Exactly what the title says it is.
This is adapted from Monsters and Villains of the Movies and Literature by Gerrie McCall, Dragons: Fearsome Monsters from Myth and Fiction by Gerrie McCall, and Mythical Monsters by Chris McNab.
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HAIR: These flowing locks are a mermaid's pride and joy. She spends many hours gazing in a silver mirror, combing through the lustrous strands.
SKIN: A mermaid's flawless skin seems pale and translucent in water, and may have a greenish tinge. UPPER BODY: Above the waist a mermaid looks like a beautiful woman. She is very attractive, especially to lonely sailors. LOWER BODY: Instead of legs, a mermaid sports a scaly tail like a fish, with a wide fin for powering through the water.
Merpeople are beautiful and elusive creatures, sometimes glimpsed lounging on coastal rocks or swimming through the ocean waves. The earliest stories of these semi-human sea creatures came from ancient Babylon, now in Iraq, about 7,000 years ago. They can also spell danger for those mariners who see them. Whenever they appear, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings follow close behind. Mermaids, for example, tempt ships onto rocks by bewitching the sailors with their great beauty and haunting songs.
A ship has been at sea for several months when the weary sailors find themselves in a sudden storm. As their vessel pitches and rolls, the men batten down the hatches and fight to keep their ship afloat, but soon they hear a haunting voice above the noise of the waves. Gradually, they forget their duties and crowd to side of the deck, straining to hear the beautiful sound- and the ship drifts inexorably toward some jagged rocks. Catching sight of an alluring female form, the sailors cry out. They seem oblivious to the danger, until the ship hits the rocks with a savage lurch that jolts several of them overboard. Struggling uselessly against the pounding surf, the last thing each sailor hears before he drowns is the evil mermaid laughing delightedly as the ship is torn apart.
DID YOU KNOW? Merpeople are said to hoard vast treasure troves of gold, jewels, and other valuables, which they gather from the hulks from the sunken ship wrecks.
In the 6th century, legend says a mermaid visited a monk on the remote island of Iona, Scotland, asking for a soul. When the monk demanded that she leave the sea for good, the mermaid left the island crying. Her tears turned into gray-green pebbles that can still be found on the beaches.
In 1961, the Isle of Man tourist board held a fishing competition where a prize was offered to anyone capturing a mermaid. No one claimed the prize, but there were many reported sightings.
