näkku

Näkku is a water spirit in Finnish folklore, commonly portrayed as a dangerous supernatural being associated with lakes, rivers, wells and springs. The name appears in several regional variants, including näkki and nykky, and the figure functions in popular belief as a cause of drowning and unexplained disappearances in water.

Descriptions vary by region and account. Näkku may appear as a humanlike figure—often a young person—who lures victims to the water’s edge, or take on animal forms such as a horse or fish. In some tales it entices by calling names, singing, or combing its hair on the shore. Like many folkloric water-spirits, näkku is sometimes blamed for cold currents and sudden undercurrents that seize swimmers.

The näkku tradition is part of a broader North European complex of water‑spirit myths, cognate with the Swedish näcken, German Nixe and English nixie, all sharing themes of seduction, music and peril. In Finnish culture the näkku figures in folk songs, children's tales and cautionary lore used to warn against swimming alone or approaching dangerous water. Rituals and talismans—such as avoiding certain places, leaving offerings, or using iron—have been recorded as measures to protect against it.

In modern times näkku appears in literature, visual arts and popular culture as a symbol of the unknowable danger of wilderness and the boundary between human and natural realms.