Blog Post #1

 Cryptids have always been fascinating to me, growing up in Jersey I've always heard tales of the Jersey Devil, and being a Twilight fan I came to know what the Lochness monster was. As interesting as each of them are, and through the second lecture, I’ve been inspired to delve deeper into the thought of mermaids.”The Little Mermaid” first introduced me to mermaids at a young age, and I frequented Ripley’s believe it or Not to stare at the real life body of a mermaid they claimed to have. Under the category of cryptozoology I believe mermaids fit, maybe not being as scary as the others the myth of mermaids has and always will be so interesting to me. A mermaid is a creature found in the ocean, the upper half being a female human and the bottom being a large fishtail. They’ve been in folklore stories for centuries, and the story behind them being heavily influenced on Greek mythology. One of the first stories, and notably most famous, is Christopher Columbus spotting mermaids while sailing the Caribbean. Ultimately debunked to be manatees, mermaid sightings are still quite prevalent. Many know mermaids as sirens too, who lure men in with their enchanting songs. Many believe they are naturally violent creatures, but till this day there is no solid proof of mermaids once existing. I’m a firm believer something like a mermaid is out there, and I know I am not the only one.