Sirens Are The Proof That Women Can Kill, Especially When They Sing

It happened on one of my recent visits to the beach. Suddenly, while trying to listen to the soothing sound of the waves, I heard a voice singing softly from the rocks with a melody that sounded a bit Greek. I walked towards the source of the voice excitedly, mesmerized. You see, I was sure I was finally going to meet a siren because I know the myth of sirens from several horror films: those beautiful sea nymphs who, according to Greek mythology, lured sailors with their gentle singing and caused them to crash into the depths. Even if this myth is exaggerated, like many scary myths, what man can say no to a beautiful girl who can sing?

Then I saw her standing on a rock. A girl as thin as a bird, wearing a spotted swimsuit, was dancing and clapping wildly. She looked at me angrily, holding a rectangular object speckled with glitter in her hand, which looked like… a phone? Then I realized I hadn’t met a siren at all. The buff-looking girl held a phone in one hand, playing some weird pop music, and a cigarette in the other. “What do you want, darling?” she said in a voice hoarse from cigarettes, which sounded a bit like the attack of the crows from that Hitchcock movie. “Um… I’m just hanging around here, exploring the rocks. Yeah, such cool rocks,” I muttered nervously and tried to retrace my steps. It was too late because the girl approached me and picked me up. She threw me towards the rocks, shouting something about me invading her space and disturbing her listening to music and saying that I should move forward if I want to live and not die in torture. The last thing I remember before I passed out on the beach among the rocks was someone singing enthusiastically from the phone.

The figure of the siren appears not only in mythology but also in many films – including some horror films (relatively insignificant, to be honest). The sirens tell us something about beauty, seduction, or even music, while everything is clearly connected to danger. So, it’s no surprise that we included them in our articles about the scariest mythological characters.

What Are Sirens?

Sirens are some of the most mysterious, seductive, and perhaps also the scariest mythological creatures in ancient folklore- In this case, Greek mythology. They are sea nymphs (half-god and half-mortal) who live on an isolated island in the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by rocks and cliffs.

Although the representation of the nymphs has changed throughout history, the common denominator of their descriptions is their mesmerizing voice and magical singing. The nymphs would sit on the rocks and sing for a purpose.

According to the stories, sailors who were in the area and heard the gentle singing from afar jumped to their deaths or got so close to the source of the sound that their ships got stuck on the rocks and drowned. According to mythology, it was possible to find many bones of unfortunate sailors near the Siren Islands.

What Do Sirens Look Like?

The image of sirens at sea, as expressed in stories and works of art that refer to them, has undergone several changes throughout history. At first, they were depicted as birds – even scary ones – with the head or sexy body of a woman. In other cases, the sirens were presented as women in every sense of the word, with a twist in the form of legs and wings, which were also of birds. Another contrasting and rarer representation is that of a woman on the lower part and a bird on the upper part.

As the years passed, the image of the sirens retained its main “bird” characteristics, but at the same time, it became increasingly feminine and sexy.

Where Did The Myth Of Sirens Come From?

We identify sirens with Greek mythology, but it is highly likely that they originally came from other cultures in the Near East, such as Egypt. According to a standard theory, the sirens were the daughters of the river god Achelous and one of the Muses, that is, those who are considered the goddesses of creativity, the arts, and the sciences. With parents like these, it is not surprising that the sirens – whose number, according to sources, ranges from two to four, and is probably three – grew up to be hybrid creatures who sing in the sea.

Legend has it that in their youth, the sirens were companions and playmates of Persephone – “Queen of the Underworld,” the daughter of the goddess of grain and fertility Demeter by Zeus, and the wife of the God of the underworld, Hades, who kidnapped her intending to take her to Hades. According to one version, the sirens got wings because they asked God to equip them and seek out their companion. Another slightly darker version says that Demeter was angry that the sirens did not protect her daughter and, in her anger, turned them into winged monsters.

What’s The Difference Between Sirens And Mermaids?

There is sometimes confusion between sirens and mermaids; many think sirens and Mermaids are the same. One primary reason for this confusion is that “Siren” describes a mermaid in some languages, t (for example, Spanish or Italian). Artistically, we have seen that in the Middle Ages, quite a few artists began to paint sirens as mermaids, contrary to their original description, so the definitions and concepts merged.

This confusion exists today, such as in books, films, and TV series that use the terms “siren” and “mermaid” in a similar, or even identical, way. This confusion can also be seen, intentionally or unintentionally, at the consumer level. For example, we searched for siren costumes on one of the world’s leading costume sites, and the results mainly showed mermaid costumes and only a minimal number of sirens. So it’s true that mermaids are generally more popular and well-known – largely thanks to the famous fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen – but paying attention to the differences is still essential.

Mermaids and sirens have some common characteristics. In both cases, we talk about mythological creatures combining women and some animals living in the water or nearby. However, in practice, there are some fundamental differences:

🧜‍♀️ Appearance – Sirens combine in most representations between a woman and a bird, as mentioned, while mermaids are a combination of a woman and a fish.

🧜‍♀️ Habitat – Sirens live on rocks, while mermaids usually live underwater. However, as we have seen in many legends and stories, the mermaid can sometimes come to land.

🧜‍♀️ Character – Sirens are depicted as manipulative, even malicious, while mermaids usually have a more positive (or, if you prefer, less dangerous) nature.

🧜‍♀️ Mythological Origin – Sirens come from Greek mythology, although other stories may have influenced it. The mythological origin of mermaids is more European, even if the myth exists in different parts of the world.

Why Do Sirens Kill Sailors?

We have heard of several bloody encounters with scary sirens in different countries throughout history or mythology. The most famous of these is the journey of Odysseus, the Greek hero best known for his journey home after the Trojan War, in which he developed the idea of ​​the Trojan Horse and turned it into a decisive weapon.

Legend says that during one of his journeys, Odysseus passed near the island of the Sirens. He knew the myth about the deadly singing but wanted to listen to the wonder. So he ordered his sailors to tie him to the mast of the ship and from them to plug their ears so that no one could jump overboard following the singing. His demand was unequivocal: not to release him under any circumstances until they won’t hear the sirens’ song from the ship. It worked because Odysseus listened to the singing and managed to stay alive.

You know that feeling when you hear a song you don’t want to hear, say a karaoke song by the neighborhood by the annoying neighbors at the house next door, and you try to overcome the sound with louder (and much better) music that you play? So, according to another story about an encounter with the sirens, this happened. The hero this time is Jason, who led the Argonauts on their journey to bring the Golden Fleece from the Kingdom of Colchis. On the advice of his tutor, a cantor named Chiron, he got a talented musician named Orpheus aboard the ship. When they heard the sirens’ song, Orpheus played his lyre. The Argonauts and Jason listened to the music from the boat, which overpowered the sirens’ song, and they stayed alive.

According to mythology, the sirens drowned themselves whenever sirens failed in their mission to sink the ships that passed by them.

From Coffee To Romantic Comedies: The Representation Of Sirens In Our World

Although there are mythological characters more famous than sirens, there is no doubt that they are still significantly represented in our world today. You can find scary siren sound on alarms, police sirens, or the noise of ambulances on the road, for example, is named after them because, like those singing Sirens, these noises signal danger. Speaking of danger, today, many use the word “Siren” as a slang to describe women who are beautiful and dangerous at the same time.

Here are some notable representations of sirens from the world around us:

Starbucks Logo

If you are a coffee lover, you are probably familiar with Starbucks, the American coffee shop chain with thousands of branches worldwide. The company got its name from a character from the book Moby Dick (“Starbuck”), which is not connected to Sirens indeed.

Still, the famous green logo features a siren for various reasons: the fact that the Starbucks story began in the port city of Seattle, the long journey that coffee takes by sea until it reaches consumers, the message that you can enjoy some great coffee anywhere, and even the fact that sirens, who attracted sailors to the rocks, are a metaphor for the magic of caffeine.

Siren Beach On Lake Garda

In the tourism world, the myth of the Sirens is sometimes used to attract tourists. Siren Beach on Lake Garda in Italy (originally: “Spiaggia Baia Delle Sirene”), for example, is, first and foremost, a lovely and well-maintained beach. It got its name thanks to a local legend about sirens at sea – or in the lake waters – who greeted fishermen passing by.

As far as we know, these are not traditional horror stories but more optimistic ones. The bottom line is that the beach attracts tourists, perhaps thanks to the myth.

Encounters With Scary Sirens In Culture

We continue with the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series, the bestseller by American author Rick Riordan. It is a very successful series of seven books, which also got several sequels, two successful films (“Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” and “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters”), a television series, and more.

In the second book in the series, “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” our Percy – who is a demigod and the son of Poseidon – encounters a long line of mythological creatures. In one of the passages in the book (and in the film), he and his partner Annabeth Chase (Alexandra Daddario, who is even more mesmerizing than any Siren, one of the site’s favorites) pass by sirens. Perhaps inspired by ancient myths about surviving an encounter with sirens, Annabeth asks Percy to tie her to a boat so that she can listen to the sirens’ voice and learn something important about life from it.

The Vampire Diaries Sirens

“The Vampire Diaries” is a very successful book series for young adults. L.J. Smith wrote the books, and they became television series with no less than eight seasons. It would be too short to describe the plots of Elena or the brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore, but the bottom line is that they encounter a lot of supernatural and frightening creatures.

The sirens star in the eighth and final season as the servants of the ruler of hell, Arcadius (Cade), and have much screen time.

O Brother, Where Art Thou Sirens

Continuing with the excellent crime comedy by the Coen brothers from 2000. Ostensibly, there is a musical crime comedy about the escape journey of three prisoners from hard labor during the Great Depression, their ordeal by the authorities, and their encounter with a long line of strange people.

“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” is a modern version of Homer’s Odysseus story, with many hints and connections. One of them is the three men’s encounter with three beautiful women who are doing laundry in the river while they sing. The men are attracted to the siren’s song, but it comes at a price: the women turn one of them into a toad and turn him into the police. If you didn’t get the obvious metaphor, these three women – played by Mia Tate, Musetta Vander, and Christy Taylor – symbolize the sirens, who attract men with their singing to harm them.

Horror Movies About Sirens

Horror movies feature encounters with various villains and many supernatural or mythological creatures. The fact that there are horror movies about sirens shouldn’t surprise you, but unfortunately, most of the films we know are negligible.

In addition, as you will see below, there is a disregard for the distinctive characteristics of sirens and confusion, intentional or not, between sirens and mermaids and other mythological creatures.

Siren TV Series (2018)

“Siren” is a supernatural fantasy series with various touches of horror that aired in 2018 and continued for three seasons. The plot here takes place in a coastal town called Bristol Cove, which was once known for its mermaid population. One day, a mysterious mermaid named Ryn Fisher (Eline Powell) arrives in town, searching for her sister, who was kidnapped by the townspeople. In the process, she hypnotizes people with her song, such as marine biologist Ben (Alex Roe), who helps her at one point and causes a lot of trouble.

I haven’t seen the series, but it’s on my watch list.

Siren Horror Movie (2016)

Gregg Bishop’s “Siren” is, first and foremost, a spin-off of one of the short films that appeared in the V/H/S anthology four years earlier. More precisely, it is based on the second short film, “Amateur Night,” directed by David Bruckner.

The protagonist of the film is Jonah (Chase Williamson, “John Died at the End,” “The Guest,” “Victor Crowley”), who is celebrating his wedding party with his friends at a secret club. The club’s manager arranges for the happy groom to have a private performance by a beautiful girl who can sing quite well. The problem is that Jonah imagines all sorts of things when she sings. He and the guys release her from the club, but then they discover that she is a monster who starts killing them one by one after they fall asleep. Later, they find out that this woman, named Lilith (Hannah Fiermnn, who played the same character in “V/H/S”), is a Succubus – a gorgeous mythological female, sometimes with bat wings, who seduces men with erotic dreams, and in the process draws energy from them.

So, although the film’s name may suggest otherwise, this is not a horror film about sirens in the complete sense of the word. Still, Lilith has many characteristics in common with the myth of the sirens, such as singing, seducing men, and killing.

Here is the trailer for “Siren”:

Siren (2010)

The next film, again with the original name “Siren,” is pretty bad (a score of 3.6 out of 10 on IMDB, for example). Still, I am among the unlucky ones who saw it. Maybe because its poster looked sexy, the plot description seemed silly but fun, or it was on late-night TV, and I had nothing else to do.

So “Siren” has some sexy scenes, but that’s the only thing I remember from the movie since. It’s the story of three friends who go on a cruise at sea: Ken (Irish Eoin Macken, “The Forest,” “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter,” “Till Death” with Megan Fox and “The Cellar” alongside Alicia Cuthbert) and Rachel (Australian Anna Skellern, “The Descent: Part 2,” “A Night in the Woods,” “The Incident”) hope to add some passion to their mundane lives, but for some reason Rachel’s colleague (Tarek Anthony Jabre) joins the trip.

At one point, the fellas arrive on an island and encounter a man with a knife in his body and blood in his ears, who collapses. On the same island, they meet a mysterious girl named Silka (Czech Tereza Srbova, “Jack Ryan,” “Eastern Promises”), who seduces the man, then the woman, and then both of them. Later, she does terrible things I don’t remember because I’ve repressed this movie.

The bottom line is that “Siren” is a bad movie in every way: plot, acting, atmosphere, etc. – and unfortunately, not as sexy as it thinks or as its poster is supposed to suggest.

So the next time you visit the sea and hear women singing, remember that sometimes it comes at a price. Considering the rather terrible characters of the sirens, you might prefer that there was just a tough girl there listening to some shitty music.

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