Mermaids in ASOIAF.

[ARYa_Nym]

Oooh, thank you for presenting more mentions of the word mermaid though; it's all helping to cement my belief that in this world, somewhere, they exist, or at least have existed in the ancient past. But magic is awakening, so who's to say whatever is lurking in the deep doesn't awaken too?

/getting carried away now.

Sure.

I also mentioned rusalkas if you want a reference other than sirens.

In Slavic mythology, a rusalka (plural: rusalki or rusalky) is a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelt in a waterway...

The ghostly version is the soul of a young woman who had died in or near a river or a lake and came back to haunt that waterway. This undead rusalka is not invariably malevolent, and will be allowed to die in peace if her death is avenged.

The rusalka are slim with long, loose hair, blazing eyes and magnificent breasts. Their hair may be light brown, blond or green. They can assume the form of a fish or have legs like a human. In the latter form, they haunt the forests, dance with the moon and swing from the branches of trees.

According to most traditions, the rusalki were fish-women, who lived at the bottom of rivers. In the middle of the night, they would walk out to the bank and dance in meadows. If they saw handsome men, they would fascinate them with songs and dancing, mesmerize them, then lead them away to the river floor to their death.

[Mrs.Grumpy]

There's too much magical race in Westeros.

But I'm totally okay with that if they live on Ulthos and its around. I like the ones who drag sailors down to their death !

Merling is a better name than mermaid.

[Theda Baratheon]

Oooh thanks. I always love new folklore/mythology. I run a mythology blog here: (looking through it now there are quite a few depictions of mermaids/sirens).

And I love all the Siren/Mermaid myths (going to agree with the Prince of Thorns, I really like the name 'merling')

There are many myths concerning sirens and mermaids.

• Rhinemaidens
  
• Faeries leading men astray into Faery Kingdoms.
  
• OCEANID
  [noun]
  in Greek mythology and, later, Roman mythology, the Oceanids (Ancient Greek: Ὠκεανίδες, pl. of Ὠκεανίς) were the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. Each was the patroness of a particular spring, river, sea, lake, pond, pasture, flower or cloud. Some of them were closely associated with the Titan gods (such as Calypso, Clymene, Asia, Electra) or personified abstract concepts (Tyche, Peitho).
  
• ''Sirens, in greek Mythology were said to live on Islands surrounded by rocks, they were portrayed as seductresses. The crew of ships, who passed these Siren inhabited Islands would hear the enchanting song, and crash on the rocks.
  
• ''In Mythology, a selkie, is an aquatic creature that can become human by taking off their seal skin. And they can return to sea, by putting the seal skin back on. They are often associated with tragedy as a Selkie can only visit a particular human for a short amount of time, then they can not visit them for another seven years, unless the human steals, hides, or burns their seal skin, preventing the Selkie from ever returning to the Sea.''
  
• ''Korrigans. Also known as: Corrigans, Loathly Ladies.
  The Korrigans are often first encountered in the vicinity of Megalithic monuments, ancient tree groves, wells and springs - mainly in Brittany and Cornwall, but localised across the rest of Britain and Ireland. By night, or in private company, this feminine Fay breed would appear as women so beautiful that they could turn the head and heart of any mortal man; by day or in public view, however, they would appear as hideous old Crones. This would likely prove a troublesome quandary for any man who had fallen in love with only the beautiful aspect, or for those who had not perhaps even glimpsed on the horrid alter-ego until the morning after their wedding. Often this dilemma could test true love against lust or prestige. The French-Celtic Bretons believed that the Korrigans were originally Druidesses or Heathen Princesses who had been cursed by early Saints for refusing to give up the Old Religion.'
  
• The Alkonost is, according to Russian folklore, a creature with the body of a bird but the head of a beautiful woman. It makes sounds that are amazingly beautiful, and those who hear these sounds forget everything they know and want nothing more ever again, rather like the sirens of Greek myth. The alkonost lays her eggs on a beach and then rolls them into the sea. When the alkonost’s eggs hatch, a thunderstorm sets in and the sea becomes so rough that it is untravelable. The name of the alkonost came from a Greek demigoddess whose name was Alcyone. In Greek mythology, Alcyone was transformed by the gods into a kingfisher.
  

But GRRM does take some elements of myth, so it dosn't seem far-fetched to me to have a creature akin to these myths in this magical world of his, existing somewhere.

[Theda Baratheon]

Took me ages to edit that damn post, but ya ^

[Theda Baratheon]

There's too much magical race in Westeros.

But I'm totally okay with that if they live on Ulthos and its around. I like the ones who drag sailors down to their death !

Merling is a better name than mermaid.

I do really like this. A very mysterious place that we don't know much about.

[Angmar]

I read somewhere that even the earlier mermaids bore resemblance to the harpy: head of a woman body of a bird (specifically a chicken?)...I'm not sure if this is correct or not though.

[Theda Baratheon]

I read somewhere that even the earlier mermaids bore resemblance to the harpy: head of a woman body of a bird (specifically a chicken?)...I'm not sure if this is correct or not though.

Perhaps so, I can definitely see a lot of folklore being inspired by or similar to Ancient Greek Myth.

Harpies, in some depictions, are actually very beautiful with the body of a bird. Although, I can't remember if it's a specific bird.

[ARYa_Nym]

There's also a thing called squisher which would be another water creature.

"The Squishers are monsters from Crackclaw point that steal children and eat them. They look like men from a distance, but are really fish and men hybrids, with rows of sharp, green teeth."

“Monsters,” Nimble Dick said, with relish. “They look like men till you get close, but their heads is too big, and

they got scales where a proper man’s got hair. Fish-belly white they are, with webs between their fingers. They’re

always damp and fishy-smelling, but behind these blubbery lips they got rows of green teeth sharp as needles.

Some say the First Men killed them all, but don’t you believe it. They come by night and steal bad little children,

padding along on them webbed feet with a little squish squish sound. The girls they keep to breed with, but the

boys they eat, tearing at them with those sharp green teeth.”

Another reference.

“My brother Balon made us great again, which earned the Storm God’s wrath. He feasts now in the

Drowned God’s watery halls, with mermaids to attend his every want.

[Theda Baratheon]

Oooh, yeah I remember poor old Nimble Dick's Squishers reference; again, very much a creature similar sounding to a Faerie/Sprite just a water creature instead.

[Theda Baratheon]

I'm pleased so many people have posted in this anyway. ^_^

[bogdevil]

the squishers sound a lot like Dagon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagon), at least the character in the Micheal Scott series.

[Theda Baratheon]

They sound a lot like some other creatures in myth that I can't really remember now; probably some celtic faery/sprite creature.

[eggs]

"The lord fingered the ribbon, frowning at the seals. He was an ugly man, big fleshy, with an oarsman's thick shoulders and no neck. Course grey stubble, going white in patches covered his cheeks and chin. Above a massive shielf of brow he was bald. His nose was lumpy and red with broken veins, his lips thick, and he had a short of webbing between the three middle fingers of his right hand. Davos had heard that some of the lords of the Three Sisters had webbed hands and feet, but had always put that down as just another sailor's story".

There's another. I'll try and find it.

thats good enough for me. I do doubt that we'll ever see them unless the drowned god wakes up.

[Theda Baratheon]

How cool would it be if the Drowned God is a kraken/cthulu type creature attended my mermaids.

But yes, I definitely like to think they do exist in the Universe, just that we'll never see them.

[eggs]

But yes, I definitely like to think they do exist in the Universe, just that we'll never see them.

why not? Its looking like a magic war is about to break out. seems like perfect timing to get some glimpse or confirmation.

[Wynter Manderly]

i'd like to know if mermaids exist in asoiaf too, but i'm a little wary since there was a story about an arryn lord with wings, which probably was an exaggeration.

And there is the legend of storm's end, about Duran marrying Elenei, the daughter of the sea god and the goddess of the wind. Again could be a legend but Mel did confirm that storm's end's wall had a defense against magic, so who knows.

though the difference with the arryn lord at the merfolk, is that merfolk seems to be universal. as shown by the dornish' wife.

I thought there was some theory about the unicorn just being a man with a horn on his helm or the sigil of a unicorn (House Brax).

i thought someone said that there are unicorns in skaggos? and i don't know where i read it or if i did but unicorns in asoiaf are more like goats with one horn than horses.

[Osefiwin]

Sounds like this thread was a way better place to post what I posted there : http://asoiaf.wester...00#entry4033089

Sorry I didn't look more accurately.

Also surprised no one else linked the original from Nightflyer to this thread yet^^

[Theda Baratheon]

Yes, Unicorns are said to reside on Skagos.

And to eggs; I would truly love to see some mermaids appearing what with the emergence of magic, imagine some of Victarion's fleet being distracted by Sirens near the suspicious islands they're sailing past, dragging them on to the rocks.

[Theda Baratheon]

Sounds like this thread was a way better place to post what I posted there : http://asoiaf.wester...00#entry4033089

Sorry I didn't look more accurately.

Also surprised no one else linked the original from Nightflyer to this thread yet^^

Oh wow, thanks for these links, they seem great! gonna have a read now.

[Theda Baratheon]

I just know I can't be the only one who would fucking love for them to pop up. Imagine Wight type creatures below the sea (dead things in the water). I know it's crackpot and I don't believe it myself but I do think they exist in the Universe and I've seen somewhere, someone equated Patchface with a Squisher (see above for what they are). They are the strange creatures that Nimble Dick tells Brienne about (even though many just disregard them as silly folklore) but a lot of things are possible in this world.

I had never thought of Biter being anything other than human (which to be honest, I think he is) but that is a really cool point to make.