Among the Mermaids: Facts, Myths, and Enchantments from the Sirens of the Sea

From Homer’s Odyssey to Pirates of the Caribbean, Mermaids have fascinated popular culture for centuries.

Among the Mermaids is an enchanting collection of classic stories, facts, and tales of mermaids from around the world that will thrill every lover of this romanticized mythological creature.

Compiled by Book of the Bizarre author and Magical Creature devotee Varla Ventura, Among the Mermaids includes turn of the century tales of merfolk from Bret Harte, T. Crofton Croker, and W.B. Yeats, along with tantalizing trivia, facts, firsthand accounts, and speculations about mermaids in popular culture.

Some facts about the fluid and the fair from the book:

• Many people believe today that early explorer sightings of mermaids were manatees. (Scurvy + many days away from your lady = a blubbery creature looking supple and bodacious.)
• Blackbeard, the fierce and terrible pirate, was afraid of his crew being lured into a watery grave by mermaids, so he ordered his ships to avoid certain areas reputed to have a high number of mermaid sightings.
• Since 2009, the town of Kiryat Yam, Israel has offered a prize of ＄1 million dollars to anyone who can prove the mermaid off their coast is real. The prize remains unclaimed.

Varla Ventura, author of Sheroes, Beyond Bizarre, and The Book of the Bizarre, and is a lover of all things odd and unusual and truly freaky. Her favorite holiday is Halloween, which she celebrates almost every day. She lives in the attic of an old Victorian in San Francisco.