The wealth attracted poor immigrants but the people of Saeftinghe showed no mercy and chased the migrants away with sticks and dogs.
The merman cursed the fisherman and his city, screaming "The lands of Saeftinghe will fall, only its towers will continue to stand tall!
With the All Saints' flood of 1570, a huge tidal wave washed over the lands of Saeftinghe, destroying the towns of Sint-Laureins, Namen and Casuwele, killing all inhabitants.
Saeftinghe withered and soon only its towers testified of its prosperous past until the city finally sank into the muddy swamps.
On foggy days, the tower bells call for help from what was once a wealthy place but is now a doomed world covered in mud, captured by the sea.