A writer could spend their whole career focusing on nothing but the ocean. It’s a literal vast pool of fantasy, sci-fi or horror material. Anything from the murky, sunless depths to alien, needle-toothed sea creatures can be spun into pure nightmare fodder. Personally, I’m fascinated by sharks (who isn’t?), but if they aren’t your thing the ocean has jellies, whales, eels, squids and enough unexplored territory that if the kraken snagged you, your body would never be found.

Some of the creatures of the deep appear to be so strange, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet as us. But they’re down there in the dark… Lurking. Waiting. There’s danger behind the crest of every wave: shipwrecks, drownings, shark attacks and perilous storms.

Maybe your characters are oceanographers or researchers. Pirates or sailors? Maybe just spring breakers out for a cruise, à la Jaws. Whatever their reason for being on the ocean, getting there is only the start of their journey. The appeal of the ocean is partly in the unknown, and you can let your imagination run absolutely wild with that. However, if you want a jumping off point, there is so much material to draw from.

Mermaids

Most often portrayed as being young and beautiful, mermaids and mermen have a human torso from the waist up while their lower half is a scaled fishtail. They have been described as compassionate in some myths, sometimes even aiding human travelers, and dangerously cruel in others.

The Siren, by John William Waterhouse (c. 1900), depicted as a fish-chimera, via Wikipedia.

A close sister of the mermaid is the siren. Originating from Greek mythology, sirens were portrayed as beautiful, seductive women whose unearthly songs lured sailors to their death. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus has his crew tie him to the ship’s mast while the rest of the men muffle their hearing. As they pass the sirens, Odysseus is nearly driven mad by their songs. If not for the ropes that bound him, he would have flung himself into the sea to drown.

Sea witches

A sea witch was believed to be a witch who had control over the waves, tides and storms, and would wield her powers either in favor or in punishment of sailors and other seafaring creatures. In Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, the sea witch grants the Little Mermaid human legs in exchange for her voice. The sea witch’s powers are strong, but her gifts come at a steep price – she’s not giving out any freebies. The Little Mermaid’s tongue is cut off and though she is given legs and feet, she constantly feels as though she’s walking on broken glass.

Good luck to your characters if they double-cross a sea witch.

The Kraken

Imaginary view of a gigantic octopus seizing a ship, via Wikipedia.

The legendary kraken appears as a giant octopus or squid – and likely originated from sailors who caught a glimpse of the real-life animals. The kraken was originally said to lurk off the Nordic coasts, but has since been portrayed in popular fiction as inhabiting other parts of the ocean. In art, the kraken is often shown snapping ship masts like toothpicks and dragging the splintered hulls to the bottom of the ocean. Obviously this scenario doesn’t end well for the sailors.

The kraken represents the ocean’s raw, unrestrained power. You can’t reason with a kraken or beg it to be merciful. The best its victims can do is throw everything they have at the monster before it drags them under. However, if your story is set in modern times, your characters may be better equipped to fight the beast. If you’ve played the Gears of War video games, you may remember a fight involving a large sea monster in which you throw grenades into its gaping maw. An example of modern weaponry at its finest.

One valuable deep sea database I’ve found is The Depths Below on Reddit. The community describes itself as “a subreddit dedicated to showcasing the strange, creepy, and horrifying things that exist just below the surface of the water.” Perfect, right?

Yes, people post some amazing content on this subreddit and it is worth a browse – but visitors beware, Reddit is a double-edged sword. It can be a shortcut to finding the best of the internet, but it can also be a black hole. You may sit down to get some writing done, switch tabs to research something on Reddit, and whomp, three hours have passed and there’s not a word on your page. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.