Siren Head: Anatomy of a Monster

I do love some digital monsters, if that’s not been made clear already. A favourite of mine I haven’t been able to take the time to explore yet is Siren Head.

Siren Head was created by Trevor Henderson in 2018. It’s a 12 meter tall humanoid, but where there should be a head there’s big sirens instead. The skin of the creature looks like rusted metal, but is actually dried mummified skin. Siren Head stalks wildernesses, like forests and desolate areas, playing sounds from its head-sirens that play fake radio reports, distorted music, or even human voices. It works to disorient the prey, to bring confused or concerned parties closer - bringing the prey closer to it.

Siren Head has some connections to sirens more generally. Sirens function similarly. Sirens are mythological creatures who call to sailors with beautiful singing voices, and when the men are drawn to them, they drawn the men. In the Odyssey, Odysseus wants to hear the songs of the sirens, while his men get their ears stopped up with wax. He orders his men to strap him to the mast of the boat. The songs enchant him, and he fights against his restraints, eager to join the sirens.

While Siren Head does not necessarily enchant in quite the same way, it does lure people to it and confuse its listeners.

One of the interesting aspects of Siren head is it’s connection to some of the problems associated with contemporary life, especially in more recent years. Its brings up important questions about information and how we interpret or understand it. It makes us wonder: can you trust what you hear?

In terms of the monster, it brings up questions of whether or not when you hear radio signals or the sounds of people, is it something you should actually investigate? Is it a radio, or is it a monster looking for prey?

This is obviously connected to misinformation. Just because you see something, or read something, doesn’t necessarily mean that its true. It could luring you to something different. The wrong bit of info can make you fall prey to larger and scarier forces. But it can also be strangely alluring.