The 'Mothman' owls - Letters to the Editor

Regarding "'Mothman' Solved" (March/April 2002):

No it ain't a common barn owl--it's a great horned owl, which can grow to massive proportions depending upon the local supply of rats, field mice and rabbits.

Any country boy who's been around a while has been startled by the "automobile-reflector-eyes" and huge wings, tucked against a tail, fluffy body....

These owls get positively huge down in these parts (Georgia) and the spectacle of a startled great horned owl flapping his wings and swooping from a perch is enough to startle and traumatize any imaginative person.

Chris Long

chrislangeus@yahoo.com

Joe Nickell responds:

Mr. Long's sweeping, categorical statement ignores the specific evidence. The creature's squeaky cry, "funny little face," and presence near barns and abandoned buildings suggests the barn owl. But the great horned owl may well have played "Mothman" on occasion as no doubt did the barred owl, an intermediate-sized owl that is especially common in the vicinity of the original sightings. That area is the McClintick Wildlife Management Area--a bird sanctuary to be sure! On a recent trip to the region (which I hope to report on in Skeptical Briefs), I also photographed a large stuffed owl--identified as a snowy owl (unusual for the area)--that had been shot off a local barn during the Mothman flap in 1966.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
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