Get Monster Journal Entry #9 - Merfolk Today!
Illustrated by Joao Gabriel.
Hey guys!
I am happy to bring you Entry #9 of the Monster Hunter Journal -- Merfolk!
The Merfolk presented here are a bit more monstrous than the mermaids or mermen of legend and myth. While it is possible a drunk fisherman may have described glimpsing a beautiful woman beneath the waves, it would be difficult to perpetuate the story with an up-close and personal meeting with the real thing.
Origins of these type of creatures can be found in a variety of civilizations, the oldest of which comes from the Near East, particularly the figure of Atargatis, a Syrian goddess associated with water and fertility who was represented in Greco-Roman antiquity with a human upper body and fish-like lower body.
The Greek world supplied several aquatic humanoid figures, including Triton and the Nereids, though these aren't nearly as hostile or monstrous as we might have painted the creatures pictured above. Triton was a divine messenger and the Nereids are sea nymphs, though still a classic "human-shaped inhabitant of the sea" from antiquity.
The Irish "merrow" is probably one of the best real-world ancestors to this type of creature, as they weren't simply an attractive woman with a fish tail. In Irish tradition, its appearance is connected with the dangerous unpredictability of the sea. Female merrows were described as beautiful, while male merrows were much more grotesque, with green hair and teeth and red noses.
The creature we recognize in TTRPG's today was published in D&D's original (1st Edition) Monster Manual in 1977, though there have been several iterations over the years across both RPG's, board games and movies (i.e. Harry Potter and the Black Lake). One can certainly draw from whichever background suits their narrative the most, whether it be the traditional mermaid wishing to be Part of your World, or the more monstrous creatures trying to drown teenagers in the school lake.
“The fishermen do not like to see them, for it always means coming gales.”
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