A group of Seattle residents are making waves after revealing that they consider themselves half-human and half-fish.
Seattle's so-called 'merfolk' are part of a much larger community of people around the world who have embraced a similar identity.
Donning expensive and elaborate costumes, they take to the water in order to fully embrace the merperson experience.
While some may see this is simply an eccentric hobby, for some merfolk it has become a way of life.
After dreaming of becoming a mermaid for all of her life, Caitlin Nielson dove headlong into the mercommunity when she actually quit her job in order to devote herself to the endeavor full time.
She now crafts costumes and helps to organize gatherings for other like-minded merfolk and marveled that "I'm literally a real life mermaid."
Her connection to the concept is so profound that Nielson claims that she considers her artificial mermaid tail to be almost like a prosthetic limb.
After detailing their lives as merfolk for a recent video profile, Nielson and her compatriots have received some ridicule for their unique pastime while others have expressed admiration for their individuality and awe at their incredible costumes.
No matter what critics may say, we're guessing that the merfolk will take a page from the film Finding Nemo and "just keep swimming."
To some C2C listeners, the idea of a human believing they have the spirit of animal may conjure memories of popular past guest 'Jason the Horse.'
Coast Insiders can hear Ian Punnett's unforgettable interview with the man who believes he is a horse born in a human's body by checking out the 6/20/2009 edition of the program.
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Source: Barcroft TV