FREAKY FRIDAY CREATURE FEATURE: MERMAIDS

​As soon as I decided to do a creature feature series, I knew I wanted to try to cover mermaids, because they seem to be one mythical creature that people actually believe are real.

​Everyone my age grew up seeing mermaids like Ariel: beautiful women who happen to have a tail. However, the supposed actual mermaids are a lot creepier looking than the ones from Disney.

“Real” mermaids still have a tail with scales much like a fish, but the upper parts of their bodies are more alien like. Their hands are most likely webbed to help them swim through the sea. Additionally, they probably aren’t as vibrantly colored as the cartoon mermaids we’ve come to know and love. Instead, they are usually darker colors like blue or brown. This would help them blend into the sea a little easier.

​​The history of mermaids was likely to originate from the Syrian goddess Atargatis. She looked like a mermaid and watched over the fertility and well-being of her people. Mermaids became a part of European mythologies, where sometimes they were portrayed as beautiful creatures and others, beasts that would drown men under the water.

Photo from "Mermaids: The Body Found" - Animal Planet

Photo from VoVita

Many associate mermaids with sirens. Sirens would lead sailors into dangerous waters using their music and songs.

As for the realisticness of mermaids today, there isn’t any scientific proof for them. I will say, though, as I did with the first installment of this series that there is much of the ocean we haven’t discovered yet.

I do believe that if mermaids exist, they probably look much more like an alien fish than the Little Mermaid. Nevertheless, looking at the strange pictures and supposed sighting videos of mermaids can be fun. Just remember that video can be heavily manipulated, and there could be an explanation for anything…but who knows, if it seems fishy, maybe it is the real deal!

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