#meremaids

“With East Anglia having such a long coastline, it would be expected that the region abounds in traditions of magic and mystery concerning the denizens of the deep, namely mermaids and their kin. With one notable exception (which I will describe below), this is however not the case. It may be that these tales have now been lost, as there are many church pews and bench-ends carved into the likenesses of mermaids by the mediaeval craftsmen that made them, or it may be that, not having a wild and rocky coastline, these stories never developed as they did in other areas. However, East Anglia does have a tradition of 'land-based' mermaids, continuing the theme of a living landscape and the magic thereof begun in the previous chapter, and these are known as 'Meremaids' or 'Merewives'.”

—

The Devil’s Plantation:

East Anglian Lore, Witchcraft & Folk-Magic

Chapter 2: ‘Mermaids, Giants and Spectral Hounds’

Maddie was 14, bright eyed and adventurous. She made her way down the river, hopping on the dry rocks that peaked out of the shallow water, her younger sister Katie not far behind. The full moon illuminated the small shrubs and trees along the river giving Maddie plenty of light to see where she was going. The warm summer air made the evening quite pleasant. Absence of wind allowed for the sound of crickets and frogs to be heard as they continued down the river, the water getting higher and higher. As they walked, they slowly moved to walk on the river bank, tiptoeing as quietly as they could. 

Maddie and Katie’s grandfather had told them about the mermaid that lived in the river. He had said where the mountain hugs the river, there is a round rock that looks like it can be pulled out of the wall. The river is the deepest there and only when the water is high enough to cover enough of the rock, the mermaid emerges. She sings beautiful melodies and animals gather to listen, mesmerized by her song. Once an animal is close enough she grabs them and drags them down beneath the river. Maddie remembered shuddering at the thought of a poor animal being drowned. Her grandfather had told her that the animals were the mermaids food and that she was very hungry from not being able to leave the cave until the water was high enough. Maddie still did not like the idea of animals being murdered but thought that the story must be well, just a story. That is why on this particular evening she decided to come take a look for herself to see if she wanted to believe this silly story her grandfather had told her.

Katie now walking tightly behind Maddie as not to lose her behind the reeds and bushes grabbed Maddie’s hand. “What?”, whispered Maddie not expecting to be grabbed so tightly. “Do you hear that?”, Katie said. They both held their breathe and listened intently to the noises around them. In the distance a hum of a light melodic tune could be heard. The tune almost sounded like a harp playing but lighter, almost as if it were a dream. “That!”, whispered Katie anxiously as she stared at Maddie wide eyed. “Okay, be quiet. Lets get closer”, Maddie replied feeling very anxious and excited at the same time.

Katie was now holding Maddie’s hand very tightly, while they both crept as silently as they could towards the humming. They peeked over the bushes, relatively sheltered by the trees surrounding them. Sure enough on the opposite side of the river they noticed the round rock, pushed to the side, revealing a large cave. The cave was pitch black, no light shone into it even with the full moon being so bright. The water was very high, a little less than halfway covering the opening of the cave. In the middle, where the water looked the deepest, a woman swam. Her long golden hair covering her chest. She was singing a song, the words of which were unknown to Maddie and Katie and sounded like a song within a song to them. 

Maddie and Katie looked at each other in shock and amazement. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”, said Maddie as she grabbed Katie’s hand a little tighter. “Y-yes”, the word stumbled out of Katie’s mouth. They continued to stare at the sight of what they were now convinced was a mermaid, trying to get a glimpse of her tail. 

Animals of all shapes and sizes had gathered against the riverbank near the cave. There were, deer, mice, rabbits, porcupines, snakes and foxes. Owls sat perched in the trees listening closely to the singing. Some of the animals began to wade deeper and deeper into the water. Once or twice, as if waking up from a trance, a animal would go berserk, as if realizing it is being chased by a lion, and sprint away. 

A deer was deep in the water, an arms length away from the woman, who was still singing very happily. It waded deeper and deeper until the woman was close enough. She began lovingly stroking its pelt. Then in a blink of an eye, she had grabbed the deer around the neck and pulled it to the center of the river. The water was black underneath her, the moonlight couldn't break through the depth of the water. The moment she had grabbed the deer she had stopped singing. The other animals had fled for their lives in that moment, not a single one remained. There was no wind, it was dead silent. Even the crickets and frogs had stopped singing. The air became cool, and Maddie and Katie felt a tickle down their spine. The next instant there was a splash of water, the moonlight illuminated a dark green iridescent mermaid tail that broke the water just as the mermaid dived into the darkness of the river, dragging the helpless deer with her. A few bubbles trickled to the surface of the water and then nothing. 

Maddie and Katie waited in anticipation as to what would happen next, frozen in place staring at the river with fear. A few minutes passed, and seeing no mermaid they decided it was time to leave. Exactly as they were about to leave, the mermaid gracefully emerged from the river, swimming towards a rock. There was no sign of the deer, no blood, nothing. It was as if it had vanished. They watched the mermaid as she lifted herself out of the water to bath in the moonlight. Her tail glistened, as she sat and combed her hair with what looked like a comb made of bones. 

“I think it’s time to leave, before she spots us”, Maddie said looking at Katie a little panicked. Katie nodded and replied, “I think that’s a good idea”, then pulled Maddie by the hand as they made their way quickly down the river. They stepped ever so quietly as to not alert the mermaid, who began to hum again. Once the humming had become quite distant, Maddie and Katie hand in hand started sprinting together. They ran and ran, until they reached home. The farmhouse was welcoming seeing the lights burning brightly through the windows.