<P> In 1964 , 8 - year - old Allen Bauer ( David Kreps ) is vacationing with his family near Cape Cod . While taking a sight - seeing tour on a small boat , he sees something below the ocean surface that fascinates him . Allen jumps into the water , even though he can not swim . He grasps the hands of a girl ( Shayla Mackarvich ) who is inexplicably under the water with him and an instant connection forms between the two . Allen can now breathe under water as he is in the hands of a mermaid . However , Allen is pulled to the surface by the deck hands and the two are separated , though apparently no one else sees the girl . Allen comes to believe the encounter was a near - death hallucination , but his bond with the mermaid proves so strong that his subsequent relationships with women fail as he subconsciously seeks the connection he felt with the mermaid . </P>
<P> In 1964 , 8 - year - old Allen Bauer ( David Kreps ) is vacationing with his family near Cape Cod . While taking a sight - seeing tour on a small boat , he sees something below the ocean surface that fascinates him . Allen jumps into the water , even though he can not swim . He grasps the hands of a girl ( Shayla Mackarvich ) who is inexplicably under the water with him and an instant connection forms between the two . Allen can now breathe under water as he is in the hands of a mermaid . However , Allen is pulled to the surface by the deck hands and the two are separated , though apparently no one else sees the girl . Allen comes to believe the encounter was a near - death hallucination , but his bond with the mermaid proves so strong that his subsequent relationships with women fail as he subconsciously seeks the connection he felt with the mermaid . </P>
who played the little girl mermaid in splash
who played the little girl mermaid in splash
Shayla Mackarvich
Shayla Mackarvich