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In Germanic mythology, this feeling is reflected precisely by legends about aquatic spirits, which, by assuming various forms and manipulating via their outer appearance, beckon people into deep waters. In Scandinavian folklore, they are known by the name Nøkken. They are also memorably depicted in the works of the Norwegian painter and fairy tale illustrator, Theodor Kittelsen. In a turbid lake, whose surface is camouflaged with water lilies and the reflected silhouette of pine trees, one gets a fleeting glance of a strange foreign body. It has raised its head above water to the degree necessary to espy a holidaymaker or a girl out for a walk. It beguiles passers-by with its enchanting songs in order to subsequently drown them. Whereas in Greek mythology or Romantic Era operas, fantasies are propagated about beautiful water nymphs that spin the hero of the narrative some fateful insight; in Kittelsen’s paintings, water and the beings that reside there unequivocally induce fear and anxiety. Undoubtedly, because their intentions are crystal clear.
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