Posted on Tuesday, 29th September 2009 by Interloper
An undine is a type of water elemental that features in European folklore, as well as appearing in the alchemical treatises of Paracelsus. The word undine comes from the Latin word unda, which means “a wave”.
Although the term can be applied to virtually any type of water spirit, undines are generally depicted as women with beautiful voices who linger around forest pools and waterfalls. It is said that you may be able to hear the song of an undine over the sound of running water, a legend which could be based on the idea that running water (such as that in a shower) provides a background of white noise that’s perfect for creating auditory hallucinations.
The most common undine story is based on a German folktale. In it, an undine must marry a human man and bear his child in order to gain a soul. She does this, but her husband is eventually unfaithful. As the man vowed to love the undine with “every living breath” she curses him that he may die if he ever falls asleep.
This story provides the historical basis for “Ondine’s Curse” the historical name for what doctors now call Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome, an illness in which the patient loses autonomous control of their breathing and therefore is unable to breathe unassisted while sleeping.
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