CREEPY CRYPTIDS: THE OWLMAN

October 16, 2018 Jazz Blackwell 0 Comments

If you're anything like me, my dear, sweet reader, then you've got an interest in creatures which may be fact or fable that borders on the unhealthy. That being the case, I'd say it's pretty safe to assume you've heard of the infamous Mothman - a large, winged creature that terrified residents of Point Pleasant, Virginia in the mid sixties. Mothman is without a doubt one of the most well-known cryptids ever to exist. But how much do you know about his English cousin?

A statue dedicated to Owlman's more famous American cousin, The Mothman.

The Owlman is a cryptid believed to reside in the English county of Cornwall, sighted several times between 1976 and 1995. It was described as a man-sized owl, silvery-grey in colour, with red eyes, pointed ears and massive black pincer-like claws. Due to similarities in appearance, Owlman has been labelled by some as 'England's Mothman'.

The first sighting of the cryptid was reported by Don Melling, who was visiting Cornwall from Lancashire for a holiday with his wife and two daughters. He approached paranormal researcher Tony Shiels in April 1976, claiming that on the seventeenth of the month his daughters - aged twelve and nine - had been walking in the woods near Mawnan church when they spotted a massive bird-like creature hovering about the church's steeple. Terrified, they ran back to their accommodation to tell their parents what they had seen. The family was so perturbed that they abandoned their holiday three days early. According to Shiels, Melling would not allow either of his daughters to be interviewed. He was, however, provided with a drawing of the beast by twelve-year-old June Melling.

June's drawing depicts a terrifying bird-man hybrid.

On 3rd July of the same year, two young girls took an innocent camping trip to the woods near by the church. Late at night while fourteen year old Sally Chapman stood outside her tent and heard a strange hissing sound from behind her. She turned to see what she described as an owl as big as a man with glowing red eyes and pointed ears. She and her friend reported that the beast took flight, revealing black pincer-like claws on its feet. Several sightings of the creature were reported the following day, when the creature was described as being silvery-grey in colour. The creature was also sighted on two occasions in 1978 - in June and August respectively. All of these sightings took place within vicinity of the church.

The subject of the Owlman's existence stirred up much debate in the paranormal community - mostly because of who publicized it. Shiels was an eccentric with a known fondness for hoaxes and as such, many argued that he'd simply invented the creature himself. Among the nay-sayers was Shiels' fellow paranormal researcher, Robert Downes. However, while Downes acknowledges the possibility that Shiels invented the beast, in 1989 he interviewed a young man known only as 'Gavin' who reported a sighting of the Owlman independently from Shiels. 'Gavin' claimed that he and his girlfriend had seen a creature that he described as follows: "About five feet tall...The legs had high ankles and the feet were large and black with two huge 'toes' on the visible side. The creature was grey with brown and the eyes definitely glowed." 

Downes' book available  on Amazon here (UK) and here (US)

The most recent sighting of the beast came in 1995. A female tourist, visiting Cornwall from Chicago, USA, wrote to the Western Morning News in Truro - a city close to Mawnan church - claiming that she had seen "a man-bird...with a ghastly face, a wide mouth, glowing eyes, pointed ears and clawed wings." 

So what do you think of the Owlman? Real, or simply a myth? Perhaps you believe he was fabricated by Shiels, and it was an all just an elaborate hoax. The sightings for this beast didn't begin until sometime after the Mothman apparently vanished - perhaps they aren't cousins at all. Perhaps the same monster travelled and took up residence in the rural church. Whatever you believe, this is certainly a strange and mysterious case and one that - as of yet - seems to have little explanation.

Keep it weird,
Jazz xo