Does 'River Mama' ply the deep, muddy waters of the Alabama River?

African water deity, Mami Wata.

This week marks the first week of October and this time of year, as we draw closer to Halloween, it’s hard not to think about creepy ghost stories and old spooky folktales.

A few days ago, I went on an overnight Boy Scout camping trip with my 11-year-old son, and while we were all sitting around the fire Saturday night, I heard an unusual tale involving the Alabama River that I’d never heard before. The subject came up during a discussion about kayaking, and one of the men in our group said that you always have to worry about “River Mama” turning you over when you’re out on the river. Everyone in the group sort of chuckled, except for me, because I’d never heard about River Mama.

When I pressed the storyteller for more details, he couldn’t believe that I’d never heard of River Mama, and another man in the group spoke up, saying that he thought everyone knew about River Mama. According to these gentlemen, this supernatural creature supposedly resembles a mermaid, and she’s well known for playing tricks on fishermen and boaters. Kayakers and canoers often blame River Mama for turning over their small watercraft.

I made a mental note to investigate this story further when I got home, and I was honestly surprised by what I found. The story of River Mama apparently came to America by way of Africa, where people believed in a water spirit often called “Mami Wata.” Some tales say that she has the upper body of a woman, but her lower half looks like a fish or a snake.

Many traditions say that she is often seen looking into a handheld mirror, admiring her beauty. Others say that if you startle her, she’ll swim off leaving small valuables behind. Others say she can be appeased with gifts of Coca Cola and costume jewelry.

Many of the stories about River Mama arise out of Voodoo tales that say that this water deity will abduct unsuspecting swimmers and boaters. In some places, River Mama is said to cause the strong undertow that sometimes leads to drownings. Many stories say that she often appears with a large snake draped over her shoulders, and that she sometimes causes mischief for loggers and hunters near the river.

I also learned that River Mama was featured in a 2014 episode of the TV show, “River Monsters,” which follows host Jeremy Wade, an Englishman who travels the world looking for “monsters” in freshwater rivers and lakes. In this particular episode, Wade traveled to the South American country of Guyana, where locals blamed a series of river disappearances of River Mama. Wade investigated and determined that an arapaima, the world’s largest freshwater fish, was probably to blame.

In the end, I know that the Alabama River can be a mysterious and spooky place, especially in the middle of the night or early on a mist-shrouded morning. I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading audience who knows more about River Mama or from anyone who has any ghostly tales about the river they’d like to tell. Who knows, maybe one day Jeremy Wade will visit Wilcox County to investigate the mysterious depths of the Alabama River.