Witnesses Report Terrifying Encounter with "Huge Owl" That Had "Glowing Red Eyes" at O'Hare International Airport

*(Emily Wayland / Singular Fortean Society)*

Manuel Navarette of UFO Clearinghouse spoke to a woman recently who said that she and her friend encountered a “huge owl” with "glowing red eyes that looked like [they] belonged to the devil himself" near a parking lot at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on June 30th.

According to the report initially received by Navarette,

I had just gotten off of work and was walking with my friend toward the parking lot to go home. As we walked we saw something fly over us, at first it looked like a huge owl but it was solid black.
The thing flew over us, and then landed by the edge of the parking lot and was just standing there. We again thought it was an owl until this son of a bitch stood up and was standing about seven feet tall. My friend shrieked, and that’s when this [expletive] turned around [and] we saw two glowing red eyes that looked like [they] belonged to the devil himself.
That’s when we both screamed, and this demon spread his wings out and lunged at us while screeching at us. It sounded like a bunch of little girls all screaming at once and was the scariest thing I have ever heard. We ran for my car, and this thing acted like it wanted to come after us as we ran to the car. It took a step in our direction before it took off into the air and was out of sight in about three seconds.
We could still hear it screeching as it flew off into the night sky. I can tell you that I never felt so scared and all but pissed myself from fright. I thanked the Lord for watching over us and not letting that thing attack us or drag us off to Hell.

Navarette was able to speak over the phone with one of the women, but said, "the second party in this sighting refused to speak with me, she emailed me saying she was too shaken up and has elected to not participate in the investigation."

According to Navarette, the woman who did not wish to be interviewed stated in her email that "she has had repeated nightmares about the entity seen, and she felt that it had a demonic presence to it and therefore did not want any further involvement in this case."

The woman who was willing to be interviewed—albeit reluctantly, and only over the phone rather than face-to-face—also wrote the initial report.

Navarette asked her to walk him through the reported incident, and "she advised that she and the second witness have been lifelong friends, and had attended high school together. They have been working together for about four years now and both also attend the same church. They left work at approximately [11 pm] and were walking toward her car, when they heard and saw the entity fly overhead—she said the entity was approximately 20 to 30 feet overhead. They were able to make it out due to the street lights that illuminated the parking lot. They stated that they saw it land on the edge of the parking lot, and it stood there looking at them and then stood up to a height of about seven feet tall and spread its wings out."

"The witness said they screamed, and the entity appeared to lunge at them and emit a shriek that the witness described as sounding like little girls screaming all at once," Navarette said. "When asked if the entity took a step toward them when it lunged at them, the witness stated that the entity only extended its upper body toward them and did not step toward them. They stated that the entity did eventually take a step toward their general direction as they ran for their car, but then took flight and was gone within a few seconds. The witness said they heard it shriek one last time and then silence. When asked to describe the creature, the witness became very hesitant and said that she had to leave."

Navarette said that he "tried to reassure her that she was safe and that she could remain anonymous if she wished," but the witness "felt as if the creature was a demon and sent by the devil to test her faith, [and] that she did not feel comfortable talking to [me] about the incident anymore."

At that point, he terminated the phone interview per the witness's request.

The investigator was ultimately "unable to make any substantial conclusions, since one witness refused to speak to investigators other than a brief statement and the other witness concluded the interview prematurely due to feeling uncomfortable about going into detail [about] her sighting."

"It was apparent that both witnesses appear to be genuinely frightened by this encounter, but without any further details to corroborate the sighting [I have] no other choice but to label the investigation as inconclusive pending further details," he said.

The feeling of fear and sense of evil felt by the women is not unique, and other witnesses who have reported creatures resembling the one described have also reported similar experiences; including a man who said that he’d seen a red-eyed, winged humanoid that “felt really evil” while driving near O’Hare on the night of December 6th, 2019.

This is the most recently reported sighting in a series of unusual sighting reports that have taken place in the vicinity of O’Hare International Airport.

The sighting reports in this area so far include a May 31st sighting by a pilot at O’Hare International Airport, who said that he and his copilot saw "a large, black, human-like creature fly up and into the sky" while taxiing on the runway, a March 3rd sighting by investigator Manuel Navarette of a strange flying creature with “membranous wings” near O’Hare, a February 21st sighting by a security guard at O’Hare who said he saw what appeared to be a “very tall human, but it was solid black with glowing red eyes,” a January 23rd report from a man who said he saw an “egg-shaped” object fly over O’Hare and shine a “brilliant blue light” to the ground, through which a “person” appeared to be taken aboard the craft, the December 6th sighting of a red-eyed, winged humanoid near O’Hare, a December 3rd report of a “red-eyed flying man” from a security person at O’Hare, a November 26th sighting of a seven-foot-tall “person with wings” outside of O’Hare, a September 29th sighting of a toddler-sized “bat creature…running like a gorilla” near Barrington, an October 30th sighting of a large, winged humanoid in Park Ridge, an October 29th report of a winged humanoid accompanied by several other beings who disappeared in a flash of blue light, a late October sighting of an “unknown flying human owl” in Hoffman Estates, an October 19th sighting of a “giant-sized bat” outside of the Edward Hotel in Rosemont, an October 5th sighting of a "tall creature" with "bright red eyes" and "large wings” near O’Hare, a sighting report from August by a pilot who claimed to have seen what he called “the O’Hare Mothman,” a report from July of a six-foot-tall creature flying over the Des Plaines River near Rosemont, and another sighting from the summer of 2019 by a man who claimed to have seen "a large, dark, man-sized bat-bird 'thing'" flying behind his home in Franklin Park, Illinois.

In addition, a report out of Bensenville described an encounter had by a man who claimed he witnessed a “large, dark being” with “cape-like wings" in 2006.

These reports constitute the latest news in a string of ‘Mothman’ sightings from within a few hundred mile radius surrounding Lake Michigan, including every state bordering the great lake. These sightings ostensibly began in the spring of 2017, but more historical accounts are being reported as more people become aware of the phenomenon. They generally take place in the evening or at night, often in or near a park, and around water. Witnesses consistently describe a large, gray or black, bat or bird-like creature—although in a small number of cases the creature was described as insect-like—sometimes with glowing or reflective red, yellow, green, or orange eyes, and humanoid features such as arms and legs are often reported. Some witnesses have reported feeling intense fear and an aura of evil emanating from the creature they encountered. Many of the sightings are also of something seen only briefly or are described only as a flying creature with few details, which leaves open the possibility that a large bird or bird-like being could explain some—although certainly not all—of the encounters. A number of associated high strangeness incidents have also occurred alongside the creature sightings; including reports of UFOs, other anomalous flying creatures, psychic and haunting phenomena, and bizarre events experienced by those investigating the sightings.

To report a sighting reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

You can view a timeline of the sightings so far here, and an interactive map here.

To report your own encounter with the impossible, reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

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