The Haunting Story Of The Siren Head Monster

What is it about creepypastas that makes the internet light up? Memes of all kinds spread like wildfire, but the internet's boundless appetite for scary stories is something of a phenomenon all its own. Creepypastas — those spooky stories, often of indeterminate origin, that get passed around social media and message boards — have whole subreddits devoted to them. They have even escaped the internet and seeped into mainstream entertainment, including TV shows ("Channel Zero") and movies ("Slender Man"). In the case of Slender Man — almost universally regarded as the reigning king of the creepypasta bestiary — the idea escaped into meatspace, resulting in a horrifying murder (via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Given his sordid effects on the world, few will be sad to see Slender Man replaced — which, as it happens, might be what's already happened. There's a new creature spreading across the internet that has been described by more than one commentator as "the next Slender Man," and it's undeniably a creepy creation. They call it "Siren Head," and if you ever encounter it, we humbly suggest you run.

Siren Head — a 40-foot-tall beast made of decaying flesh with sirens in place of its head — burst onto the internet in August of 2018 via a post by noted creepy creature creator Trevor Henderson (also responsible for such creations as "Cartoon Cat" and "Long Horse"). Since then, it has appeared in countless TikToks, YouTube videos, and indie video games. Let's take a look at the creature's mythology.

Henderson's original Twitter post about the creature contained just enough information about Siren Head to whet the internet's insatiable appetite for the creepy: A woman, driving by, saw the creature standing in a cemetery. At first, she thought it was just an art piece, but then it came to life, screeching random words through its dual speakers and running towards her.

Since making the original post, Henderson has continued to flesh out (so to speak) Siren Head's story: The creature is not an animal but rather a physical manifestation of a metaphysical entity. It has no eyes, but it can see; it never eats, but it conceals mouths full of razor-sharp teeth inside its sirens to strip human flesh from bone. It communicates via sirens and other sounds and can even record and playback sounds in order to stalk its prey. It can also blend seamlessly into its environment, disguising itself as a telephone pole or a streetlight (via The Infographics Show).

All that was enough to capture the internet's imagination. It took Siren Head a couple of years, but as of 2020, it had exploded in popularity, with other creators filling in the details as needed. Thanks to TikToker Alex Howard, we have video "evidence" of the thing, and thanks to game studios like Undreamed Panic (via PC Gamer) and Modus Interactive (via Know Your Meme), we have games where you can flee from the monster in full polygonal 3D. Sleep well tonight.