Tradition: Dutch Mythology
Alternative Names: Watterswyn
Category: Pig

The Myth

The Watterswyn is a pig-like water spirit from the island of Schiermonnikoog in the Netherlands. According to local tradition, this dangerous creature lurked near the sea and threatened small children who ventured too close to the waves.

The Watterswyn was said to seize children who approached the water’s edge, making it a frightening figure associated with the dangers of the sea. Its story served as a warning to children to keep their distance from the waves and avoid wandering too close to the shoreline.

Sources

Van der Veen, Abe. “Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten.” Abe de Verteller.

Tradition: English Mythology, Dutch Mythology, French Mythology
Alternative Names: Pig-Faced Lady, Pig-Faced Woman
Category: Pig

The Myth

Pig-faced women are figures from a legend that emerged in the Netherlands, England, and France around the late 1630s. The stories describe wealthy women whose bodies are otherwise entirely human but whose faces resemble those of pigs. In the earliest versions, this strange appearance resulted from witchcraft rather than birth or natural causes.

The most familiar version tells of a pig-faced woman who marries a man. On their wedding day, her husband is offered a choice: she can appear beautiful to him but retain her pig-like face in the eyes of everyone else, or appear beautiful to everyone else while looking like a pig to him. When he leaves the decision to his wife, the enchantment is broken, and her human appearance is restored. The tale became particularly popular in England and later spread to Ireland, often presenting the breaking of the curse as a lesson about respect and personal choice.

Over time, the magical elements faded, and stories about pig-faced women increasingly circulated as claims about real people. In early nineteenth-century Dublin, rumours suggested that the reclusive philanthropist Griselda Steevens had hidden herself because she possessed a pig’s face. In London in late 1814 and early 1815, reports spread about a supposed pig-faced woman living in Marylebone, accompanied by alleged portraits that were published as evidence of her existence. Showmen also exhibited supposed pig-faced women at fairs, though some attractions may have involved shaved bears dressed in women’s clothing rather than actual people with unusual faces.

Belief in pig-faced women gradually declined, and the legend had largely disappeared from public attention by the twentieth century. One of the last significant works to present their existence as genuine appeared in 1924. The legend illustrates how a supernatural folktale could evolve into a widely circulated urban rumour, reinforced by sensational journalism and public entertainment.

Sources

“Pig-Faced Women.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 27, 2026.