Thesis: The chapter “Freak Shows and Fantasies” from Merpeople: A Human History by Vaughn Scribner explains how mermaids can be interpreted as symbolic representations of genuine human prejudices. This chapter connects the similarities between human prejudices and cultural narratives of mythical creatures shown through different cultures and periods through “Ti Jeanne” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. Mythical stories about fantasy creatures such as mermaids offer a paradigm for understanding a culture’s treatment of those deemed “other” and draw parallels for thinking about the mistreatment of human minorities as non-human or less than human.