Owlman of Mawnan — Winged Humanoid Terrifies Visitors to Cornish Church

Beginning in 1976 and continuing through the 1990s, multiple witnesses reported encounters with a large owl-like humanoid near the Church of St. Mawnan and St. Stephen in the village of Mawnan, Cornwall, England. The entity was described as standing over 5 feet tall with large pointed ears, red eyes, and silvery-black feathers or scales.

The initial 1976 sightings were made by two daughters of a holidaying family who were so frightened they left Cornwall immediately. Their father reported the sightings to local paranormal researcher Tony 'Doc' Shiels, who collected subsequent accounts. In 1978, two 14-year-old girls encountered the creature hovering above a tree near the same church and sketched it independently, producing nearly identical drawings.

Through the late 1980s and 1990s, additional witnesses—tourists and locals—reported seeing the creature in the same location, always near the ancient church that sits directly on a known ley line intersection. The consistency of the location is notable.

In 2009, further sightings were reported. Paranormal researchers have noted similarities between the Owlman and the American Mothman, both in physical description and in the way they seem to appear in concentrated areas before ceasing activity for years. No biological specimen or definitive photograph has been produced.