For men of the sea, who live, sleep, and breathe the ways of the ocean life, the only real dangers they seem to face is the unpredictable weather and ocean currents. But there are other dangers lurking, dangers that arise when these men come across faint yet mesmerizing melodies that belong to beautiful, lost women in the ocean.

These women have voices like angels, and their songs capture the hearts and souls of men who become transfixed on their captivating melodies and beauty. But there is something much more sinister afoot. These men who flock to these innocent women lost at sea are actually prey, being lured into the ocean and a watery grave. The last thing that these men will see are beautiful women ripping the flesh off of their bones.

These women are not women, they are dangerous creatures of the ocean known as sirens. This “mythical” half-bird, half-woman, which is often mistaken for a mermaid, is one of the most feared creatures for men to stumble across out in the open ocean. The siren’s true form is typically a dull brown bird-like creature with a woman’s head. But sirens are known to transform themselves from their grotesque bird form into a beautiful woman in order to target their prey.

Why are sirens so dangerous? Their main weapon is their song, which they use to lull men into a hypnotic state before gruesomely eating them alive.

Music has a profound effect on humans; according to Dr. Jonathan Burdette, a neuroradiologist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, “Music is primal. It affects all of us, but in very personal, unique ways.”

Sirens have had centuries to practice and determine which notes and tones are most pleasing to hear, and they know what songs are best to lure wary sea travelers to their demise. Masquerading as beautiful, helpless women lost at sea, they have perfected their craft of luring unexpected sailors to their doom.

Unfortunately, even though they have been discarded as mythical creatures, sirens lurk around
the expansive ocean waiting for their next victims, who are never seen or heard from again. Fishermen who are “lost at sea” and never found are likely victims of the sirens. They are so effective at luring men to their deaths that almost none survive to tell the tale.

While commonly withheld from the public’s knowledge, sirens have wreaked enough havoc on unsuspecting fishermen and cargo vessels that the U.S. Navy has been acquiring intel and developing neutralization tactics for any chance encounters that they have with these predators.

It is believed that the Navy is secretly responding to the siren threat under the codename Operation Sea Mistress.

Over the years, the Navy has learned much about these creatures and has been quietly working on ways to combat them. However, even with the might of the U.S. Navy focused on these creatures, they have proven difficult to thwart.

The Navy has spent significant time and resources studying the sirens’ use of song in an attempt to counteract such a powerful weapon used to lure prey. In response, the Navy has developed new earplugs designed to effectively inhibit the audio component of the sirens’ attack while allowing for communication between parties.

It is believed that the earplugs utilize dual active and passive sound cancellation technology in order to block both high-frequency and low-frequency noise. However, it is unknown whether these earplugs can truly block out all frequencies of the sirens’ songs. It is also unknown whether the sirens can adapt their songs to penetrate the earplugs’ noise cancellation effects.  

Even with the new earplug technology, this does not counteract the lethality of the sirens completely. Part of their attack involves deception through their ruse as beautiful and helpless women lost at sea. If Navy personnel encounter these women without suspecting them as sirens, then the unfortunate reality is that many will perish before an actionable response can be taken. The Navy has developed protocols for all sailors in order to mitigate attacks by sirens, which include sending out a small party in any rescue attempt. Should the sirens attack, the rest of the vessel and personnel are—in theory—prepared to respond.

In terms of tactical response, the Navy has learned that the sirens are prone to anger, particularly when their songs fail to mesmerize their prey. When this happens, they will transform into their bird form to conduct an aerial attack. While this opens the opportunity for the Navy to engage in a direct fight with the creatures, they can be hard to target with conventional weaponry. Sirens are also able to flee through air or water, which makes them difficult to pursue.

Due to the challenges of fighting sirens, the Navy has been working on proactive methods to search and destroy these creatures. The Navy routinely conducts audio scans using a highly evolved sound level meter to detect and analyze frequencies that are commonly used by sirens. These devices have been integrated into submarines that actively search for sirens.

This method has been successful in identifying sirens, but once detected, sirens are quick to flee underwater or through the air to evade the Navy. Based on Navy protocol, when sirens are detected, the submarine relays a message to the nearest vessel that is prepared for a tactical response.

The responders, with earplugs, head out to the sirens’ location. When they get close to striking distance, they pretend to become mesmerized by the creatures’ song. When they are within striking distance, the tactical team will attempt to shoot and destroy the sirens. However, it is unknown how successful this strategy has been, and it is believed that the Navy has suffered many casualties using this tactic to fight the sirens.

Unfortunately, even with modern day technology, the sirens have proven to be resilient creatures that have plagued seafarers for centuries. Mysterious, deceptive, and deadly, they have cemented their status as one of the most feared creatures to encounter for all who travel the open ocean. If you are ever traveling on water, be wary if you hear any kind of melodious tone creeping through the air. Otherwise, it may be the last thing you ever hear.