The Owlman

The UK's Owlman : Owlman, sometimes referred to as the Cornish Owlman, or Owlman of Mawnan is one of the stranger and lesser known cryptid creatures. There is no body of folklore surrounding Owlman, however the sightings continue to this day. Owlman sightings could easily be dismissed were it not for the paranormal circumstances surrounding Owlman.

What is Owlman?

Owlman was first seen during the year 1976 in the county of Cornwall. More specifically, it was seen in the vicinity of the Mawnan Village. Some of the sightings were reported to the well-known cryptozoologist Tony "Doc" Shiels who reportedly coined the name "Owlman".

The first sighting took place on April 17, 1976 and was reported by two girls, June and Vicky Melling. They reportedly saw a large, feathered "bird man" hovering over the Mawnan Church on Morgawr's Mile. The sighting left the two girls so frightened that the family cut short its holiday. Below is a sketch of what they saw.

Similar sightings were reported over the years of a partially feathered man sized owl with pointed ears and clawed feet. It was a silvery grey color with slanting red eyes. There are similarities between Owlman and the better known Mothman.

There were several sightings of Owlman between 1976 and 1978, all in the vicinity of Mawnan Church, after which it seemed to have disappeared for a few years. Since then, there have been other reports of Owlman in the area from time to time.

Other Paranormal Phenomena

What makes the Cornish Owlman story so interesting is that it did not take place in isolation. The sightings happened at a time when many paranormal things were going on in the area.

During the spring of 1976, the weather in Cornwall went through extreme shifts between unusual heat waves and cold snaps. Animals behaved strangely - there are reports of packs of dogs, cats and birds terrorizing people. In addition, there was an upsurge in UFO reports around the countryside. Add to all of this the fact that Mawnan Church is reportedly situated on a ley line and the whole thing becomes worthy of a paranormal investigation. Something weird was happening in the area at the time and still is today.

The paranormal activity in Cornwall can be connected to the story of Owlman in many possible ways. To a skeptic, it suggests a possible wave of mass hysteria. After the first sighting was reported the prevailing atmosphere of weirdness could have induced others to believe they saw something similar.

Another possibility is that there really was something strange in the region at the time, possibly some form of freak earth energy or other power. This could possibly be connected with the unusual weather and animal behaviour. If this were the case then even if the Owlman sightings were hallucinations they would remain interesting as another symptom of whatever was really going on at the time.

Another paranormal connection is with the local UFO sightings. Is it at all possible Owlman was actually an alien visitor passing through, or possibly an alien hybrid? Below is a sketch of Mothman that is very similar to Owlman.

Furthermore, it is interesting to compare the Cornish Owlman with the West Virginia Mothman. UFO reports came in around the same time Mothman appeared. We also have the Lechuza. From the urban legend commonly told in the Mexican heritage where the spirit of a woman or a witch turns into a giant owl. Legend has it that Lechuza is said to fly around terrorizing people and can steal souls. Lechuza's are reported to be half human & half bird. Lechuza sightings are mainly reported to this day in Texas, Arizona, California and Mexico. Mothman, Owlman and Lechuza seem to share strange similarities. All have large red eyes, appear to be humanoid winged creatures and have strange paranormal happening occur around the time of their presence. So what are these strange cryptids? Are they ancient animals from our planet, beings from another dimension, elementals, demons or extraterrestrials? The similarities are too eerily similar to ignore.

The Paranormalistics theorize that perhaps these creatures are like Bigfoot in that it may have an otherworldly explanation other than some unknown wild animal.