A native Kiowa-Tanoan man living in Oklahoma recalls a story of an encounter that his grandmother had with an 'owl.' Could the sighting have been a death harbinger, as stated in native lore?
The following account was found on a paranormal encounters forum:
"My grandma recently passed and I wanted to share a story she used to tell. Now some of the supernatural or paranormal stories weren’t really that scary, more mythical, like the stories both she and my dad would tell of little people called 'Minapeds' or little people. The name might be a rough spelling as it was in Kiowa-Tanoan and I don’t know the spelling of it, but that’s how it sounded in English.
There was one story she'd always tell when we drove the old road around Mount Scott and Lake Lawtonka near Medicine Park in Oklahoma. In the late 1960s before my dad was born, she lived close to the tribe in Carnegie, but still lived closer to Medicine Park. Usually, she would go to Carnegie during the week for groceries as she worked nights at her job during the weekend, but on the odd occasion, she'd go to Medicine Park to get whatever groceries we needed that weekend that she had either forgotten or didn't get enough of. The reason she did is that there were no stores in Carnegie that were open late in the night but there was one in Medicine Park.
She then told us that the mountain we drove around was sacred to the tribe, and were promised that no road would be built there by the government in the 1900s. But, of course, they build roads there anyway so when driving you can get a good view of the mountain and the lake. Because of this, it is now haunted by a spirit that's aggressive, especially if you drive at night.
Now a lot of people can agree that native creatures and supernatural stories were just made up, but this was the first real event that made her believe more than what she thought was real regarding native "ghost stories."
This particular night the clouds covered the moon and stars so it was darker than usual. It didn't bother her much as she can still see the road. But around halfway through the trip, her car stopped. It just turned off by itself. She thought it was weird but probably just something wrong with the car. She went to turn it on and nothing. So she tried a second time. Immediately after attempting to start it a second time she said she heard something 'woosh' above the car. Then she tried to start it a third time and it worked. But in the span of about 4 seconds, she said she saw a large black figure in the middle of the road, not 6 feet away from the car. When she noticed it she said it reacted to the lights shining as it quickly turned its head and showed its big glowing eyes. It then flew up into the air never to be seen again. She just called it the 'owl' but I and my brother prefer the name 'owlman' better, kind of a joke as we're obsessed with the silly cryptids.
But the reason she claims this was a significant encounter was that owls in our tribe are taboo and are said to be bad omens. If you see one, it means someone close to you is going to die very soon. And about a year after when my dad was less than a year old, they found out my grandpa had cancer. It would be a little over a decade before he died from it but the owl and the bad news were not coincidental.
Now, do I believe it? Yes, I do. My grandma was dead set on it being a true story and my dad believe it was too, probably because he also had stories of paranormal stuff happening to him. He said it himself, "There are things out there you can't even imagine. Think of how many times things sounded fake until it was found or had happened."
If I ever get with my dad again I'll ask him more about those kinds of things and maybe post them. But for now, what do you think of this encounter? I know it didn't happen to me but it happened to someone who was very close. Plus I never see native paranormal encounters other than skinwalker or what have you." B
NOTE: I have experienced (and know others who have also experienced) strange owl encounters in the past. Yes, I do believe that it foretold the death of someone close to me. The humanoid owls, in Kiowa tradition (as well as in other tribes), are known as 'stikini.' That moniker was also brought up during our investigation of 'owl humanoids' seen in the Chicagoland area, as well as the term 'lechuza,' which is more prevalent in the South Texas / Rio Grande region by resident Hispanic people. Lon
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Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman.' - Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map - Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.
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