"East Anglia has many myths and legends. One is on the "Mere Wife" or Mere Wives who live, not in the sea, but in the many inland waterways, ponds and "meres" of the region. They were, and perhaps still are, responsible for the disappearance of many young people, especially boys, who are tempted to get too close to the waters edge. They may have inspired Grendel's Dam, the cannibalistic ogress in the Anglo Saxon "Beowulf", thought by many to have been originally written in East Anglia.
One poem from 1837 warns of their presence:
"Make haste and do your errand. Go not nigh
The River's bank, for there the meremaids lie.
Be home at five!" James Bird (born 1788)
The historic Suffolk market town of Bungay has not only the dangers of Mere Maids to contend with in the beautiful River Waveney but also the regular appearance of a malevolent and very large black dog known as Shuck. There will be more about him in my next posting here. He is expected to appear again around the start of August attracted no doubt by the festival bearing his name."
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