Rusalka (Water Nymph)

A rusalka is a female spirit akin to the Celtic mermaids or the Greek sirens. They are beautiful young women who dwell in bodies of water and enjoy enticing men.They are prominent in Ukrainian mythology. These are restless wandering spirits, of young maidens with long flowing hair, luminous skin and an ethereal quality often associated with water in rivers, lakes and streams. They beautiful songs would lure men into the water to drown. These spirits were not purely malevolent, they were also symbols of fertility.