Mermaid legends can be found in all water-bordering areas of the globe. In these stories mermaids range from beautiful creatures that are human in appearance except for their lower halves which are almost always fishtails. Some of these sea-dwellers save drawing sailors while others lure them to their deaths. One cryptid from Slavic legends falls into the latter category. Rusalka, or vodyanoy (“she from the water”), has no tail. Rather she comes up from the water to capture those who carelessly venture too close to the water’s edge.These spirits come into being after violently drowning, whether by suicide or murder. According to wikipedia, “This undead rusalka is not invariably malevolent, and would be allowed to die in peace if her death is avenged. Her main purpose is, however, to lure young men, seduced by either her looks or her voice, into the depths of said waterways where she would entangle their feet with her long hair and submerge them. Her body would instantly become very slippery and not allow the victim to cling on to her body in order to reach the surface. She would then wait until the victim had drowned, or, on some occasions, tickle them to death, as she laughed.” Despite having no tails, the legend of the Rusalka clearly has affinity to that of mermaids around the world!