This week on #creatureoftheweek we look at #JennyGreenteeth, the child-snatching water demon.
Who is Jenny Greenteeth?
The green-skinned river-hag is a terrifying creature from #Britishfolklore. She has long dark hair, sharp green teeth, long bony fingers and goes by many names. Jenny Greentheeth, Wicked Jenny, Ginny Greenteeth or Jeannie Greenteeth... whatever name you refer to her by, remember that she is VERY dangerous. She will lure you in to lake or pond where she lurks and pull you to it's depths. She is especially fond of drowning children and the elderly.
Where can you find her?
There have been many sightings of Jenny around Lancashire, Staffordshire, Liverpool and Cheshire, so be extra careful if you are young or old, live in these areas and are near water.
Watch out for pondweed and duckweed!
Wicked Jenny likes to hide in bodies of stagnant water covered in pondweed or duckweed. These weeds form a mat over the surface of the water which makes it misleading, especially for children, as it looks like a hard surface they can walk or run over. This is obviously not the case and if you slip into the lake, Jenny will grab your feet and pull you down.
Sound familiar?
You might have seen or read about her before. Jenny Greenteeth has featured in:
Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men where she attacks Tiffany and Wentworth near a shallow stream,
a number of Dungeons & Dragons adventure modules,
the poem Welsh Maiden by Joel Hayward,
and in the 1985 Ridley Scott film, Legend, the lake monster, Meg Mucklebones, is almost definitely based on her.
Is Jenny Greenteeth related to Peg Powler or Nelly Longarms?
#JennyGreenteeth, #PegPowler and #NellyLongarms are all very similar creatures in British Folklore. My guess would be that they are related, perhaps they are sisters and have each gone to terrorise different parts of the countryside. Jenny resides in stagnant water under dark weeds, Peg hides and waits beneath river trees and Nelly lurks at the bottom of wells and deeper rivers or lakes.
Be careful.
I would like to finish this week's #creatureoftheweek with a word of warning. If you are near water anywhere in Britain then Jenny or her sisters (or even the #grindylow which we haven't even discussed yet!) could get you.
Look out for dark weeds, yellow eyes that you might mistake for frogs eyes and moving lumps under the water. Keep an ear out too, she sings a haunting song. It'll be ever so quiet and you might mistake it for the wind, but it goes something like this...
"Come into the water and Bathe, my love
Come swim in the swirling pool
Down in the deep with the rocks and the bones
You'll swim with me now you fool..."
Have you encountered Jenny Greethteeth and managed to survive? Please feel free to comment and share your experiences below.
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