En-Naddāha
En-Naddāha (Arabic: النداهة, meaning "the caller") is a famous Egyptian legend about a water spirit that resembles a naiad. She appears as a beautiful woman and calls out to men near the Nile, leading to their disappearance or death. This legend is especially well known in rural parts of Egypt, particularly in farming communities that lie along the river and its many canals.
No one knows exactly where the story came from. It was most popular during the 20th century when Egypt was more rural and people spent a lot of time near the Nile. Children would often play along its banks after school, and young men would gather there in the evenings to talk. Today, the legend is less common in the cities, but it is still familiar to many young people and remains deeply rooted in village life.
According to the story, En-Naddāha appears at night, always by the water, as if by chance. She shows up when two men are walking near the river. She softly calls one of them by his first name. The moment he hears her voice, he falls silent, slips into a trance, and starts following her without question. The other man, unaffected, tries to pull his friend back. Meanwhile, En-Naddāha keeps calling with a soft, dreamy voice that seems to reach straight into the mind. If the friend manages to break the spell, they run away together, still hearing her voice behind them as they flee.
Most of the time, the men do not get close enough to see her clearly before they escape. In the rare cases where someone does catch a glimpse, they describe her as a strikingly beautiful young woman. She is tall and slim, with long flowing hair that reaches down her back. She stands quietly by the riverbank, her arms at her sides, wearing a loose, long dress that is often described as semi-transparent. Some say her whole body appears partly see-through. Her voice is soft and calm, yet somehow it carries clearly through the night air.
In rural Egypt, where the legend remains strong, some say she can even call out to men while they are still inside their homes near the river. Those who hear her voice often become distracted and restless for a few nights before they finally leave the house late at night to follow her. Villagers believe that any man who hears her call is doomed, and there is rarely any hope of saving him. There are no reports of anyone actually seeing her kill or devour someone, but many older locals believe she drags her victims into the Nile and drowns them.
The Egyptian author Ahmed Khaled Tawfik wrote about her in The Legend of Al Naddaha. He adds that if someone manages to stop a man from reaching her, that person will be the next to hear her call.