The Legend of La Lechuza | Ep. 96
Welcome to another episode of Believing the Bizarre.
This week, we cover terrifying Mexican Folklore – the story of La Lechuza. This half-woman, half-owl entity is said to have been a woman that practiced witchcraft and was murdered by her town.
Therefore, she has come back for revenge to wreak havoc. Also – surprise – this is also a Listener Submission! What!?
What a plot twist. So, is this owl entity believable? Listen now!
La Lechuza: The Mexican Folklore Of The Owl Witch
Are witches real? Is there a creepy Mexican legend of an owl witch that terrorizes a town?
What’s up Bizarros?! This week dive into the Legend of La Lechuza, the Witch Owl.
What Are The Origins Of The Owl Witch?
La Lechuza is a spooky Mexican Folklore story that goes back centuries to a woman named Lechuza.
The first origin story claims that Lechuza was a witch and was eventually exposed in her village for doing the devil’s magic.
Naturally, the people in the town weren’t happy about her practicing magic, and they decided the reasonable thing to do was to kill her.
But, what they forgot was that she had powers and spells, and much like the vengeful spirit of the Mexican legend, La Llorona, she became a vengeful spirit.
She came back as a spirit, but not just any spirit. She decided to come back as a creepy bird-like lady, similar to a barn owl in appearance.
She vowed to exact revenge on those who murdered her.
Another origin story surrounding La Lechuza folklore is that she is the ghost of a woman whose children were killed by a drunk driver.
The loss of her children drove her to anger and resentment which allows her to come back and inflict pain on people.
Some say she actually has shape-shifting abilities so that she can be a normal woman during the day and then a massive, terrifying owl with an old woman’s face at night. Truly the stuff of nightmares.
She is 7 feet tall with a huge wingspan of 15 feet.
Learn More About The La Lechuza Legend: The Witch Owl
We found a website, Scary Mommy, that broke down La Lechuza’s modus operandi. Here are 8 facts about her.
1. She Only Comes Out At Night
This may feel a little contradictory but during the day she appears as a normal(ish) woman.
It is really at night that she transforms into an owl-like horror and terrorizes people.
She is known to fly through the air, perch on trees, and prowl around looking for people to slaughter.
If you hear an otherworldly screech late at night, it is an omen that La Lechuza could be around and looking to kill.
2. She Can Pose As A Baby
According to legends, La Lechuza can change her voice that mimics a baby crying, but it sounds like it’s just outside of your door.
That way, when you, the kind-hearted individual assume that either someone left a baby on your doorstep, or that at the very least there might be a question that a baby is hurt, you open the door to check.
But instead of a baby, there is an owl-like woman as the source of the crying, trying to draw you out.
She will pounce on you and carry you away with her talons. Or she may kill you right there.
There is another sign that she was there. If you are smart and don’t answer the door, in the morning when you look at your front door it will have deep, unexplainable scratch marks on it.
3. She May Whistle Outside Your Window
There is no trance here or anything like that, I assume it’s just about piquing your curiosity.
But, she will perch outside your whistle or even screech to irritate you into looking to see what is outside.
When you do, she will grab you and take you away.
4. She May Run You Off The Road
In her best Annabelle impersonation, she may give you a little road trouble as you’re driving through your town.
Some accounts say when she is unusually hungry, she may choose to attack an entire car full of people.
She will bump into your car or appear in front of you quickly, which may cause you to swerve off the road and crash.
5. Don’t Dream About The Owl Witch
Do you have a guess what will happen if you dream about La Lechuza?
They say if you dream about her then someone in your family will die.
They don’t say how or if it is even by her – just that a family member will die.
I want to know how she knows you dream about her. Maybe the devil’s magic gives her a window to your soul.
6. She Could Be An Omen
Kind of like Mothman, some folks believe that La Lechuza could be a warning sign of something bad to come.
So, instead of killing you – or even harming you – if you see her late at night she is using her presence to allude to something very bad and dangerous – like a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or explosion.
7. The Owl Witch Is Incredibly Strong
Kind of like we discussed carrying people away, the witch is super strong.
8. According To Some Sources She Can Control The Weather
Maybe this is why she is tied to impending weather disasters like hurricanes and tornados?
I’m not sure, but it is reported that she has the ability to control the weather and create thunderstorms on a whim.
Likely with her devil magic, I suppose.
But, for her, this is a great tactic to disarm, confuse, or fluster prey.
How To Protect Yourself From La Lechuza
If you find yourself in a situation where La Lechuza might be near, you should not try and approach her, fight her, or shoot her.
In fact, some sources say she is impervious to bullets.
Instead, your best bet is to use salt, as she hates it, and it will force her to temporarily stay away.
Encounters With The Owl Witch
We have two encounters that we found from Thought Catalogue, and then we have the actual Listener Submission from Lacey which inspired the entire episode.
First Encounter:
“I live in south Texas. I have been researching la lechuza tonight.
I was driving back to town and a huge white owl flew in front of my truck. I would say it was a coincidence but this is the third time in three weeks that this has happened to me.
Twice coming back from out of town and once at midnight getting out of work.
I have been searching for sites on common birds to this region and the owls in this part of Texas don’t come close to the bright white color and size of the owls I have almost crashed into as they fly in front of my windshield.
I did not believe in this Mexican urban legend, but after getting hexed in Panama I know anything is possible.”
Second Encounter:
“I SWEAR on my life that I saw that bird! I saw it when I was about 9 or 10.
I lived south of San Antonio along 35 between 2 little towns called Von Ormy and Lytle. I was at home alone waiting for my dad to get home from work.
I was on the couch watching Spongebob (which was is my favorite show). It was a bit late, the sun had set maybe an hour or so before, but the moon was full and lit everything enough that you could see like a dim light was on.
My grandma’s house was on the same plot of land about a few hundred yards in front of my house.
I looked out the window because I saw movement near her back door. I thought my dad had stopped by there first and was walking home.
I ran outside on the front porch to wave at him and yell hello.
But it wasn’t my dad that I saw out there.
I saw this MASSIVE bird. I mean this thing had to have been the size of Big Bird from Sesame Street (My kid memory might be exaggerating that a little, but it was huge.)
Much bigger than any hawk or buzzard I’d seen before). It was sitting on the picnic table in my grandma’s yard and it was looking dead at me.
I froze but didn’t feel too scared. I was just really interested in this giant bird outside. It was jet black. All I could see was the outline of it and the eyes shining in the moonlight.
I slowly went back inside and peeked at it through the window on the front door. I was so amazed by it. I had never seen anything like it.
We stared at each other like this for a few minutes. Suddenly, it spread its wings and flew away. I told my dad about it when he got home about an episode of Spongebob (~15 mins) later and he laughed it off, but I told my grandma the next morning while eating breakfast and she went crazy.
She started saying prayers and rubbing eggs on me and stuff.
Then she told me the story of La Lechuza, which I had never heard before. It sent shivers down my spine knowing that it was staring at me so intensely.
After thinking about it for a few days though, I started to wonder maybe if it wasn’t there to hurt me but to warn me about something.
Sure enough, a few weeks later a huge storm came through. There was a funnel cloud nearby, but it never actually touched down.
The winds did do a lot of damage to my house, but my grandma’s house was completely untouched. And that picnic table was the only piece of furniture outside that wasn’t blown away.”
Lacey’s Listener Submission
Back in 2006, Lacey lived with her (now ex) husband in an apartment in San Antonio.
While on a date where they were laying on the hood of his car at night and gazing at the stars, he told Lacey the story of the La Lechuza.
The way he described it was a “type of witch that can shapeshift between a human woman, a winged woman, and an owl. And she preys on the faithful much like a demon.”
He claimed that multiple members of his family were plagued by the La lechuza across many generations.
From the description he gave, I assume he would think they are plagued and focused on because of their faith. That is my assumption.
But, at this point, Lacey took the story with a grain of salt. She figured it was late, they were in the dating phase and he just wanted to tell her a spooky and exciting story.
A few years later, they were married, had a pug, and were living in a nicer apartment.
All was well and good until one late summer evening. Lacey was awakened by loud noises coming from inside the apartment.
Not yet having her bearings and being completely startled, Lacey searched for her husband who she just realized was not in her bed.
When her eyes adjusted to the dark, she noticed he was across the room, staring at a random blank spot on their wall.
She couldn’t see his face but she could hear that he was breathing heavily.
She asked him what was going on and what the noise was.
Silence.
She waited a few more moments.
Silence.
Other than his back rising and falling with his labored breathing, he didn’t move an inch.
I ask him what’s going on what did I hear, and for a few moments, he doesn’t answer me.
At this point, the silence was killing Lacey. So she got out o bed and went next to him.
There, in the blank wall where he was staring, was a massive, softball-size hole in the drywall.
Even with her standing next to him, looking at this crater in the wall, he hadn’t acknowledged her, so Lacey put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
As soon as her hand touched his shoulder he flinched, pulled away, and lifted his fists toward her like she was a threat.
Thankfully, he snapped out of his trance and realized it was Lacey standing in front of him.
He hugged her and asked if she was okay.
Once his breathing calmed down and they sat back down on the bed, he explained to Lacey that he woke up in the middle of the night and saw La Lechuza hovering over him.
Not only did he see this owl-like creature lingering over him in bed, but he found that he was unable to breathe like he was being strangled.
He silently began praying the best he could for protection and thank goodness he was able to break the hold La Lechuza seemed to have over him.
But he didn’t want to back off.
He charged at the owl creature and knocked it against the wall and started punching it in the face.
He said that the back of La Lechuza’s head is what actually caused the hole in the drywall.
Lacey admitted that this sounds silly, and perhaps it could have been in a drowsy sleepy state, sort of like a hallucination I guess.
That seemed more likely than her husband beating up a mythical creature.
Her husband argued that he was telling the truth and he literally felt the creature’s teeth against his knuckles.
That ordeal never really was resolved, and Lacey went back to sleep that night skeptical and assuming it was her husband that punched the hole in the wall.
But she did notice that while his fist was very bloody…there wasn’t a single speck of blood on the drywall, which she found odd…
A few days later, Lacey’s husband was working late and she went out to the apartment’s courtyard to walk their pug before she went to sleep for the night.
While their dog was sniffing around, Lacey heard a rustling up ahead in the trees that lined the courtyard.
It was a strange noise that she had never heard before, especially with how high it was.
She said it sounded almost like a huge animal that was darting from tree to tree.
Lacey looked up and inspected the trees, but it was dark and she had trouble identifying anything.
Her attention was pulled away from the treetops when she felt a strong tug on her dog’s leash.
The retractable leash was extended and her dog was frozen still, looking up in a different direction.
Lacey followed her dog’s gaze and saw a stark white owl perched on one of the branches, staring back at them.
It looked like a normal barn owl but felt completely out of place. Plus, she found it strange that her dog wasn’t acting how she normally does when she notices another animal – like barking and jumping around.
Instead, the pug was standing quietly and staring.
Lacey felt a cold chill. It didn’t feel right, so she quickly pulled her dog and they went inside.
Lacey didn’t immediately tell her husband about the strange encounter, but it wasn’t long before she mentioned to her that he could still feel La Lechuza lurking nearby.
He could feel it messing with him, giving him negative thoughts and planting negative images in his head.
When Lacey described her experience, he took it as confirmation that his suspicions were true.
Is The Owl Witch Real?
What do you think Bizarros? Is La Lechuza real? Or is it just an urban legend?
Is it spooky Mexican Folklore, or is La Lechuza, The Owl Witch, a vengeful spirit looking to feed on you?