Selkie Not to be confused with "selfie," our number
eight pick is the mysterious Irish Selkie. These seal-women are the ultimate shape-shifters.
While swimming in the ocean, they are clad in seal skins, but these bathing beauties
have the neat trick of peeling off their outer skin to reveal their gorgeous human forms
when they come ashore.
Selkies aren't dangerous in and of themselves, unlike many of the creatures on this list,
but their stories almost end in tragedy. When the Selkies come ashore, they are all woman,
and the dry land folk will inevitably fall in love with them, stealing their seal skins
and trying to tame the wild sea lasses. In some stories, the Selkies are taken prisoner
by these love-lorn guys. In others, they go willingly, but the stories always end the
same way. The Selkie will long for sea and finally stumble across her seal-skin to return
to the waves, often leaving behind children.
Our next pick isn't content with just traveling between the dry and wet worlds… she wants
to steal land lovers for her very own.
Iara
Number seven: Iara. Iara is the Brazilian beauty nicknamed "Lady of the Waters," whose
half-woman, half-snake appearance is both dazzling and terrifying. She loves basking
in the warm waters of the Amazon River, and always had the hots for the two-legged creatures
who are unfortunate enough to cross paths with her. See, poor Iara just wants to have
a boyfriend like everyone else. She just has a taste for the moral kind!
Iara isn't a malicious mermaid: just was a starry-eyed romantic who can't seem to grasp
the concept of mortality. An immortal herself, Iara just loves to pluck handsome fellas from
the banks of the Amazon and drag them to her underwater lair. She never did quite understand
why they sputtered and flailed on their way down, drowning before she was able to steal
even one kiss. Poor Iara never saw the connection and still doesn't.
Mami Wata
Our number six pick has a jealous side that just can't be contained. Mami Wata is an African
goddess with several tricky underwater dwelling followers who will often sneak on shore to
collect human sacrifices. Mami Wata is totally insatiable, and her bloodlust is only eclipsed
by extreme jealousy.
She is endlessly envious of human women, often slaughtering them, disfiguring them, or rendering
them barren. The men who shunned her got the same fate! Those unlucky souls who found themselves
between the watery sheets with Mami Wata were forced to show eternal devotion or die horribly.
Still, Mami Wata has got nothing on our next pick!
Finfolk
Number five: Finfolk. Finfolk are the United Kingdom's most notorious shape-shifters: a
shifty collection of nomadic sorcerers who make the ocean their domain- and punish anyone
who got too close.
Finfolk are slippery nomads with a deep love of silver, and an even deeper hatred of the
human world. They commonly kidnap humans, making them sex-slaves in their underwater
kingdom. Finfolk are also known for ambushing human settlements, especially those that come
a little bit too close to the shores!
Unlike Selkies, Finfolk have no problem raining down magical fire on the humans who crossed
them… which unfortunately for the folks of the UK is pretty much everyone.
Sirens
You've heard the name of our number four pick, but you probably don't know the extent that
these evil sea witches will go to when they want to punish humans. Sirens are popular
creatures in mythology, and even said to have a certain sex appeal, but there's nothing
sexy about these half-bird/half-female demons of the deep.
Unlike most mer-creatures, Sirens spend most of their time hanging around jagged rocks
and luring sailors to their deaths with their beautiful bird-song and a little flirtatious
waving. The sole job of a Siren is to shatter ships on the rocks: splintering them to smithereens
like so much matchwood! While the other monstrous mermaids on our list cause heartache and death,
none of them so far does it with the sadistic zeal of Sirens. Not yet at least...
Nure-onna
Number three: Nure-onna. If you're looking for benevolent mermaids that accidentally
drown a sailor or two, you're way out of your depth. Nure-onna is nightmare fuel: a Japanese
mermaid myth that puts a horrific spin on the creature by adding a huge pair of fangs.
That's right: Nure-onna has the body of a massive snake and the face of a beautiful
woman… that is until you catch sight of her giant, pointed chompers. Nure-onna adds
another element to the sadistic seduction of the Sirens by luring people into her clutches
by pretending to be a mother in distress.
Nure-onna tucks her coils up and cradles a decoy baby in her arms. When well-wishers
stop by to see what's up, Nure-onna knocks them to the ground and pierces their flesh
with her tongue, slowly draining their blood until they are lifeless.
Storm Kelpies
It gets worse from here, as our number two pick proves! Storm Kelpies might sound cute
and cuddly, but they're actually cannibalistic hunters who often lure humans into their lair
and feast on their drowning bodies.
Also known as the Blue Men of the Minch, Storm Kelpies will sometimes let humans pass if
they can pass a rhyming duel. That's right- you'll need to win the ultimate rap battle
if you're unlucky to cross paths with the Storm Kelpies. There's a good chance that
you'll fail miserably, though. Humans don't have a good track record with these blue-hued
monsters of the waves, but at least they stand a chance. If you cross the next monster on
our list, you're done for- no question.
Keto What could be worse than a cannibalistic wordsmith?
Our number one pick is Keto, and she is not to be trifled with. Keto is the goddess of
sea-monsters, and she loves nothing more than terrifying and killing humans in all sorts
of inventive ways!
Keto's claim to fame is giving birth to all sorts of hideous sea monsters to fill her
underwater freak show. From massive vipers, huge crabs that snack on boats full of unfortunate
sailors, or snakes with hundreds of heads, Keto's entire life's mission is to make the
human world as miserable as possible! Unfortunately, she's immortal so it just goes on, and on,
and on…
Unlike Poseidon, who would throw the occasional divine fit over being ignored, Keto never
wanted human reverence. She is only out for blood, dreaming up more underseas terrors
designed to make any sane land dweller stay the hell out of the ocean for good! Keto is
the worst of the worst: a soulless sadist without a compassionate bone in her fishy
human body!
Do you believe in Sirens and Mermaids? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for
watching and don’t forget to subscribe to What Lurks Below!