In the still waters of Romania’s dark rivers and forest lakes, the living have long feared a silent watcher — Femeia de sub Apă, The Woman Beneath the Water. She does not call out. She waits.

This spirit is one of Romania’s lesser-known but deeply chilling folktales — a drowned soul turned restless, doomed to haunt the waters where she died. Her legend is whispered along the banks of shadowed pools and whispered through generations as a warning: stay away from the edge when the moon is full.

Who is Femeia de sub Apă?

She is said to be:

• A woman who died by drowning, either by accident, betrayal, or her own hand.

• A spirit cursed to reappear on moonlit nights, her wet hair floating, her eyes white and hollow.

• An omen of danger — seeing her is said to foretell death, madness, or sudden disappearances.

• In some versions, she drags the curious underwater, trapping them in the same fate she cannot escape.

Folklorists link her to other European water spirits — the Slavic Rusalka, the Celtic Bean Nighe, or the Scandinavian Näcken — but the Romanian version is uniquely mute, mournful, and terrifyingly still.

Origins of the Legend

Her stories vary by region:

• Some say she was a murdered bride, thrown into the water by a jealous lover.

• Others claim she was a young girl who drowned while bathing, and was never found.

• In more ancient versions, she is a guardian of the underworld, sent to lure souls from the surface world into the dark depths.

What remains constant is her association with grief, regret, and unresolved death — especially the kind that goes unacknowledged by the living.

Why She Haunts Us

Water is a mirror — and Femeia de sub Apă reminds us that beneath every smooth surface, there may be something watching back.

She is the ache of grief unspoken. The ghost of those who were forgotten. And the warning that if we do not lay our dead to rest properly — they may rise again.