I’m a little surprised that this topic hasn’t come up, at least I searched and didn’t find a specific thread, only a couple of references.
Anyways, I thought I would get one going as I am keen to know what other ATS readers think about this. It is one of the more unusual stories, and to
be honest, it probably covers more of a paranormal stance than Cryptid, but as Mothman gets coverage here, I’m inclined to believe that Owly will
get more attention in this area.
Location of Mawnan:
A little bit of background. The Owlman, or as it’s more commonly referred to, ‘The Owlman of Mawnan’ was a spectral ‘creature’ spotted in
woods in Mawnan, England in the late seventies. A little bit of info on him/her/it:
‘Owlman is the name of a strange hybrid creature that, appropriately enough, combines human and owl anatomy. Owlman's size is said to be the same
as a regular human. He is often seen flying, which should rule out a person in a costume. He makes a hissing noise and has glowing red eyes. The claws
on his feet are unusually large and are black in color. His feathers are generally described as light grey or white. Owlman has been sighted by many
witnesses in Mawnan Woods and in the cemetary of Mawnan Old Church in Cornwall, Britain. He mostly appears to young girls.’
Source: Owlman - TinWiki
The first to witness this beastie were two girls who were on a camping trip:
‘In 1976 on April 17, two young girls claimed to have seen a giant owl hovering over the local church tower, as did two other young girls on July 3.
In the second encounter, 14-year-old Sally Chapman was camping with a friend, Barbara Perry, in woods near the church. 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 of 1978, all within the
vicinity of the church (Bord, 1980).’
Source: Owlman - Wikipedia
Below is an artists rendering of Owlman, Doc Shiels and the 2 girls:
The critter has been seen numerous other times by people in the area, one of whom was apparently a student from Chicago who went there while on a trip
to the UK. Director and Founder of the Center for Fortean Zoology, Jonathan Downes (Jonathan Downes
) wrote and published a book on the phenomena called ‘The Owlman and Others’ in which he gives an exhaustive account of his many
investigations into the Owlman entity, and its connection to another local cryptid, Mawgar, a sea monster spotted in nearby Falmouth Bay. He also
sheds a little light on a local ‘Wizard’ who seemed pretty active during the sightings of Owlman, and whom has become known as ‘Doc’ Shiels.
He (Doc) apparently tried unsuccessfully to invoke the Owlman while local TV channels turned up in the hopes of a good story.
Mawnan Church - it was seen hovering above the spire:
Looking out over Falmouth bay, where Mawgar has been seen numerous times:
I recommend picking up a copy of the book, and if you can take the Doc’s ramblings with a pinch of salt, the information about the Owlman is very
interesting. Also, another recommended read (if you can find a copy) is ‘Alien Animals’ by Colin and Janet Bord, which also contains a good
section on Owlman (as well as many other cryptids) as well as The Mothman…
Now, it occurred to me numerous times about the many similarities between Owlman and the Mothman, spotted in 1966 in Point Pleasant, WV. Both of them
are winged entities, both were reported to have red glowing eyes. Both were reported to be about the size of a man. Both were also said to make high
pitched screeching and/or hissing sounds.
Not only that, but I saw some (maybe vague) similarities between their locations and the significance of them. Mawnan Woods and the church there stand
on a Ley Line, and is by the sea, whereas Point Pleasant apparently was cursed by Chief Cornstalk and is surrounded on 2 sides by rivers. I know these
are vague, but something worth considering??
I hope this has stirred a little interest, and will get the ball rolling on this fantastic beastie… look forward to some discussion!
Edit: added pictures.
[edit on 3/9/2009 by Genus_Unknown]