Beyond Paradise location’s harrowing ‘true story’ viewers don’t know
Dᴇᴀᴛʜ in Paradise spin-off Beyond Paradise is filmed much closer to home than its Caribbean twin, in the Cornish coastal town of Looe.
Beyond Paradise star Kris Marshall films scenes in Looe, Cornwall (Image: Getty)
Beyond Paradise town Looe is known for its idyllic sandy beaches, dreamily set on a picturesque corner of Cornish coastline, plus scenic woodland and independent boutique shops. However, the filming location for the BBC drama, starring the likes of Kris Marshall, is also known for a much more sinister story behind the scenes.
According to urban legend, a mysterious mermaid once perched herself regularly on the rocks beside the sea, where she would sing hauntingly while combing her long, trailing hair. Although she was said to bring good luck to fishermen preying for a plentiful catch and to warn locals of treacherous weather ahead, she could be much more sinister to sailors. Unaccustomed to her beautiful singing voice, they would steer their ships towards her to be closer to the sound – often only to crash perilously into the rocks.
Looe, Cornwall, the fishing town where Beyond Paradise is filmed (Image: Getty)
The idea of a siren song luring unsuspecting sailors to their Dᴇᴀᴛʜ isn’t a new one, as it first originated in Greek mythology, with popular stories like Homer’s The Odyssey.
However, the cautionary tale was so fondly embraced by residents of Looe that the myth remains a huge part of local culture even today.
It now symbolises the town and the strong connection between the fishermen that call it home and the sea. There’s also another version of the tale, centring around the mermaid and the beloved man she once had a romance with.
One night, he sailed on stormy seas and was never to be seen again, with the mermaid fearing he’d succumbed to the strong waves and died.
She disappeared, but from then onwards, her hauntingly mournful song as she pined for him rang out around the town and was said to have struck grief into the hearts of those who heard it.
That isn’t the only legend relating to a disappearance: Looe is also rumoured to have once been the home of a community of monks who fled one day, leaving buried treasure behind.
Despite attempts to follow the cryptic clues they left behind, no treasure hunters in the years that followed have ever been able to find the spoils.
The one thing that hasn’t disappeared, according to the story, is their ghostly presence from beyond the grave, with some visitors claiming to have seen apparitions wandering by the sea in monks’ robes.
With chilling legends like these at the heart of Looe, it’s little wonder that Beyond Paradise’s producers chose the town as the scene of the televised crimes.
