http://www.grupoelron.org/temasextraterrestres/sirenas.htm
12. http://www.orkneyjar.com.com/folklore/mermaids.htm
13. Janet & Colin Bord, Modern Mysteries of Britain
14. Janet & Colin Bord, Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century
15. Janet & Colin Bord, Modern Mysteries of Britain
16. Cynthia Hind, Fate November 2000
17. Picasso, Strange Magazine
18. http://www.pararesearchers.org/Cryptozoology 19. Victor Hugo Velazquez Zea “Las Sirenas o Yakurunas y la cosmovision amazonica sobre las fuentes de agua”
20. Jerome Clark, Unexplained! 21. Valeriy B. Ivanov, Colonel Ret. “Mysteries of Sevastopol” Vol. # 4 in: “Natural Mysteries” Sevastopol 2008
22. E. Randall Floyd, “Great Southern Mysteries”
23. Valeriy B. Ivanov “Mysteries of Sevastopol” Volume # 4 in: “Natural Mysteries” Sevastopol 2008
24. Jorge Martin, Poligono Del Tercer Tipo
25. “Sekretnye Isslendovaniya” “Secret Researchers” # 12 1999
26. Cynthia Hind, Fate November 2000
27. Rafic Garifdjanov, Baku
28. http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/xtrox/
