I actually saw this twelve years ago, but I did not know where to post my experience until now....
My family and I used to be stationed at the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Norfolk, VA. We had a large lake as a backdrop of my neighborhood, so it was not unusual for us to see large birds around there (i.e. cranes, Blue Herons, Osprey, hawks, Pileated woodpeckers, etc.). However, there was one bird I saw that I had not seen before or since...a gian, man-sized owl! My mom was driving my brother and me to school one morning (I was twelve at the time), and as we passed a clump of trees in between a road and our neighborhood Country Store (which is no longer there), I saw a gigantic owl creature standing erect next to a tree. It turned its head and looked right at me! I was momentarily stunned. As my mom kept driving, I told her to please stop and go back, because I had seen "a giant owl or a man in an owl suit!" My mom laughed and thought I was just being silly and kept driving. However, I have been haunted by that memory ever since then. And I came to the conclusion that it was not a man in a suit for two reasons: a) it would not make sense for a man to have dressed up in an owl suit and just stand among the trees and b) the owl looked way too real, especially with its feathers and detailed face! I realize that owls, by nature, usually come out at night, but this area of woods was very shaded, with the owl standing just several feet from the road. It was at least five feet tall and was much wider than the average owl!! Maybe it had lost its way??
While searching online more recently, I found that these type of owls had been spotted by some in the original colonies and are still seen in those areas of the country today, though that is rare. If anyone has information on other sightings of these owls in VA, I would be very interested to know!
P.S. These owl's eyes did not glow red, as I know that has been reported in some Indian folklore. |
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