![]() ![]() The Lechuza has a special fondness for children, especially for those who wander away from home after dark. The Lechuza has been known to appear outside of houses during domestic quarrels, waiting for one of the people involved to storm out of the house to then be snatched and carried to the Lechuza’s lair. Not only is the Lechuza said to take humans as prey, it also preys upon the negative emotions of humans, acting as a psychic vampire, drawing power from emotions surrounding human conflict and distress. Other stories say the bird is a minion of Satan himself. In some of the legends, La Lechuza is not a shape-shifting person at all, but a witch’s familiar, much like a black cat, and does the bidding of the witch, attacking people and destroying property on her command. ![]() In a variation of this, the child was killed by a drunk and so now the Lechuza exacts revenge by hanging around bars, waiting until closing time to attack bar patrons who stumble out into the street after hours not knowing the danger from the sky about to rain down on them. Some say that the Lechuza snatches kids because her own child was killed by angry villagers for a crime he did not commit. ![]() Some say the Lechuza is a woman by day and turns into a huge owl by night. One of the main themes running through stories regarding the Lechuza is that the creature was once a woman who was wronged and who is seeking revenge. I will explore a few of the main legends here. One town may have made sense of their sighting one way, while another town a thousand miles away may have made sense in another, without ever communicating with each other about it. What could the large variety of explanations mean? The fact that there are so many different legends may indicate that sightings have occurred over a large geographical area over the years among people who were isolated from one another. There are many different legends surrounding the sighting of this creature. It has been reported only in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas and on the American side of the Rio Grande in Texas. In all cases the Lechuza flies and is seen at night. Some accounts say that the Lechuza’s face is that of an old woman, or of something more otherworldly with large, dark, almond-shaped eyes. In other cases it is more like a huge raven. In most cases it has been said to resemble an owl. It is sometimes described as black in color and sometimes as white as snow. Depending on which telling you hear, the massive bird can range in stature from the size of a small human to 7 feet tall and can have a wingspan of 15 feet. There are many descriptions and stories about the Lechuza and we will first describe the creature and relate the stories. Support local coverage like this by checking out our subscription options and special offers at Caller.Was UPS Bringing Refugees into the U.S. Not nearly exciting as La Lechuza, or even a wayward Andean condor.Īllison Ehrlich writes about things to do in South Texas and has a weekly Throwback Thursday column on local history. We went out there and got it and brought it to the police station." They didn't have any sightings after that. "A bunch of kids fixed them up a dummy of this big bird and hung it in a tree and then called police. Back around the time of the original newscast, Arnold received a call from some kids that the bird was sighted. Melvin Arnold with the Robstown police invited a photographer to come see the big bird roosting inside the police department since the fall. There was even a ballad written about the bird, produced through Freddie Records: "El Pajaro Gigante De Robe," recorded by Los Campeones De Raul Ruiz.īut Robstown police got the last laugh. Others claimed it was a heron or even a whooping crane, and it supposedly attacked some men. It sounded like an Andean condor, a South American bird that can have a 10-foot wingspan, though how it got to South Texas is anyone's guess. Don Farst with Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville had a more mundane explanation. ![]()
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