In fact, Karen Kay, 60, from Truro, Cornwall, gets close to them with a ritual bath where she adds a handful of sand to the tub, before placing mermaid figurines, soaps, shells and candles around her.

The Little Mermaid shuddered, ‘Just tell me what I have to do.’ ‘You must drink this potion,’ said the witch, ‘and then your tail will turn into human legs, but every step you take on ...

As the play developed, mermaids entered the picture, because once my 7-year-old self realized I wasn’t going to be able to magically transform into a whale or a dolphin, mermaid was the closest ...

The mermaid has been a cinematic staple since ... those incredible live-action feats of underwater acrobatics and turn them into something even more spectacular through animation.” ...