Selkie

Selkies are seal creatures that can shed their skin once on land to become human. The mythology comes from Faroese, Irish and Scottish folklore although there are several creature like the shape-shifting selkies in other folklore around the world. The word comes from the old English seolh that was then taken by the Scottish selich, meaning seal. The legends have been found to originate in the Orkney and Shetland islands of Scotland.

 The selkie's seal skin is what holds their power and if stolen and hidden or burnt they would be under your power, prevented from going back to their water home, they are also like finger prints, unique to each selkie, only one particular skin would work with that one particular selkie, the magic of the skin wouldn't make anyone turn in to a seal if put on. That is why they are so presious. There are a few theories about what happens when the skin is destroyed. they say either the selkie dies or they are doomed to be human until they die, always longing to go back to the ocean but never being able to.
  The males are said to be extremely handsome and with great seductive powers in their human form, drawing women who typically aren't happy with their lives and/or are waiting for their husbands to return from sea. It is said that if a women wanted to make contact with a selkie she had to cry seven tears into the ocean.

  The females also being beautiful and seductive, where said to make great wives. Even having children with their human husbands. Males would have to lure one in and steal her seal skin, this would then force the selkie into marriage.

  The stories and folklore of the selkies are normally romantic tragedies because even though their love of a mortal may be strong, the pull of the ocean is always stronger. Either the stealing of the skins and the force to stay on land or the lover not knowing that they where selkies and waking up one day to find that their love had changed into a seal would also force tragedy into their tales.
 A selkie also couldn't have contact with the same human once left for seven years, unless said human stole their skins. Although their are a few stories where the selkie female is happy married with a fisherman. This tale always ends with the wife having to change back into her seal form to save her husband from the sea and then never being able to go back to her home on land.

  There are two types of selkie. Ones from the seelie court (which is said to be the fae that are more on the light side, often helping those in need, although when bored can make lots of trouble, nothing ending in great harm and not into hating humans) are good natured, shy and would help those in need, they are hard to anger but can do if enough is done to them. Were as the selkies from the unseelie court (being the fae of darker things and hating just about everything especially humans, they are out to harm) where said to be the harbingers of storms, one that would sink ships as revenge for the harm of kin.

Kelpie

Water kelpie or just kelpie is a shape-shifting water spirit originating from Scotland. It inhabits pools and streams, nearly every big body of water in Scotland has a kelpie story, the most well known being that of Loch Ness. It usually appears in the shape of horse but can take the human form, this is where the association with the Christian idea of Satan. In the late 19^th century an interest in transcribing folklore came about, the recorders were inconsistent in their spelling and the frequently Anglicised words result in names differing for the same spirits.

There has been many disagreement about the water habitat of the kelpie. The folklorists who define kelpies as being spirits who live beside rivers has been said to get this mixed up with the Celtic water-horse, who was said to live by lakes and led people astray, the kelpie was used in translation in the English accounts for water-horse. So there is confusion in whether the kelpie actually resides in rivers or bigger bodies of water like lochs.

Others have said the term kelpie is a blanket name for a wide variety of mythical creatures. These have included other Scottish creatures as the shoopiltee and nuggle as well as the welsh Manx cabbyl-ushtey and the ceffyl dwr. There's also parallels to the Scandinavian backahast the Germanic neck and Australian bunyip as well as the Central American wihwinof.

The kelpie is a beautiful and powerful black horse, the spirit of the river Spey was said to be white. One of the most notable feature of a water kelpie is their reversed hooves. The Aberdeenshire variation says the kelpie is a horse with a mane of serpents. They prey on any human that they come across, singing the victim onto i's back by singing. Most of the older tales from Scotland are about the kelpie luring children onto it's back for a ride, to then drown them later and eat them. There would always be one survivor, normally a boy who had stroked the neck and got his hand stuck realising the danger he would either cut off his fingers or hand to escape. The only evidence of the missing children would be a few entrails left behind on the waters edge.

 Kelpies can shift into human form. Nearly all tales are of them being male, one or two of them seeking companionship or love, but most of luring mostly women to a body of water to be drowned, only one was female who drowned a man and boy. They are said to be notable by the water weeds and such things in their hair. A few accounts, especially when Christianity came to Scotland in the 6h century, told of the kelpies keeping their hooves when they where human, this is where the association came along between Satan and the kelpie, it also draws a comparison to the Greek god Pan.

There are a few ways you can stop or even kill a kelpie. Some of them are fitted with a bridle and saddle, to make it more appealing to ride, making it easier to lure people to their watery graves, if these where removed then the strength and power would leave them kelpie. It was said that the bridle and saddle have magical properties, if brandished toward a person it would turn them into a horse or pony, you would also have control of the kelpie, this would earn you respect and would be highly prized as a kelpie is extremely strong and has high endurance, although it would mean a bad end when the kelpie finally got it's freedom.

Another way was to carve a cross into the bridle or shooting it with a silver bullet.

It's been suggested that the origins of the kelpie comes from a reflection of human and horse sacrifices that where made to water gods. Malevolent water spirits like the kelpie would have helped to ward children away fro dangerous waters and a possible warning for young women to be wary of strangers, particularly strange handsome men.

Cyclops.

  The Cyclops, the name means 'round-eyed' was, according to Greek and later Roman mythology, a primordial race of giants, their main and most distinct feature being the one eye in the middle of the forehead.

The three original cyclopes described by Hesiod where Brontes (thunder), Arges (thunderbolt) and Steropes (lightning), said to be the sons of Gaia and Uranus and brothers to the Titans. Cronus imprisoned them in Tartarus, Zeus later freed them so that they could help bring Cronus down. As thanks for their freedom and being the first smiths they made Zeus his thunderbolt, Hades his helmet and Poseidon his trident. Once Cronus fell they continued to work for Zeus on Mount Olympus. It was later said that one of the brothers was killed but Apollo to get vengeance for the death of his son by Zeus and Hermes killed Arges.

Another group of Cyclopes where later writen about by Homer. These being the sons of Poseidon and the helpers of Hephaestus, whose workshop was in the volcanic mountain Etna. The most famous of these brothers was the man-eating Polyphemus who was outwitted and then blinded by Odysseus. Polyphemus fell in love with the nymph Galatea who rejected him, finding out that she had eyes for another, the enraged Cyclops killed his rival Acis by throwing a rock on him, the blood flowing from his crushed body made the stream which now bears his name.

Although there are a few possiblities of the origins for the Cyclops one could be that the prehistoric dwarf elephant skulls that may have been found on the Greek islands Crete, Sicily, Cyprus and Malta could have started the myth. With the skull being about twice the size of a human skull and the large central nasal cavity (which is for the trunk), these could have been interpreted as one large eye socket. The ancient Greeks were unlikely to recognize the skull as an elephants and this would explain why there would be that could be a skull like this.

The Ahool

 The ahool, named after it's call of 'ahoool', is a supposedly giant bat. It's said to live deep in the Java rainforest and can be found across most of Indonesia.

It is said to be the size of a small child (around 4ft),leather wings with an astounding wingspan of 12ft (3m). It's covered in short grey fur, has large black eyes, a flat face that makes it almost like a monkey. It has been seen squatting on the forest floor, it's feet appearing to point backwards.

The ahool is said to be nocturnal creature, sleeping in caves during the day. It feeds on fish but has been know to attack large mammals, including humans.

 Some researchers have said that the ahool could be a living pterosaur, a flying reptile that was last alive during the time of the dinosaurs, some 65 million years ago. The description of the ahool does match what we currently know of about the pterosaur. A third theory, although less popular, is that this maybe the worlds first reported case of a flying primate. But the overall thought is agreed that the ahool is most likely a form of unknown giant bat.

 The naturalist Dr. Ernest Bartel had the first reported account with the ahool in 1925. He was exploring near the Salek mountains when an unknown giant bat flew directly over his head. It was another two years before he would have another encounter with the ahool, he was sleeping in a hut close to the Tjidjenkol river when he heard the cry of the bat directly over head, he proceeded outside to see if he could see the bat, it called out again but came from an incredible distance downstream.

At one point the good Doctor had thought that the creature may not have been a bat but possibly a large owl. This theory didn't go down well with others and assured him that they where capable of distinguishing between a bat and a bird. This could fit in with what some people think. The appearance and behavior matches the Javan wood-owl to the ahool's. Observer error by being dive-bombed in remote gloomy forests and the wing-span can be greatly over estimated from far away or when swooping down could be matched with the owls as well as they look grey from below, having flat faces and big black eyes with dark feathers that ring the eyes that can make them look even bigger.

Like many cryptids, it isn't well documented with little reliable information or material evidence. Just a few eye witness accounts.

The Hydra

The Hydra, which was also called Lernaean Hydra, is a nine headed sepent-like monster from Greek and Roman mythology. It wasn't just in the Greek and Roman mythology that it appears, it has many parallels in near ancient eastern religions too, like Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian mythology. It was also associated with Bashmu (the venomous snake) constellation (even though it only has a single head) and with the constellation from the Babylonian Marduk's dragon (the Mushhushshu).

It is the child of Typhon and Echidna. The Hydra lived in the lake Lerna in the Argolid, under this lake was the entrance to the Greek and Roman underworld which it guarded.

It is said that when you cut the a head off of the Hydra, two more will grow back, it also has poisonous breath, blood do virulent that even it's scent was deadly and the middle head was said to breath fire.

Heracles (Greek) or Hercules (Roman) was sent by Eurystheus to kill the Hydra in the second of his twelve labours. Hera raised the Hydra just so that it could kill Heracles one day, but in the mean time it would come out of it's cave to terrorise the near by villages. On entering the area where it lived, Heracles had to cover his mouth and nose with a cloth to protect against the poisonous fumes. To confront the Hydra he first had to shoot flaming arrows into the Hydra's lair from there he wielded his weapon, being anything from a harvesting sickle (from very early renditions on vase-paintings) to a sword or his very well known club. He began to cut off the Hydra's heads, but as we know they grow back, which would have dishearten anyone but our hero. The Hydra is invulnerable but only if it still has it's one immortal head, so in one version Heracles enlisted the help of his nephew Iolaus who figured out that if they used a firebrand to scorch the neck stumps right after each decapitation then they couldn't grow back (this was possibly inspired by Athena). So Heracles would cut off the heads and Iolaus would cauterize the necks. Seeing that Heracles was winning, Hera sent a large crab to distract him, who crushed it with his mighty foot. Once the immortal head of the Hydra was cut off (which is mostly known to be cut off with a golden sword given to him by Athena) he placed the still alive and writhing head under a giant rock on the sacred way between Lerna and Elaius. Heracles would then dip his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood to be used later in his other labours.

The alternate version is that after cutting off one head Heracles would then dip his weapon in it's neck and use it's own venom to burn the wound so it couldn't grow back. Hera, being upset that both her creatures where slain, raised them up and placed them in he dark vault in the sky turning them into constellations.

Sprite

The Sprite is often depicted as a small fairy, they have wings and if seen are normally mistaken for large exotic insects because of their wings.

The word sprite comes from the lain Spiritus meaning spirit, there are a few other variations like the Celtic spriggan or spright. It's often used to mean elves and fairies in European folklore although it's rarely used now.

The belief in these sprites which include tree spirits, elves, fairies, pixies, the Spanish duende, Japanese yokai and many other fairy types has been common all over the world and to some extent be found in neo-spiritual movements like Asatru and druidism. In some elemental magic and rituals the sprite is often believed to be the air element. The belief in these spiritual creatures like ghosts and fairies is nearly universal over the human culture.

They often live in big groups in the deep woods with other fairy beings. They have a short attention span but are curious and like to harass flying insects like butterflies. They can fly far and fast without rest, tending the fairy gardens, eating the bugs that feed on the flowers.

Although they look small and sweet they can be vicious, biting ans swarming if felt threatened. Attacking people that get to near to their gardens, threaten or endanger the trees and plant life around them or themselves.

They have been in fairy tales and even movies for a long while, although they aren't as popular or well known now a days.  

Orc

  The Orc/Ork is a fantasy race that are often twined with Goblins. They are humanoid creatures that come in many shapes and sizes, often with bowed legs and long arms. They are generally ugly and filthy, with prominent fangs and facial features tending toward the grotesque, their skin is typically a shade of green, grey, black, brown and sometimes red.

 Their temperament matches their looks. Ugly, aggressive and cannibals to boot, often eating their own kind. They are used for soldiers, mostly cannon fodder because of their low intelligence, strength and violent by nature, they will fight ferociously if compelled or directed by a guiding will, but tend towards more chaotic behavior if left to their own devices.

  Old English glossaries record the word OE orc matches with the Latin Orcus, deity of the Underworld, and Synonymous with thyrs "ogre" as well as "hell devil".
  The word ultimately comes from the Latin, the demonic Roman god of death, who should not be confussed with Pluto, the god of the underworld and has transformed by several stages from the meanings 'underworld', 'hell', 'devil', 'evil creature' to 'ogre'.

 They have been portrayed through fairy tales and fantasy for a long time, but the most famous has to be J.R.R.Tolkien's reinvention of them in his stories the most famous being the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Where they have a some thing like a culture of their own and their own language.

Brownies

 The Brownie is the Scottish and Northern English counterpart of the Scandinavian Tomte, the Slavic Domovo and the German Heinzelmannchen.

Brownies are said to inhabit houses and aid with the upkeep and tasks around the house. Although they hate to be seen so work at night or when there isn't anyone at home, they would become fiercely loyal to their families and would move with them to a new house. They take food as gifts for their help but they are very difficult to keep happy and can get very aggressive or even leave if their gifts are called a payments, the owners misuse them are called by a name or nickname or if they are thanked. They are known to like honey, milk and porridge the best and many would leave them out daily. They make their nests or homes in unused parts of the house, like holes in walls or lofts.

Depending on where you are brownies can vary in their looks, normally they are short, often male but in the highlands they don't have fingers and toes and in the lowlands they didn't have noses.

  There are a few tales and ballads about the brownies but not many. But there are differences between the English Brownie and the Scottish Urusig. The English brownie lived in the house and helped with domestic tasks as did many in the Scottish manor houses but the Scottish Urusig wasn't domestic and lived in or by streams, it had a generally nice temperament and like to be solitude but around the end of harvest would come out to get some of the it's favourite dairy products from the milkmaids.

  The only people who could see the brownies where the ones who possessed the second sight, which enabled them to be able to see anything from the sprite or fay world. But they where said to appear to certain people if they didn't have it.

  Although there is a general blanket description for brownies they are several different types. When they where miss treated they would turn into Boggarts with sharp teeth and wild hair. These where horrible are violent, throwing things, stealing and breaking things, tormenting the people living there and spoiling food and milk.

  There is the Brown Men that are a type of brownie that live on Bodmin moor in Cornwall England, you will never see these little red haired men, they look after all the wild life that live on the moor with them. Similar to the Brown Men are the Gruagach, brownies that live in the Hebrides off the coast of Scotland and are thought to watch over farmers’ herds. Early legends say that they were given offerings of milk in order to ensure that they would watch over flocks and herds and keep all of the animals safe. A brownie-clod was a type to live outside and cause havoc by throwing mud at anyone that came near, a Dobbie was a simple minded but well meaning brownie that unintentionally caused chaos (these are the ones that inspired the house elves and their name sake Dobbie in the Harry Potter books).

  The brownie also isn’t to be confused with the browney, which is a different type of mythological creature. The browney comes from Cornwall, and it’s thought to watch over hives of bees. 

Dragons

There are 2 types of dragons. European and Asian. although with the mixing of cultures in recent centuries the myths have started to influence each other.
The name dragon came into the English language around the 13th century, it was taken from the old french (dragon) which again in turn was taken from the Latin draconem (or draco) also from the Greek word δράκων, drakon, meaning huge serpent. This was used for any large serpent or sea snake not just mythological creatures.

Dragons are typically depicted as large reptiles with 2 sets of legs and bat like wings and fire breathers but this image started in the middle ages before this they where seen as giant serpents (this isn't to be mixed with a dragon-like creature with wings but only a single pair of legs which is known as a wyvern).

There are meany different myths and stories about the dragons to match the many different cultures and religions that these stories come from. But there are many types of creatures that come under the blanket name of dragon.
East Asian cultures are thought to have the oldest myths about the dragons. They where long giant serpents, most of them water deities. They where known for their great power and wisdom and seemingly endless lives. They where associated with the Chinese and Vietnamese emperors because of the power and wisdom they where suppose to hold. They are said be made up from 9 different animals, with nine sons, each with its own imagery and affiliations.  They are also seen as  the symbol of yang, representing the universe, life, existence, and growth. It is said in Vietnamese myths that the people are descended from a dragon and a fairy.

South and west Asian are roughly the same as the eastern but some are seen as protection (like on gates and clothing) and others (like the Persian dragons and other such creatures) where all malevolent. The Jewish religious text have a few mentions about dragon through out i.e. the book of Job and  Isaiah.

But it's not just Asia that has the myths of dragons, in Europe they have many tales. We get the name dragon on the Greeks but it was meant more for snakes then winged reptiles in myth form. European dragons are usually depicted as malevolent under Christianity; pre-Christian dragons, such as Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Wales, are seen as benevolent, they are seen as huge winged reptiles that live in rivers or deep caves with armored hides and although they have wings they rarely fly. Slavic dragons are very similar although their names typically mean snake. Russian dragons are seen to have 3 heads and if all the heads aren't cut off they will grow back.
The tales of dragons have changed over the centuries and have become fixed in the fantasy, filling books and movies with these mythical creatures. They where often seen as big, greedy, mean and to be feared until the hero comes along and slays said dragon in a right of passage. Or the mystic wise figure that's a great ally that helps battle fears. Typically they where twisted to represent sin and a natural force against mankind.

There are many animals that could have sparked our ancient ancestors into believing that huge winged reptiles and snakes where alive such as crocodiles, giant snakes and even whale and dinosaur bones.

But as we come into a new age they are getting new life  with every kind of twist you could think of i.e. the elemental, fire, water ect all with magic powers and with all this new interest comes a new law for the dragon creature.

The Lady in White

The Lady in White is a type of female ghost reportedly to be seen in rural areas and in the country side. There are tales of these white ladies across the globe, the old myths have a common theme of betrayal in one form or another from a husband, boyfriend or fiancé. But they myths have slightly change to the more modern, where they are mostly tragic car accidents, these white ladies are said to be a harbingers of death, causing more car accidents so that others feel their pain at dieing do soon.

 Here are a small handful of legends from around the world:

Here in the U.K. there is an old myth said that the lady in white could be seen in either day or night in a house in which a member of the family would soon be dieing, they are said to be ancestors warning the family. 

 There is also the lady in white who haunts the "Beeford Straight" in east yorkshire. Motorists have reported her apparition running across the road. In one instance, a car crashed into a tree killing 6 people.

In Germany, a white woman was first reported to be seen in the Berliner Schloss in 1625 and sightings have been reported up until 1790. This castle is the residence of the kings of Prussia, so the Lady has been linked to a few historical figures such as the unfortunate widow Bertha of Rosenberg from Bohemia, overthrown by the heathen Perchta and the guilt-ridden countess Kunigunda of Orlamünde, who murdered her 2 children for getting in the way of a marriage she wanted.

In Philippines they are often used to convey horror and mystery to young children for storytelling. Sightings of White Ladies are common around the country, and usually every town and barrio has its own "White Lady" story.

Malta has 2 main myths the first being the White Lady of Mdina was killed by her lover after she was forced to marry another man. She usually appears to children under eight years old, heart-broken teenage boys, and elderly men. While she tells the children goodnight and bids them to return home, she advises the teenagers to "find another" or to join her and become a part of her "shadow" (her ghostly followers) as well as the elderly gentlemen. She is always seen after 8pm. The second myth has it that many years ago, a woman was to be married to a man she did not love. Her father told her that she must always do as her fiancé said since he was soon to be her husband. On the day of her wedding, she committed suicide by jumping off a balcony. That is how she got the name White Lady because she was wearing her wedding gown on the day of her death. She haunts the Verdala Palace and many people who attend the August moon ball confirm the haunting.

The Brazilian Lady in White is the ghost of a young woman who died of childbirth or violent causes. She appears as a pale woman in a long white dress or a sleeping gown, she will occasionally recount her misfortunes. The origins of the myth are not clear, it's proposed that the ghost is related to the violent deaths of young white women who were murdered by their fathers or husbands in an "honor" killing. The most frequent reasons for these honor killings were adultery (actual or suspected), denial of sex, or abuse.

In the USA most of (if not all) the lady in white legends are about young, beautiful women who have died in horrible car accidents and haunt the stretch of road or rough area of their deaths.

There are hundreds of more myths and many have inspired tv shows, movies and books. The lady in white is one of the most wide spread, well know haunting around.

Rusalka

A Rusalka is a type of water nymph, a female spirit in Slavic mythology and folklore.

The original "rusalka" was an name used by Pagan Slavic tribes, who linked them with fertility and did not consider rusalki evil. They came out of the water in the spring to transfer life-giving moisture to the fields and thus helped nurture the crops.

Things changed in the 19th century things shifted rusalka became an unquiet, dangerous being who is no longer alive and unclean spirits. They where young women's soul who had been drowned violently or committed suicide by drowning due to an unhappy marriage or had died near a river or a lake who must now live their remainder on earth as rusalka, haunting that waterway. They where also normally red haired, a connotation that might have come with the Orthodox faith sometime around late 15th century, they often aroused suspicion in traditional Russian societies as being bewitched.

.A rusalka's main purpose is to lure young men into the depths of said waterways where she would entangle their feet with her long red hair and submerge them, her body would instantly become very slippery and not allow the victim to cling on to her body in order to reach the surface. They where seduced by either her looks or her voice, a rusalka is generally considered to represent universal beauty, therefore is highly feared yet respected in Slavic culture.

During the Rusalka Week (in early June), they are believed to be their most dangerous, this is when they able to leave their water ways to climb trees, sit in the branches at nigh and sing songs, sit on docks with only submerged feet and comb their hair, or even join other rusalki in circle dances in the field. Swimming is strictly forbidden during this time. A common feature of the celebration of Rusalnaya was the ritual banishment or burial of the rusalki at the end of the week, which remained until the 1930's.

Apart from all this, the undead rusalka is not invariably malevolent, and will be allowed to die in peace if her death is avenged.

Sirens

This week we are looking at the Greek sirens, who are often lumped together with mermaids and naiads.

 The Sirens (Greek singular: Σειρήν Seirēn;  Greek plural: Σειρῆνες Seirēnes) were dangerous yet beautiful creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island many writers have implied that the Sirens were cannibals as well. Sirens were believed to look like women and birds in many different ways, from early Greece that had them depicted as birds with large women's heads, bird feathers and scaly feet, later moving on to women having bird legs, with or without wings or tiny sparrows with women's faces and then again changed being seductive women not only with their voices but bodies as well. Roman poets placed them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae. All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks.

Although they lured mariners, the Greeks portrayed the Sirens in their "meadow starred with flowers" and not as sea deities. When the Sirens were given a name of their own, they were considered the daughters of the river god Achelous, fathered upon Terpsichore, Melpomene, Sterope, or Chthon (the Earth). Roman writers linked the Sirens more closely to the sea, as daughters of Phorcys.

The Sirens were called the Muses of the lower world, although in one myth they are challenged to a singing contest with the muses, losing all their feathers where plucked and the muses wore them like crowns. Horrified by losing they plunged into the sea never to be heard from again. It wasn't their only so called down fall some post-Homeric authors state that the Sirens were fated to die if someone heard their singing and escaped them but according to Hyginus, sirens were fated to live only until the mortals who heard their songs were able to pass by them. There have been a few myths featuring the sirens.

The term "siren song" refers to an appeal that is hard to resist but that, if heeded, will lead to a bad conclusion. It was also said that they sang to the soul and not the flesh making it easier to call people to them.

According to Ovid, the Sirens were the companions of young Persephone. They were given wings by Demeter to search for Persephone when she was abducted. However, the Fabulae of Hyginus has Demeter cursing the Sirens to forever be half bird half women for failing to intervene in the abduction of Persephone, although some say that it was a reward asked by the sirens to be turned so.

There is one so-called "Siren of Canosa" from Italy was said to accompany the dead among grave goods in a burial. She appeared to have some psychopomp characteristics, guiding the dead on the after-life journey. The cast terracotta figure bears traces of its original white pigment. The woman bears the feet, wings and tail of a bird. The sculpture is conserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Spain, in Madrid.

Although the sirens are pagan when Christianity came along they started to adopt them for their own image of bad temptation. The Early Christian euhemerist interuprited the myth of the sirens to be  they prostitutes who led travelers down to poverty and were said to impose shipwreck on them. They had wings and claws because Love flies and wounds. They are said to have stayed in the waves because a wave created Venus.

Their number is variously reported as between two and five:

 Aglaope, Peisinoe, Thelxiope and Molpe all daughters of Achelous and Melpomene

 Leucosia  Her name was given to the island opposite to the Sirenuss cape. Her body was found on the shore of Poseidonia.

 Ligeia She was found ashore of Terine in Bruttium.

Parthenope  Her tomb was presented in Naples and called "constraction of sirens" 

Sirens weren't the only ones in the world with this profession the theme of perilous mythical female creatures seeking to seduce men with their beautiful singing is repeated in the Danish ballad known as "Elvehøj", in which the singers are Elves.

The Naiads.

While researching the merfolk I came across many different sea myth creatures (a lot of which I knew about already), so I thought I would explore the water world a bit more ...

The naiads (Ancient Greek: Ναϊάδες) are where a fresh water nymph, living in rivers, fountains, lakes, springs and marshes. They were immortal (although some sources say they where on long lived), minor divinities who were invited to attend the assemblies of the gods on Mount Olympus.

 The naiads weren't bound to their rivers or lakes, the Greeks believed that all the water of the world was connected by deep rivers under the earth, so although their spirits where bound to their springs they could move around, but if their water source dried up then they would die too.

They, along with Artemis, where seen as the divine nurses of the young, and the protectors of girls and maidens, overseeing their safe passage into adulthood.They were often the object of archaic local cults, worshipped as essential to humans. Boys and girls at coming-of-age ceremonies dedicated their childish locks to the local naiad of the spring. In places like Lerna their waters' ritual cleansings were credited with magical medical properties. Animals were ritually drowned there.  They where also known for telling the future and often foretelling humans their destiny.

Those who possessed waters with some special property (or which were believed to have some special property), often had proper cults and shrines established in their honour. Examples of these include the Anigrides of Elis whose waters were believed to cure disease, and the Nymphs of Helikon and Delphoi whose waters were thought to bestow poetical and prophetic inspiration respectively. They often gave their names to towns, cities and islands, and as such were most likely regarded as the goddess-protectors of the community's water supply.

The Naiades of the rivers and marshes were attendant-nymphai of their River-God fathers. A few of these Nymphai were called goddesses of their own small tributary river, but for the most part they were rarely mentioned as individuals or received cult status, not like the naiads of springs and fountains. Although they aren't necessarily goddesses they where the nurses of the other gods including Dionysos by the Lamides and Naxian Nymphs, and Hera by the Asterionides. Others were found in the retinues of gods, such as the Naiades Bakkhai in the train of Dionysos, and Artemis' band of Amnisiades.

Although they where seen as calm serine beings, just like water they could be dangerous, Hylas of the Argo's crew was lost when he was taken by naiads fascinated by his beauty. and extremely jealous.

There are different types of naiads and each one had their own names.
 Crinaeae (fountains)
Eleionomae (marshes)
Limnades or Limnatides (lakes)
Pegaeae (springs)
Potameides (rivers)

There are many tales of individual naiads, here are a few: Aba, Bateia, Creusa, Lara, Moria, Orseis, Polyxo and Tiasa.
 

The Merfolk.

Everyone knows about Mermaids, sea creatures that are half human half fish, the tales of the merfolk have always been around especially when us humans started exploring the open waters, but there's a lot more to them then sitting pretty on a rock, brushing their hair and singing.

 There are many different names for mermaids (mer meaning sea and maid is woman) it all depends on where you are in the world. The Irish is Merrow, Scottish go by Ceasg (although this is more for the fresh water folk) The Isle of Man calls them Ben-Varrey and the Philippine folklore goes by Sirena and Siyokay to name but a few.
 Contrary to the belief mermaids aren't just for the big blue but also like fresh water bodies like lakes like in European folklore tell of the fresh water mermaids called Melusine, sometimes depicted with 2 fish tails or sometimes a serpents tail (this is where Star Bucks gets it logo). But they can also be found in the odd swamp or bog.

The first every written down record of the merfolk was the ancient Babylonian god Oannes. He was often depicted as having a beard and crown and supporting the half human half fish body, but it is said that he had both a human and fish body so that he could live and blend better in both worlds.
 Mermen aren't as popular or as well known as their female counterparts but they sit have a foot hold in the lore.
 It depend where you go or what time period the stories are from on how the mermen acted or looked like, mostly they where to be said to be very ugly with big beards, tempremental and staying away from humans as much as possible, they could also sink a ship by calling on huge storms, they could also attack humans (when the mood so took them) by singing just like the mermaids.
 But in other places like Finland they where powerful and handsome, wise teachers and magic wielding they could also cure illness, lift curses and brew potions.
 The most well know merman has to be Triton, son of Poseidon and Amphritrite, neither of them where merfolk themselves but both could live on land and in the sea. He was also known as the trumpeter of the sea for his use of a conch shell.

The first female story to appear was in Assyria 1000BC. It was the goddess Atargatis, mother of the Assyrian queen Semiramis. The goddess was in love with a human sheppard but when she unintentionally killed him she jumped into the lake in shame and tried to take on the form of a fish, the water wouldn't conseal her divine beauty and so she became a mermaid. Although the first renditions of her was of  a fish with a human head and arms, similar to the Babylonian god Ea. The Greeks took her as Derketo. 

Normally mermaids are roughly the same across the board with few differences. 

 In British folklore they are a bad omen (as they generally are across the world) both foretelling disaster and provoking it. They would lure ships over by singing them onto the rocks or in passing telling the ships crew that they would never see land again. They were also a warning for rough weather ahead. Some people said they where monstrous creatures some being as big as 2000 feet (610 meters).

 China added on to say that their tears when shed would turn into pearls, and the Javanese people believe that the southern beach in Java is home to the mermaid queen Nyi Roro Kidul. 

A popular Greek legend turned Alexander the Great's sister, Thessalonike, into a mermaid after her death, living in the Aegean. She would ask the sailors on any ship she would encounter only one question: "Is King Alexander alive?" it would end badly if she was told he was no longer king.

 But there are places in Europe that they are seen as kind and helpful even trading with the villages along the coast.

 The stories had to come from some where and not only from the Gods that many people worshiped (and still worship several modern religions, including Hinduism and Candomblé (an Afro-Brazilian belief), worship mermaid goddesses to this day). There where many sightings of these very beautiful but dangerous creatures. 

In 1493, sailing off the coast of Hispaniola, Columbus reported seeing three "female forms" which "rose high out of the sea, but were not as beautiful as they are represented". Another story, from 1830 in Scotland, said that a young boy killed a mermaid by throwing rocks at it; the creature looked like a child of about 3 or 4, but had a salmon's tail instead of legs. The villagers are said to have buried it in a coffin, though there seems to be no historical evidence of this fishy tale. 

 Even Blackbeard an English pirate, records that he instructed his crew on several voyages to steer away from charted waters which he called "enchanted" for fear of merfolk or mermaids, which Blackbeard himself and members of his crew reported seeing.

Modern mermaid reports are very rare, but they do occur; for example, news reports in 2009 claimed that a mermaid had seen sighted off the coast of Israel in the town of Kiryat Yam. They even set a reward for proof that there was one. 

 There was also a fake documentary called Mermaid on Animal Planet that sent everyone into a spin thinking it was real.

 But where there are sightings there's going to be people who take advantage and make money from the masses. In the middle of the 17th century, John Tradescant the elder created a wunderkammer (called Tradescant's Ark) in which he displayed, among other things, a "mermaid's hand" and  in the 19th century, P. T. Barnum displayed a taxidermal hoax called the Fiji mermaid in his museum.

There are mean explanations for what people may be seeing out there, could there really be creatures in the depths or just sea things that look kind of like what the merfolk are. Many people have speculated and the ones that don't believe that they are real have come up with things that explain it and put it down the early men's minds not understanding what they saw, like Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps and marine wetlands. Sirenians, including manatees and dugongs, possess major aquatic adaptations: arms used for steering, a paddle used for propulsion, and remnants of hind limbs (legs) in the form of two small bones floating deep in the muscle. mariners before the mid-nineteenth century referred to them as mermaids.

Sirenomelia, also called "mermaid syndrome", is a rare congenital disorder in which a child is born with his or her legs fused together and small genitalia. This condition is about as rare as conjoined twins, affecting one out of every 100,000 live births[5] and is usually fatal within a day or two of birth because of kidney and bladder complications. Four survivors were known as of July 2003

Due to their vaguely anthropomorphic shape, dried skates have long been described as mermaids. Often their appearance is deliberately modified to make them look even more human.

In some of the legends of the Pacific Islands, it is said that human beings are descended from the merfolk. Somewhere along the way we developed legs and lost our tails, maybe that's why we have such a fascination with the ocean and what in it.

 But whether they are real or not the merfolk have a fascination of the mystical sea creatures with stories like Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, first published in 1837. In this version there isn't a happy ending (unlike the Disney adaptation). This sparked a huge interest and even got a world-famous statue of the Little Mermaid, in Copenhagen, Denmark since August 1913, with copies in 13 other locations around the world – almost half of them in North America.

 Some places even believed that we are descended from the merfolk but at some point along the way lost our tails and the ability to live underwater, perhaps that's were our fascination with the ocean and the creatures that live in it came from.