Owlman
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'Owlman', sometimes known as the Cornish Owlman, was a cryptozoological creature that was sighted in the vicinity of the church in the village of Mawnan, in Cornwall. On the evening of April 17, 1976, two young girls saw a giant owl hovering around the church tower. The same owl was sighted by two other young girls on July 3, 1976. Sally Chapman, age 14, was camping with a friend in some 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. When Sally and her friend, Barbara, saw this figure, they burst out laughing, believing it to be a person in a fancy dress. The Owlman then flew up into the air, revealing black pincer-like claws. Sightings of this unusual figure continued on the following day and on one occasion two years later, in 1978. All of the sightings were within the vicinity of the church.
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 suggest that the church may be built on a ley line (a straight line that passes through and links several ancient sites), and speculate that the appearance of the Owlman may be a manifestation of earth energy in this place.
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.
Perhaps the most comprehensive study into the Owlman was undertaken by Jon Downes, the founder of the centre for fortean zoology (the worlds largest cryptozoological organisation) in his book 'Owlman and others'.
External links
- The Owlman of Mawnan (http://www.cfz.org.uk/features/owlman.htm)