Death Owl

By James Lockhart

Old Indian tales..

All of my life I’ve been taught Choctaw traditions and folklore. The Trail of Tears and Death, Choctaws raiding confederate and union troops during the civil war, hidden treasure in the Kiamichi Mountains, outlaws, cowboys and Indians. You name it and I’ve probably heard of it.  

For some reason though one Native American tale has always kind of creeped me out. I think because my mother told it to me when I was a small child. My dad was the story teller of our family, and, I didn’t always believe what he said. So, when mom told me a story I tended to believe it. This one, it still gives me the willies though……

Mom told me about how an owl landed on the windowsill of her coworker’s house one morning. The coworker told my mom about it, and she also said someone in her house would most likely die that night. Mom said she didn’t think much about it, they were working and at the end of the day they went on about their lives. Mom came home and the coworker went to her house. 

The next day when mom went to work the coworker wasn’t there. Mom’s boss came around asking everyone for five dollars to buy flowers, because the lady’s mother had passed away unexpectedly. 

It was then mom remembered the owl had sat on the lady’s windowsill the morning before. The old Indian tale that if an owl sits on your windowsill someone in the house will die, in this case, according to mom the Indian tale was true. 

I leave my house before daylight most mornings. It’s a fair drive to my farthest pasture. Normally, I stop and get coffee and a biscuit on my way to count cows, put out hay and feed. The other morning I slept a tad late so I skipped breakfast and headed to the woods pasture. That’s what I call it because it’s way out in the woods to this particular pasture where the cows are. There’s no streetlights, town lights or anything on the final five miles. It’s just tall pine trees, dirt roads and the occasional deer or bear. 

It was kind of getting some light in the early morning sky, but I still had my headlights on. All of the sudden I see bright red eyes hovering about fifteen feet above the road. A grey looking owl was circling just above the roadway I was driving down.  I’ve seen owls often in the woods, but I’d never seen one that had bright red glowing eyes as it flew in circles just above the road. 

In a nanosecond I was reminded of the old Indian tale of an owl sitting on a windowsill and someone dying. I couldn’t help but be a bit scared or worried. As I drove up to the circling owl it kind of flew just off the side of the road so I could pass without it being directly over me. 

All of this happened fairly quickly. As I was driving away from it I breathed a sigh of relief. I was worried that durned death owl might have flown itself into my driver side window. 

I normally don’t tote a gun when I’m feeding cows, they kind of get in my way. On this morning though I stuffed my pistol in my belt and laid my old shotgun across the seat as I drove around counting the cows. When I had to get on the old tractor to put hay out I kept the pistol handy. 

When I got home I looked online and I think what I saw was an anomaly. The Stygian Owl is native to Mexico. They aren’t supposed to be this far north, but after looking at a bunch of pictures I am convinced that’s what it was. 

I didn’t know until I read about it, but its nickname is the devil owl. Guess I’m not the only one scared of an owl with red eyes…… 

James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.