My grandmother, the nicest lady you could every meet, loved owls. This may be why I never held any fear of their wide, unblinking eyes or their tortured soul screeches splitting the night. Not to mention the unnatural way they’re able to twist their heads or the tufts of feathers shaped like devil horns. Yup, there are reasons owls are connected to Hallowe’en (sorry grandma) and let me remind you of a few sinister reasons why.
1. According to some superstition, witches can turn into owls, swoop down and suck blood from babies…not sure why they wouldn’t take bat form to do that, but whatever. Owls carry messages for sorcerers and witches. Ask anyone from Harry Potter land.
2. Found an owl nest in an abandoned house? Jackpot. Buy it. It’s haunted because owls are the only creatures that can live with ghosts. Make a paranormal bed and breakfast. Trust me.
3. If you’re traveling and dream of an owl, beware. You’re bound to be robbed. Or shipwrecked. Depending on your destination. Vacationing is dangerous…unless you’re at Disney World. Nothing bad ever happens there.
4. The owl is a symbol of death and destruction to more than a few cultures. Mictalntecuhtli, the Aztec god of death, was associated with owls. Lei-gong, the Chinese god of thunder, has the beak, wings and claws of an owl on the body of a man (a newly discovered sort of shifter, maybe?). In the region of Iraq, screech owls are linked to the demoness Lilith. Not good, grandma. Not. Good.
5. To see an owl or to hear it hooting is bad juju, especially at daylight. But there’s hope. Just toss some salt into the fire and the bad luck germ will go poof! Good to know, huh?
What’s your favorite Hallowe’en-related creature, real or otherwise?
I LOVE owls!!!! And that first gif is awesome! Great post, CJ! 🙂
I thought it was cute too. Thanks for dropping by, Traci!
Funny, I’ve never thought of owl as bad. Mysterious, maybe. But definite not bad. I mean, the owl is the one who figured out how many licks to finish the tootsie pop
Ha- I forgot all about that ad! A-one’, a-two, a-three…crunch. Three licks’ kid.