Oddity Profile: The Lake Huron Naiads

February 20, 2022 / adam benedict

Situated along the eastern portion of Michigan, thus creating the iconic mitten shaped shoreline the Wolverine State is most often known for, lies the second largest (by surface area) of the Five Sisters (AKA: the Great Lakes), Lake Huron. Originally explored by the French when they showed up in the early 1600s to begin setting up the operations of what would historically become known as the Great Lakes fur trade, the lake would officially be labeled as Karegnondi in 1656, a word within the Huron peoples language that roughly translates to “fresh-water sea.” Eventually, as time progressed, this labeling would evolve into Lac des Hurons, or Lake of the Hurons on updated maps of the ever growing area. But because time never stops and things continuously get altered and updated, the name was eventually shortened to its final version that we all know and love today, Lake Huron.

Clocking in with a staggering 3,830 miles of shoreline, the largest amount of any of the Sisters, Lake Huron also has a maximum depth of 750 feet, measures 183 miles from north to south, 206 miles from east to west, contains more than 1,000+ shipwrecks, and has an almost unbelievable 30,000 islands within its interior. These numbers, when compared to all the other Great Lakes, means Lake Huron officially ranks in as the second largest by area, third largest by volume, and the only lake which is said to contain a few mythical Naiads. Not sure what those are? Well, let us put it in more of a commonly used term. Some people think that there are water nymphs living just below the surface of Lake Huron. That’s right, genuine female water spirits and companions of the gods themselves. And no, none of this made up.

Now, according to Greek mythology, Naiads (sometimes referred to as Hydriades) were a specific type of nymph that both dwelled within multiple fresh-water sources on earth and also took care of the water itself. Along with this, they were said to be the protectors of young girls, watching over them from child to adulthood. They were considered minor goddesses and because of this, they were allowed to attend gatherings held at Mount Olympus. Because of their association with the gods, and because each god represented a different aspect of life, there were just as many different classifications of nymph. A select few possible types of one may encounter back in the age of Greek mythology were sky nymphs, forest nymphs, flower nymphs, sea nymphs, meadow nymphs, and even underworld nymphs. Each was blessed with specific abilities that allowed them to hold power over their set boundary. An example of this would be that the water Naiads were said to inhabit was believed to possess healing properties.

Because the classification system for both the nymphs and Naiads were so extensive, we are going to forgo getting into any deep background or hierarchy within the ranks, but we implore you to look into their storied history as it is extremely fascinating. But, because we possess neither the time nor the academic degree to accurately break down the mythological history of the Naiads, we are just going to state that the particular type of Naiad we are focusing on here is called a Limnades/Limnatides. This is the specific type of water nymph/Naiad that was said to inhabit fresh-water lakes. These water nymphs were said to be the daughters of the Potamoi (river gods of Greece) and the nieces of Oceanus (god of the fresh-water river the ancient Greeks believed encircled the earth).

As with all the mythological nymphs, the Naiads were most often depicted as being extremely beautiful and graceful. They did their best to avoid humans, but if one were to be seen, they would typically be partaking in some sort of dance or game in their respective element. Unlike other nymphs though, Naiads were considered to be less than helpful towards humans, and easily angered by them. If they felt they had been wronged, it was not outside the realm of possibility that a Naiad would cause a human to become lost within a marsh, swamp, or other watery area. If wronged, a Naiad may go as far as to cause the human wrongdoer to die within their watery domain. More often than not, this was done by captivating a human with their beauty and causing them to enter the water in hopes of sexual intercourse. Once far enough away from the safety of dry land, the unfortunate victim would be left to drown.

While Naiads and other nymphs were regarded as minor deities, they did not get all the benefits of their more god-like counterparts. Often associated with having an extremely long lifespan, Naiads were not considered immortal creatures. In fact, their lifespan was directly associated with the body of water in which they were bound. As long as the stream, river, or lake in which they dwelled never dried up or stopped flowing, they would continue to live. But if something was to happen to their water source and it ended up going away, they would disappear with it. As long as the water in which they dwelled had no outright threat of ever going away, they would ultimately live forever. And what better body of water to make ones home within than a lake described as great.

The official story of the Lake Huron Naiads takes place within Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron. For those unfamiliar with the bay’s location, it is located where the thumb and the forefinger meet as part of Michigan’s mitten-like border. For those more in favor of having official locations presented in a more scientific manner, the bay’s location can be found in the east central portion of the states lower peninsula. According to the data, the bay covers 1,143 sq. miles and is noted as being much shallower and warmer than the rest of the lake. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century, the area surrounding the bay was largely inhabited by the Ojibwe people.

Now, before we begin to get into the meat of this story, we feel that we have to point out that this tale is very obscure. In fact, we only found one real source for its existence, and that source felt like it was missing a lot of vital information to say the least. So, while this tale is extremely interesting and unique compared to other strange stories told of the Great Lakes, we do want to point out that one should err on the side of caution before placing all their eggs into the believability basket moving forward. You have been warned.

The story begins in the 1960s and focuses on a young man named Sheridan. While out for a day of leisurely boating, Sheridan and his family decided to make their way towards Charity Island, the largest island within Lake Huron. After landing on shore, the family split up into pairs and went their own separate ways to walk the 3 miles of shoreline the uninhabited island possessed. As the pairs made their way into the distance, Sheridan found himself alone along the waters edge. With nothing to do but toss rocks and walk the shore, the young boy proceeded to lumber along without a care in the world. But after a few minutes, the boy realized he wasn’t as alone as he thought. For there, out in the water, were three beautiful young women, laughing and playing as if nobody else was around. They had long hair, fair skin, and from what Sheridan could tell, zero clothes.

The teenager stood on the shore of Charity Island and watched the three women with both curiosity and confusion. While it wasn’t out of the ordinary to find people enjoying the water during the warmer months of the year, what was strange is that neither Sheridan nor his other family members recalled seeing any other signs that anybody else was on the island during that particular time. Along with that, the adolescent never once found any signs along that shore (i.e. clothing) that indicated other people were there, but that they were currently in the water. It was as if they had just appeared in a moments notice and had zero intentions of ever coming out. The boy continued to watch as the women continued to splash, and while they paid no attention to him standing there on the shore, inside he hoped they would at least glance over once and acknowledge his presence.

Sheridan watched the three bathing beauties from what he believed to be a hidden spot up off the shore. Because he was a young teen who had found himself in an unbelievable situation, he wanted to soak it in for as long as possible, so from his vantage point he watched the mesmerizing women until the sun started to lower itself beyond the horizon. Knowing that he was to meet back up with his family soon, Sheridan started to make his way back towards the shoreline where he first witnessed the three women, but surprisingly they were no where to be found. There was no way they could have both exited the water and ran from the area in the time it took him to walk down towards the water, and they weren’t visible anywhere else within the water that he could see. For all he knew, they had legitimately disappeared into thin air. And while he was sad to see they had left, he was happy to know he would forever have the memory of what he had seen only a short time before.

As the giddy teenager made his way back towards the family boat, smiling from ear to ear with what he had seen, he noticed a fire burning in the distance. It appeared that his family was not yet ready to leave Charity Island, but instead opted to enjoy a nice bonfire on the shore and soak in the sounds of the lake at night. Excited to tell his family what he had the pleasure of witnessing in the water, Sheridan eagerly ran towards his relatives, but when he got the change to tell them all, the response he received was not the one he expected. The previously absent pairs who sat around the bonfire immediately broke into laughter and joked about what the young teen had seen. Some even went so far as to claim he had probably seen the ghosts of girls who had drowned in the lake from years long ago, because there was no way he had stumbled upon a situation like the one he was describing. Feeling ridiculed and like the butt of a cruel joke, Sheridan kept silent the rest of the night and instead kept his eyes focused on the dark water in hopes the mysterious girls would show up once again.

After that first time seeing the strange ladies in the water, Sheridan would often see them again each time his family ventured out onto the lake, but due to his experience after telling them what he saw the first time, he kept each additional sighting to himself. It wasn’t long after his second or third sighting that the young boy realized that something about the women wasn’t normal. He never saw them out of the water, and they never paid much attention to him or anyone else in their vicinity either. It was almost like nobody else could see them but him and vice versa. Whatever their nature or origin though, the keen eyed young teen would continue to watch them whenever he found where they were at in the water.

As the years went by, eventually Sheridan stopped going out into Lake Huron with his family and instead chose to do so himself. He was no stranger to captaining a boat, and he was more than familiar with the best island locations within the lake, but what got him back onto the water each and every time wasn’t the allure of the open inland sea, but rather it was the nagging desire to lay his eyes on the three women again and again and again. He was drawn to them like a flea to a light, and the strange fact that they never appeared to get any older even though he continued to do so with the passing of every month just made them seem that more alluring. It was as if they held some strange power over him that he had no chance of ever warding off, and if you asked him, that was quite alright.

Eventually, the amount in which he saw all three water women together began to change. What started out as a trio would occasionally be witnessed as a duo, and even more so than that, he would often times now just see one of the women in the water. She never appeared lonely, but rather always in her element. She never spoke, but often hummed a unique melody. She was the one who was always there, and because of that, she was the one he always wanted to see. She was his favorite, and he could not stop thinking about her.

The desire to see this one particular lake beauty started to grow so strong that nearly every day he would search for her. Any spot where he could see the water, he would actively scan about the surface in hopes of seeing her mesmerizing form. Some days he was able to find her, but on others she would not appear, and Sheridan stated that these moments in particular would ruin his entire day. He could feel himself moving past lustful desire and into pure obsession. She was all he could think about and he needed to be with her, even if it was only achievable by watching from the shore.

One time, during one of his spying sessions in which he watched the beauties while obscured on land, an old man approached him and asked him what he was doing. Scared that he was about to be ridiculed and chastised, he quickly claimed that he was just watching the water and nothing more. But when the old man asked him if he was watching the women out in the water, his nervousness quickly turned to shock, because he never knew that anyone else could see these three secrets of his. When he asked the old man who these women were and why he had such a strong desire to watch them all the time, the knowledgeable stranger told him everything he knew. What Sheridan learned that day was unlike anything he had heard before.

The old man proceeded to tell the young man that what he had be looking at were water nymphs. He told him about the legends surrounding these young beauties and how they delighted in “messing” with both the mind and will-power of the unsuspecting man who happens to catch a glimpse of them. He also told him about how he first witnessed them back when he was only a young man as well, and that for the decades that followed, he would continue to see them. Even though he aged considerably, they never lost their youthful appearance. He claimed that they posed no harm to those that only watched them, but an unfortunate end would befall those who became obsessed. The desire to be with these women would grow so strong that they would eventually decide to venture out into the water to get up close and personal, but would instead meet death by drowning at their hand. Sheridan shuddered after hearing this, because he was beginning to know all to well what that overpowering desire felt like.

The old knowledgeable stranger spoke of how the water nymphs came and went with the warmer months, and how they always appeared close enough to shore to engage in their mischief and seduction, but far enough away that they were in no danger. When Sheridan asked how he knew all this stuff, the old man told him that after seeing them so many times in his youth, he began to study legends from other cultures which spoke about water beings similar to those which he was seeing. From what he could tell, these particular nymphs were half spirit and half “human,” which resulted in an unnaturally long life where they could interact with regular humans. Once that life ended though, they would transition into a state of pure energy which could manifest itself through various sights and sounds surrounding water. The young man wasn’t sure if any of this was true in the least, but the old man spoke with such conviction that he had no reason to doubt what he was saying was anything less than fact.

One item which the old man was very adamant about though, and made it a point to stress to Sheridan, was that he did not believe that these particular beauties were of Greek origin, but rather they were of the Nordic variety. More specifically than that, the old man believed these three water women were actually Nixie, shapeshifting water spirits present within both Germanic and Nordic folklore. The reason for his belief stems from the fact that the old man stated he had Scandinavian blood, so it’s a possibility that he was just linking his belief back to something he already knew from his ancestry. Whether or not these particular water nymphs (or naiads) were more closely related to those from Greek mythology or Nordic mythology is ultimately unknown.

As the two generationally divided strangers continued to talk, and as the clock continued to tick by, it wasn’t long before the wife of the old man came upon the two and urged him to hurry up so they could continue on their way. The old man had related everything he knew to the young man, and urged him to be mindful of his desires, but before he officially ended the conversation and left with his wife, he left him with one last piece of information. The old man it seemed had come across a particularly interesting procedure in which one could do to not only capture one of these water nymphs, but hold complete power over them until you decide to relinquish it. This, he thought, would be the perfect parting gift for Sheridan, a young man already on the cusp of giving it all up and just walking out into the lake.

According to the information provided by the old fellow, if one had a desire to capture a water nymph, they were to follow this exact procedure related to him by a Romany woman. You first must soak three wrought iron nails in the same water in which the nymph dwells. These nails must remain submerged the entire duration of one new moon to the next. After the specific length of time has passed, you remove the nails and drive them into a piece of driftwood removed from the same body of water. You place the newly nailed piece of wood on the shore at night and place some sort of shiny object on top of it. This can be anything from a coin to a piece of jewelry to fancy silverware. The desire to take the shiny object will be so strong that the water nymph will leave her aquatic dwelling to retrieve it, but upon touching said object, she will be trapped and completely under the spell of the one who started the “spell.” When one wants to break the spell, the nails must be removed from the driftwood and all four objects which were once combined must be tossed back into the water from which they came. After this, the nymph is free to go on her way.

After this, the story related by Sheridan jumps ahead to when he is an older man. He states that at some point between first seeing the water nymphs and and his current age, he has started seeing a mental health professional to help deal with his obsession. He never went so far as to venture into the water to see them, but he continued to watch them until the started showing up less and less. Eventually, he never saw them in person again, but he continues to think about them daily like he did in his youth. He claimed that the thought they could have transitioned over into their next form makes him unbelievably sad, but he has no other option but to manage the “spell” that had place upon him all those years ago. And not long after that the story ends, and we are left with nothing else regarding Sheridan and the three water nymphs who once dwelled within Lake Huron.

So is there any truth to this story? It is hard to say either for or against, because there are a bunch of historical things to consider as well as a bunch of human elements as well. First and foremost, this is not the only account which claims that mythical beings similar to merfolk dwell within the Great Lakes. In fact, many different cultures and people have claimed to see these exact beings in the waters of the five sisters throughout multiple points in history. Along with that, multiple different peoples all across the world have within their stories and legends tales which speak of various “things” which resemble humans but make their homes within the water. Are these proof enough that the story of Sheridan can be taken as fact? No, not by a long shot. But it is worth noting that many historians believe that the various legends involving water nymphs (and their geographic counterparts) can more than likely be traced back to a singular event or starting point which then multiplied and changed as people moved around the globe. Could there have been any truth to that first instance in which this story was told? That we will never know.

One possibility that must be taken into consideration is the possibility that Sheridan was suffering from some sort of mental illness that he first developed while in adolescence and continued to grow in severity as he got older. What he was seeing in the water could have been visual and auditory hallucinations manifesting in front of him, but he was unaware of what was occurring. This could explain the fact why nobody else was able to see these things which he wholeheartedly believed to be real, as well as give an answer as to why he could feel himself slipping into obsession, but was neither able to explain why it was occurring or why he couldn’t stop himself. He also went so far as to state that this entire event drove him to seek mental health treatment. Could this be the ultimate answer to the entire mysterious saga? Just like above, we will never know.

As we stated above before we got into the whole store, we warned you that trying to “solve” this mystery would be challenging, and we still stand by that. So instead of attempting to wrap up this who interesting tale with a nice little bow, we are going to instead leave you with this quote that we feel applies to this exact situation. Enjoy!

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” ― Albert Einstein

-The Pine Barrens Institute

Image Credit: “Lady of the Lake” — Vivian Ainsalu (Instagram: @vivianainsalu)

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