While Area 51 gets all the fame and glory for its supposed alien autopsies, fewer people know about the curse on Pyramid Lake, which happened after a Paiute man fell in love with a mermaid. His tribe rejected her and told him to throw her back in. She cursed the lake, brought the settlers, and ignited a war. (Talk about spite!) In modern times, the lake has drowned locals, spiting them out as far as Lake Tahoe.
Urban Legends: Spiteful Mermaid of Pyramid Lake, the entity who cursed a lake with her vengeance!