Tag Archives: mermaid

Mermaid Sighting on Navy Boat

Nationality: American
Age: 85
Occupation: retired
Residence: Tustin, CA
Language: English

Text

“Back in the mid-60s I served in the U.S. Navy. At this time, the Vietnam War was going on and I was stationed somewhere in the South of France. I forgot how to pronounce it at this point. Maybe it was Toulon or Cannes. It’s been so long.

Sometimes in the Navy, we would have to be on the boat for weeks at a time. After a while, it felt like we were all going crazy on there. Tight quarters are no joke. 

One evening, I was out on the deck with my buddy Thompson, talking about how we miss our family and home. Then he jumps up and points at something jumping out of the water. “It’s a mermaid.” “A mermaid.” Now let me tell you, seeing this man get excited over some human fish was something else. 

At first, I didn’t believe that it was a mermaid but maybe more a dolphin or flying fish. But I could tell that something about this one felt off. It looked like it had hair. It was jumping around too much to really tell if it was human or just fish. I like to believe that maybe it was a mermaid. It sometimes feels like being out at sea makes life feel like the world is playing tricks on my eyesight, since I have bad eyes. This could be why I couldn’t tell if it was a real mermaid or not. I hope it was.”

Context

This is a firsthand, lived experience of a sailor in the U.S. Navy in the mid-1960s during the Vietnam War. The story takes placed while stationed off the southern coast of Fance which is important because Mediterranean ports usually were used by allied forces. The event is told with a mix of sincerity and playfulness showing that while the informant may not claim absolute belief in seeing the mermaid, the memory is meaningful and endearing. The mention of “bad eyes” adds a layer of ambiguity and humility by acknowledging the unreliability of perception at sea while still leaving space for belief.

His story is also not just shaped by visual experience but also by the social environment of navla life which includes stress, fatigue, nostalgia and boredom. All of these can affect how events are perceived and remembered. 

The informant doesn’t fully commit to the sighting being a mermaid but clearly wants to believe it could have been. This reflects how folk belief becomes a coping mechanism especially in isolated, high-stress environments like life at sea during wartime. This story also is not just about seeing a mermaid; it’s about missing family, home, and human connection. The mermaid becomes a symbol of those desires: beauty, mystery, and something beyond the naval life. 

Interpretation

At the core of this story, it is about loneliness and the fragile human psyche under stress. The story begins with a quiet, human moment between two sailors reflecting on the things they missed most while being overseas. This setting of emotional vulnerability frames the entire experience. When the narrator’s friend spots what be believes is a mermaid, the narrator reacts with both skepticism and curiosity. While he questions what he say, he still says “I hope it was” revealing a deeper desire to believe in something beautiful and magical amidst the harshness of life at sea. This detail reflects the emotional strain of military service especially during long deployments. The physical confinement of the ship underscores the mental stress that comes from routine, distance from loved ones, and the inability to escape one’s surroundings. The mermaid, real or not, becomes a symbol of hope, wonder, and escape.

This story also taps into a long-standing tradition in seafaring cultures which is the myth of the mermaid. Across history, sailors have told stories of mysterious sea creatures, especially during extended perios at sea when sensory deprivation, homesickness, and boredom blur the line between reality and imagination. The narrator’s openness to the idea of having seen a mermaid despite his doubts, reflects a cultural value placed on keeping wonder alive even in adulthood and even in uniform. These stories serve a psychological purpose of injectubg mystery and storytelling into an otherwise repetitive experience. Folklore in this context becomes a coping tool and a shared language of meaning among naval members. 

Also, set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, this story captures the emotional and mental toll of military displacement. Though the narrator was stationed far from the combat zones, the mental and emotional experience of being in the Navy during wartime shaped how he processed the world around him.

When the narrator mentions his poor eyesight and how “the world plays tricks” on him at sea, he gestures toward something profound: the way military life can distort time, space, and perception. Long deployments blur days together, and the vast, empty sea becomes a canvas for imagination and longing.

The memory, recalled decades later, is preserved not for its certainty but for what it represents. It lingers because it carries emotional weight, not because it demands scientific proof. The story becomes a piece of personal folklore, where truth is measured more in feeling than in fact.

How To Become a Mermaid

Mermaids are mythical creatures that are half human and half aquatic creature. They have a tail and fins with scales instead of legs. Mermaids are rumored to live deep underwater and have become a beloved character in fairy tales.

“So the tiny town my mom’s family lived in was on Lake Ontario. I had a friend in this town, and both of us really liked anything to do with mermaids. She told me that some girls in this town had seen mermaids in the lake, which was VERY exciting for me! I told her to ask for more info, and a few weeks later she reported back that apparently, the mermaids have lived there a long time, and some girls were able to perform magic spells that transformed THEM into mermaids, and they left behind their normal life to live with mermaid society. We spent the rest of the summer trying to recreate the magic that would turn us into mermaids. Most of it was stuff from our imagination, but she would come sometimes with lists of spell ingredients or magic words that she found online or got from other kids. We created a whole system of magic elements that we deemed either helpful or useless in getting us closer to transforming, and kept detailed notes of it. sadly, we never figured out how to join the runaway mermaid kid society.”

Siren Legend

Genre: Folk Narrative – Legend

Text:

“When I was younger, I heard this legend about a warrior who lived in Scotland during the height of the medieval wars. Despite his skill in battle, the warrior was lonely and wanted a woman to love.

“One day, in the midst of a battle, this beautiful woman appeared at the crest of a hill and began walking across the field, somehow making it through unscathed. The warrior was immediately entranced by her and felt like he was hallucinating. Even though it was foggy and cold, the woman wore no clothing, and the warrior longed to discover what was hidden beneath her long, dark hair.

“When the woman finally made it to him, the warrior no longer cared about the battle happening around him: he only had eyes for this beautiful, mysterious woman. Her eyes were as blue as the sea, and when she opened her lips to speak, inviting him to follow her down to the beach, he found himself powerless and unable to resist. She led the way out of the battlefield and down to the ocean, where each step into the water seemed to make her even more beautiful.

“But by the time the warrior realized that there was something dangerous to her beauty, it was too late: the water transformed the irresistible woman into a creature of the sea. She dragged the warrior into the ocean, and despite his strength, he was unable to fight back. The woman, who in her true form was a siren, drowned the warrior and feasted on his remains before disappearing back into the sea to wait for the next man she would make her meal.”

Context:

“My great-uncle was a big storyteller, and he was really into mythology about all sorts of creatures and stuff from different cultures. He spent a year living in Scotland after college, and while he was there, he heard this story from a local tour guide. I’m sure the story I ended up hearing was different from the one he originally heard because he likes to embellish things and give stories his own flair. But I think this was kind of his way of warning me not to be stupid and leave everything behind for a girl just because I think she’s beautiful.”

Analysis:

I agree with the informant’s interpretation of the legend – that it is a warning to not become entranced by a woman just because of her attractiveness. There is also an undertone of a warning to not leave behind your life when something suddenly appears to be better – similar to the idea that “the grass is greener on the other side.”

I also think that it is interesting to consider the dilution of this legend from an original Scottish form to what seems to likely be Americanized. In Scottish mythology, the “equivalent” of what here is called a siren is really a selkie. The main difference between the two is sirens are sometimes considered synonymous with mermaids and are known to entrance men through magical song, while selkies are shapeshifters with a human and seal form. Both are typically depicted as seductive in their human forms, though selkies are considered to have more of a dual nature, while sirens primarily lean toward violence.

Warsaw Mermaid

Nationality: Polish
Age: 39
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts
Performance Date: April 23, 2020
Primary Language: Polish
Language: English

Context:

The informant–MF–is a 39 year old male who was born and raised in Zagłębie, Poland but has lived in the US since 2016. He learned this legend having visited Warsaw numerous times and heard the legend from locals. The interview from which this legend was collected was conducted in English.

Piece:

MF: Ok. So let’s start with the very old legend about the Warsaw Mermaid so which is the symbol right now of the of Warsaw, which is the capitol in Poland. There’s a very nice statue of the mermaid and she’s keeping the knife. Actually, this is the sword. And then and then shield. And it’s kind of protect the city from the from the, you know, like bad things that you could put, you know, like in from from the very, very old time. Like, people are thinking that the Polish mermaid is the sister of Copenhagen mermaid, which is well known symbol of Copenhagen. And she was swimming towards Poland through the Baltic Sea and then finally go into the river, which is going through Warsaw, which is the capitol of Poland. And then the story is telling that that there was a fisherman, old fisherman was catching the fish. And this mermaid actually decided to release this fishes. So as she thought, she she didn’t. And, you know, like, open the net and fish escape. So the fisherman was very, very angry. He was trying to catch the mermaid.But she was she was very smart in trying to escape. But what’s finally- fishermen catch her. So beautiful and so spectacular that the fishermen decided to release her. And and finally, actually, he fallen in love with her. But later, in the very, very rich person like Merchant, like he decided to cut her. And, you know, like to get some money to, you know, like to get her from the water. And he was trying to do it. And finally, he did but, you know, since her voice was so beautiful, the fisherman actually decided to do, you know, like release the mermaid. And then actually she said, “Oh, I’m gonna protect this city because you are so, so nice for me.” And then she became, like, a huge symbol of the capitol of Poland. So that’s that’s more or less the story about the mermaid important. So those of you who are interested, you can go to the capital of Poland and, actually close to the distillery there, there is the nice statue of Polish Mermaid.

Analysis:

This tale forms a nationalistic connection connection between the city of Warsaw and the river upon which it sits, the river Vistula. The tale also creates a sense of partnership between Warsaw and Copenhagen, both of which have rivers running through them and a famous statue of a mermaid said to have been found in those same waters.

Zirahuen Lake Legend

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 35
Occupation: Nanny
Primary Language: English

Main Piece: Zirahuen Lake Legend

 

Full Piece – Transliteration (told in English by a Spanish Speaker)

 

“The Legend say that when the fall of Tecnochtitlan. Spaniards come and was a handsome captain who fell in love with Princess Erendira. She was the daughter of King Tangazoan, the captain wanted to have her for himself so he kidnapped the princess and hid her in the valley surrounded by mountains. The Princess Erendira cry day and night, and pray to her gods to save her from her natural prison. The gods of day and night Juriata and Jaratanga decide to help her; they turn her into a mermaid and her tears were so powerful that a lake was formed in the middle of the valley.

 

Villagers say that the mermaid is still living under the deep of the lake and sometimes she emerges to punish me of evil hearts.”

 

Translation

 

“The Legend says that when Tecnochtitlan fell, Spaniards came with a handsome captain who fell in love with Princess Erendira. She was the daughter of King Tangazoan, and the handsome captain wanted to have her all to himself, so he kidnapped the princess and hid her in a valley surrounded by mountains. Princess Erendira cried day and night, praying to the gods to save her from her natural prison. The gods of day and night, Juriata and Jaratanga, decided to help her. They transformed her into a mermaid and gave her tears so powerful that when she would cry she created a lake in the middle of the valley where she was held.

 

Villagers say that the mermaid is still living in the depths of the lake and will surface sometimes to punish mean of evil hearts.”

 

Background:

 

This story was told by my Mexican nanny, Mirna, of 18 years, and it is one of her favorite stories growing up as a kid. Her mother would tell it to her brothers and sisters as a sort of bedtime story, and to teach her sons what would happen if you were mean to a woman you loved. She likes this story because it gives her a feeling of empowerment as a woman, and likes to think that it gives her a voice in her head that she won’t take crap from anyone. Her grandmother passed on the story to her mother, who then passed it on to my nanny and her siblings.

 

Context:

 

My nanny is a native Spanish speaker, but she told me in English as to help me understand, and I did not get the chance to get the full Spanish telling. The origin of the story is from the Michoacán region of Mexico, where my nanny grew up and where her family still lives to this day. It tells of the formation of the lake nearby where they live, and is more of a creation story from the region.

I think of this as more of the kind of story that would be told around a campfire or to a child as they are being put to bed, because it has both a mythological part in the story of the gods helping out the princess, and also tells of why certain things came to be near their home and gives a reason that almost dictates their way of life.

 

My thoughts:

 

When I first heard the story, I thought it was a variation of the “La Llorona” story, where a similar event occurs in that a woman is distraught by her man and ends up living in a body of water. When I asked if this was a version of La Llorona, she began to explain that this was a local legend from where she grew up, and was a story explaining the creation of the lake near where she lived.

I don’t think this was the entire story, as it seems very short and not very detailed, but it still gets the point across as being a creation story.

 

 

 

For another version of this story, see:  The Leyend of Zirahuen’s Lake (http://ourcommunityblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/leyend-of-zirahuens-lake.html)