Following a plea, for interesting items of folklore, that we sent out to listeners during an interview we did on CKNW’s Nightline, B.C., Gloria, in Burnaby, very kindly sent us the following two articles on mermaids in the waters of our province.

To complement the articles, we searched the internet for interesting artwork and found the beautiful illustration on the left that was created by and is used with the generous permission of the American artist Darrell K. Sweet.

 

The Mermaid of Active Pass.

In 1967, BC Ferry passengers saw what they claimed to be a mermaid sitting on rocks at the entrance to Active Pass [outside Victoria, BC, Canada]. Reports indicated that the mermaid had long blonde hair, the lower body of a porpoise and was sitting on the rocks eating a salmon. Photos taken by a man in an aircraft support the ferry passengers’ description. The Times-Colonist newspaper reported the sighting and printed the photo. A copy of the newspaper report is available, but unfortunately none of the passengers who reportedly saw the mermaid are available for further comment.” TourismVictoria.

 

The Mermaid of Point Grey.

I cannot find the book where I originally read the following story but it is a locally published compilation of archival, black-and-white photos on Vancouver’s history. I remember seeing a photo of a newspaper clipping dated from 1870s or 1880s. It described how three local men went out fishing with an Indian guide. They were off Point Grey (the current place of the University of BC) when they saw a mermaid with yellow hair and brown skin rise her upper body above the surface and stare at them. She surfaced very close to the boat. The Indian was quite upset by the sighting and told the men that it was a bad omen as some time before another Indian saw a mermaid in Squamish River, north of Vancouver, and died soon after. The article concluded that there was no reason to disbelieve these gentlemen as they were well-respected around town.