The Neck
The Necks are water spirits that are known in every Germanic culture and cultures that share roots with the proto-indo Europeans. You might have encountered a few of them in the game Witcher 3. The name itself comes from the Proto-Germanic Nikwus which was in turn derived from the proto-indo European Neig, it means to wash. The Dutch call these spirits Nikkers. Dutch slavers started to use this term to describe black people, nikkers.
Their appearance differ in each culture but all have the same purpose, to lure people to their deaths. Here are a few of their forms:
Scandinavian: The näcken were specific male water spirits who lured women and children to lakes and streams where they drowned. They played beautiful songs to attract people but not all were malevolent. You could defeat such a spirit by calling out their name. They are also seen as an omen. If you spot one, a drowning will occur in the near future.
German: The Nixe were beings who lured people towards water to drown them. The males can take on many different shapes and females have a fish tail. They can however also shapeshift into human beings who can walk on land. You can recognize them by their wet clothing. Just like their Scandinavian counterpart, not all Nixe are evil.
Dutch: The Nikker or Nekker in the Netherlands is described as a tall shapeshifting black water demon who lives in shallow waters like swamps, ditches and wells. They often drag children into the water who play too close to the edge but they prey on adults as well. The Nikkers lured adults by imitating a child in desperate need. They also have a hook with which they can grab their victims in order to suck out their blood.
England: A similar being is known in England as the Grindylow, you might recognize this one from Harry Potter. Grindylows are known to grab children with their long arms and drown them when they are too close to the waters edge.
Greek: The Sirens were creatures who looked like birds with women's heads and scaly feet. They played music and lured nearby sailors towards them with their beautiful voices. Their intent was to shipwreck the boats who followed the singing sirens.
These water spirits are still quite popular until this very day. A new form has appeared since the age of the great discoverers, the Mermaid. Mermaids lure sailors with their beautiful looks and voices to their deaths. They have lately been popularized in Disney films and there is a depiction of them in the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean film where they lure men to their deaths as well. The Disney variant however is not that malevolent. If you look at all these cultures, it is clear that this water spirit was brought to Europe and India by the Yamnaya people 4000 years ago.
Here is a list of their names in different languages:
English: Neck/Nixie or Nokken Dutch: Nikker/Nekker German: Nixe Danish: Nøkke Swedish: Näck Norwegian: Nøkken Finnish: Näkki Proto-Germanic: Nikwis Sanskrit: Nenekti Greek: Nizo Irish: Nigh Old High German: Nihhus Icelandic: Nykur
Artist drawing: Sara Otterstätter
