Owlman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For the DC Comics villain, see Owlman (DC Comics).
| Owlman | ||
|---|---|---|
| Creature | ||
| Name: | Owlman | |
| AKA: | Cornish Owlman, The Owlman of Mawnan |
|
| Classification | ||
| Grouping: | Cryptid | |
| Sub Grouping: | Local legend | |
| Data | ||
| First Reported: | April 17, 1976 | |
| Last Sighted: | August, 1978 | |
| Country: | United Kingdom | |
| Region: | Mawnan, Cornwall | |
| Status: | Local legend | |
Owlman, sometimes referred to as the Cornish Owlman or The Owlman of Mawnan, was a cryptozoological creature that was sighted in the late 70s in the village of Mawnan, in Cornwall.
Contents |
[edit] Reports of sightings
In 1976, two young girls claimed to have seen a giant owl, hovering over the local church tower, on April 17, as did two other young girls in the same year, their encounter being on July 3. Specifically, as to the second encounter, Sally Chapman, age 14, was camping with a friend, Barbara Perry, in some woods near the church, when, according to her account, as she stood outside her tent, she heard a hissing sound and turned to see a figure that looked like an owl as big as a man with pointed ears and red eyes. The girls reported that the creature flew up into the air, revealing black pincer-like claws. Sightings of this figure continued to be reported, on the following day (when it was described as "silvery grey") and on two occasions two years later, in June and August 1978, all within the vicinity of the church.
[edit] Speculation on the Owlman's nature
In Alien Animals (1985), British paranormal researchers Janet and Colin Bord pointed out that Mawnan church is built in the middle of a prehistoric earthwork. They suggested that the church may be built on a ley line (a straight line that passes through and links several ancient sites), and speculated that the appearance of the Owlman may be a manifestation of earth energy in this place. However in a later book "Modern Mysteries of the World" 1989 they retracted this and stated that they believed that the sightings were probably of an escaped aviary bird rather than a paranormal phenomenon.
A more straightforward explanation may be that the Owlman sightings were of an escaped eagle owl (Bubo bubo), a species that can grow more than two feet long, with a wingspan of nearly six feet. This is supported by a report by Karl Shuker of a late 1980's sighting of the Owlman. The witness described it as four feet high, with two large toes on the front of each foot. it ducked down and forwards before it took off. Shuker states that this "calls to mind a very large owl". A colony of eagle owls exists in North Yorkshire - it is not impossible that one could exist in Cornwall.
Perhaps the most comprehensive study into the Owlman was undertaken by Jonathan Downes, the founder of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, (the worlds largest cryptozoological organisation) in his book 'The Owlman and Others' (1997).
[edit] References
- Bord, J. and C. "Alien Animals" (Granada 1980) (pp135-139, 141)
- Shuker, K. "The Unexplained" (Carlton 1996, 2002) (p37)
