Maritime Terrors and Wonders

Normandy's extensive coastline, from the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel to the chalk cliffs of Étretat, generates its own distinct mythology. The English Channel (La Manche) has moods unknown to calmer seas, and those who make their living from its waters know that survival requires respect for forces beyond human control.

The Trou d'Enfer (Hell's Hole)

Near Étretat, where the famous chalk arch frames the sunset, lies a coastal formation known as the Trou d'Enfer. This "Hell's Hole" is a deep cavity in the cliffs that fills with each tide, creating a whirlpool effect that has claimed many lives. Local legend provides supernatural explanation for its hunger.

Long ago, a Norman lord loved a woman promised to the church. On the night before she was to take her vows, they attempted to flee by boat. God's wrath (or in older versions, the sea-god's fury at their sacrilege) opened the hole in the cliff, creating a whirlpool that swallowed their boat. Now the hole must claim one life each year, or the lovers' spirits will escape to wreak vengeance on the living.

Fishermen know the signs when Hell's Hole grows hungry: seabirds refuse to fly over it, the water turns an unnatural green, and on calm days, you can hear churchbells ringing from beneath the waves—the bells of the underwater cathedral where the lovers are forced to wed eternally, never to consummate their union.

Les Jetins

The Channel Islands, particularly Jersey (whose name some etymologists trace to "Caesarea" but folklore attributes to Norse "Jarls' Eye"), harbor their own fairy race: the jetins. These sea-sprites stand between mermaids and land fairies, equally comfortable in tidal pools and coastal meadows.

Jetins appear as small, dark-skinned beings with webbed fingers and toes, hair like seaweed, and clothes that shimmer between wet and dry. They're generally benign if left alone, but they fiercely protect their territory:

Young Thomas found a gold coin in a tidal pool while collecting mussels. As he reached for it, a tiny hand slapped his away. A jetin no bigger than his fist emerged from the seaweed, scolding in a language like grinding shells. Thomas apologized and backed away. The next day, his usual mussel bed yielded twice the normal harvest, and in his bucket he found three silver coins—payment for his courtesy. But his cousin Robert, who tried to return and search for the gold, slipped on wet rocks and broke his leg. The jetins' message was clear: take what's given, never what's guarded.

The Phantom Ships

Norman sailors report numerous ghost ships in the Channel, but none is more feared than La Belle Constance. This spectral vessel appears on foggy nights, fully rigged but sailing against the wind, her crew of skeletons working lines that crumble at a touch.

Legend says she was a Norman merchant ship whose captain sold his soul for favorable winds. The Devil kept his bargain too well—the winds blow eternally for La Belle Constance, but always away from port. Any ship that sees her must immediately change course, for she brings storm in her wake. Worse, any sailor who hears her crew singing their working songs risks being compelled to join them.