Water Babies: Mischievous, Ghostly Infants
Shoshone Bannock TribeWater babies are said to inhabit the placid waters of the Shoshone Bannock reservation in Idaho.
A number of western Native American tribes, including the Paiute, Shoshone, Washoe, Achumawi, Cahuilla, Cupeño, Luiseño, Serrano, Yokuts, and Salish, tell ghost stories about strange spirits called water babies.
These tales are all slightly different. However, they each feature a similar infant-like spirit that haunts a body of water. Sometimes, these water babies are simply mischievous. Other times, they’re murderous.
In one story told by the Shoshone tribe, water babies were birthed from a terrible tragedy. When famine seized the tribe, new mothers were forced to drown their babies in the nearby lake. They simply didn’t have enough food to keep the babies alive.
But the murdered babies, filled with vengeful rage, returned to haunt the Shoshone. They lurked along the shore where they’d been killed, laughing and luring concerned people to the water’s edge. Once someone got close enough, they’d drag them underwater.
Tribes near Pyramid Lake in Utah tell a similar story. According to their tale, deformed or sickly babies were often thrown into Pyramid Lake to reduce the burden on the tribe.
Wikimedia CommonsWater babies allegedly haunt the depths of Pyramid Lake in Utah.
But the babies survived — and turned into vengeance-seeking monsters. Once a year, they go after unsuspecting white men and drag them beneath the depths.
Another Native American ghost story tells a slightly different version of the water babies legend. Set along the shores of Lake Utah in Provo, this version claims that water babies are not babies at all.
Rather, they’re mythical creatures. By mimicking the cry of human infants, they draw people to the water so that they can drown them.
But all these tales seem to give the same warning: If you hear an infant crying near the water’s edge, proceed with caution.
