WATER NIXES, THE WATER-MAN AND HIS WIFE by Laketempest 2010/11/08 16:01
Story from Poland/Germany!

The water-man (Wendish wodny muz), also called the nix (Wendish nykus), as well as his spouse the water-woman (wodna zona), lives in the rivers, lakes, and ponds of Lusatia. He tempts passers-by to go bathing, in order to drown them. This he does to everyone who trespass into his domain while bathing. Blue spots on a drowned person's body are a sign that the nixes caused the drowning.

In appearance a nix cannot be distinguished from a human. On dry land he is powerless, and can be taken prisoner and forced into servitude. He produces children with his wife, and these interact with human children. They even associate with humans at dances and fall in love with pretty girls and young men. The daughter of a water-man can always be recognized by the wet hem on her skirt.

The water-man usually wears a red cap on his head, and the water-woman red stockings on her feet. Further, in the towns of Upper Lusatia it has been observed that if a man wearing a linen jacket with a wet bottom hem comes to the weekly market and buys grain at above the market price, then grain will become more expensive. However, if he sells grain at a better price than others, the price of grain will fall. This man is the water-man.

His wife is often seen sitting on a bank in her red stockings spinning or bleaching her laundry. In this last instance it means there will be rainy weather or high water. Just as the water-man bargains with grain, she bargains with butter, thus giving an indication of future prices.

In the region around Zittau during the moon's first and last quarters, the water-man sits on riverbanks where the water is slow and deep and makes no sound. His appearance is ugly, with a very pale face and long black hair that hangs down to his shoulders. He is dressed from head to foot in brownish-yellow leather that has been put together entirely from little scraps. By moonlight he counts them aloud, at the same time slapping his legs with his hands. He can be recognized by this sound.

Curiosity seekers and daredevils, lured by this sound, have seen him sitting there on an overhanging bank and have attempted to interrupt him by counting and clapping. He slipped into the murmuring water, and nothing happened to them, but then they had the unpleasant experience of hearing clapping and counting in front of their house every night. This continued until fear and anger finally caused them to join in with the counting, upon which they heard loud laughter, and were then no longer disturbed in their rest.