The Human Salmon

 If the story is to believed, fishermen once told how they captured more than they bargained for in their fishing net which would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Back in 1737 on Thursday, November 10, fishermen in Exeter were startled as they drew in a net and “a creature of a human shape, having two legs, leaped out of the net and ran away”.

Once they caught up with the mysterious being they noticed that it was dying and that it groaned like a human.

They said: “Its feet were webbed like a duck’s, and it had eyes, nose, and mouth resembling those of a man.”

They described it as having a tail like a salmon and it was around four feet high.

Skipping forward nearly a century to 1823, but still in Exeter, the River Ex played host to an alleged mermaid appearance, and there were supposedly multiple sightings.

Just like that of 1737, it had “two legs placed below the waist” yet there were also hints of animalistic features.

The sightings said “it bore from the waist downwards a resemblance to a salmon”, despite having the previously mentioned human legs.

The human salmon

A letter from Derby Mercury in November 1737 claims that some fishermen near Exeter caught a creature which had two legs, lept out of the net and ran away. Exeter Memories claims the fishermen could not catch up with it after throwing sticks at it, but eventually found it, and it was dying.

It groaned like a human and its feet were webbed like duck's, had Eyes, Nose and Mouth resembling those of a Man, only the Nose some what depressed, it had a Tail not unlike that of a Salmon, and was four feet tall.