Two BioFortean Folklore Papers from 2008

Siren canora: the mermaid and the mythical in late nineteenth-century science
H. Brink-Roby
Archives of Natural History
Vol. 35, pp. 1-14
PDF here.

Abstract: "This paper argues that, for a number of naturalists and lay commentators in the second half of the nineteenth century, evolutionary – especially Darwinian – theory gave new authority to mythical creatures. These writers drew on specific elements of evolutionary theory to assert the existence of mermaids, dragons and other fabulous beasts. But mythological creatures also performed a second, often contrapositive, argumentative function; commentators who rejected evolution regularly did so by dismissing these creatures. Such critics agreed that Darwin's theory legitimized the mythological animal, but they employed this legitimization to undermine the theory itself.
"The mermaid, in particular, was a focus of attention in this mytho-evolutionary debate, which ranged from the pages of Punch to the lecture halls of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Crossing social boundaries and taking advantage of a range of venues, this debate arose in response to the indeterminate challenge of evolutionary theory. In its discussions of mermaids and dragons, centaurs and satyrs, this discourse helped define that challenge, construing and constructing the meanings and implications of evolutionary theory in the decades following Darwin's publication."

The Octopus in the Sewers: An Ancient Legend Analogue
Camilla Asplund Ingemark
Journal of Folklore Research
Vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 145-170
(paper not online)

Abstract: "This article outlines two ancient analogues of the contemporary legend of the wild beast in the sewer, often known as the alligator in the sewer. These stories are preserved in Aelian’s (AD 165/170–230/235) On the Characteristics of Animals and Pliny the Elder’s (AD 23/24–79) Natural History and feature octopuses rather than alligators as the transgressors of the vulnerable boundary between wild nature and the urban, manmade environment. I begin by proposing that the narratives represent two distinct versions of the same legend. Aelian’s conforms more closely to the pattern of the modern legend by including the motif of the ascent of the octopus through the sewers of the city, whereas Pliny the Elder’s replaces this theme with the descent of the octopus from a tree, a feat which is viewed as equally anomalous for a marine animal. Regardless of these differences, both texts hinge on the contradictory and ambivalent conceptions of octopuses current in the ancient world. I proceed to analyze these notions in order to unravel the symbolic qualities of the stories. The settings of the narratives and ancient attitudes to sewers, sewage, and dirt are also discussed. The ancient texts are then juxtaposed with later legends in the same vein. Emphasis is placed on the Victorian legends of swine in the sewers of Hampstead, as these might be less familiar to readers. Ancient, Victorian, and contemporary legends are compared and their similarities and dissimilarities are examined."