Ominous Origins

Man-Creatures! The Owlman of Mawnan

On this podcast we don't discriminate based on anything: race, religion, sexual orientation, or cryptid. That's right, all cryptids are treated as equals here, including the lesser known Owlman of Mawnan. Now, given my affinity for owls, I'm surprised, and frankly disappointed in myself that I'd not heard of this interesting little fella before. But, as my wife says a little too often: Better late than never.
Bad jokes aside, the Owlman of Mawnan is spotted in a very specific part of the English countryside in the Cornwall region. Even more specifically it's spotted around a couple of churched, St. Mawnan and St. Stephen's. So, what is it? By all accounts, it's roughly a four foot tall humanoid creature with very owl life features. It's never attacked or harmed a person, and generally just watches before flying off. Sure, it's spooky, but ultimately harmless. 
Could it be related to the Mothman? Well, that's one theory. Aliens could also play a part in this mystery, but like most cryptids, we don't have a whole lot of evidence, other than a handful of sightings in a 20 year span.
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Who Wore it First, Carmilla or Dracula?

It's an age old question that I just thought of. Carmilla was a novel written by Sheridan Le Fanu in 1871-ish, while Dracula had its run in 1897. So, I guess that answers that. Carmilla was indeed first, but in the grand scheme of things, does that make a huge difference? Both of these novels had their own influence and helped usher the vampire into the horror world. Both Stoker and Le Fanu were pioneers in the field of supernatural horror, and I'd rather not compare them, but rather celebrate both! How diplomatic of me, eh?
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The Drums of A Poltergeist!

Okay, Okay, that title is a bit misleading. The drums didn't actually belong to a poltergeist... or did they? That's the question that plagued John Mompesson and his family back in 1661. The story goes that Mompesson was a magistrate and was quite disliked by people of lower stature in the time - the homeless, the nomadic peoples, etc... Well, one day he confiscated the drums of a vagrant by the name of William Drury. Wouldn't you know it, when John got home, the drums were at his home, waiting for him. He paid no mind to it at first, but then weird stuff started to happen.
You guessed it, the sound of drums began to play in the house, which were heard throughout the neighborhood as well. It all came to a head when John's kids became the target for the haunting. Beds, and well, people started to levitate, noised and moving objects plagued the family as well. It wasn't until Drury was shipped off to the colonies in North America that the activity stopped. Coincidence? Who knows. What happened to the Mompesson family? Was Drury really responsible? You'll just have to listen to find out!
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Artemus Oglertree Ran Away To Egypt?

No, he didn't. He still died in Kansas city, however once his identity was discovered, his family received all sorts of calls and letters from people claiming to either be Artemus, or people who claimed to have known him. One of those calls cam from a man who said Ogletree saved him in a fight, where he lost his thumb. He was unable to write due to that, oh, and he also jumped on a ship, sailed to Egypt, and married a wealthy woman. Yeah, none of that actually happened. It was either some kind of weird joke, or somebody trying to cover their tracks, a theme that pops up once or twice.
Beyond those phone calls and letters, an anonymous party called the funeral home that housed Ogletree's body and paid for a proper funeral - this was before his identity was truly known. The woman on the phone claimed he was essentially killed because he was cheating on his fiancée; again this is unsubstantiated, but they did come through and pay for a proper funeral.
In the end, this is one weird ass case with quite a bit of intrigue to it.
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Artemus Ogletree By Any Other Name...

Mr. Ogletree checked into the Hotel President under the name Roland T. Owen; he later checked out dead. Yeah, sorry, that was probably a really lame segue into this episode, but I did it, it's written in stone, so be it. So, how did he die, who killed him, why did he go by another name? Most of those are indeed mysteries, except part of the cause of death. What's really weird about this case is that he used a false name to check into the hotel, was simply hitchhiking across the country to start a new life - not like he was running from anything, just wanted to move out west - and ultimately ended up dead. 
It appeared he was very much tortured prior to his death, and hotel employees had some interesting things to say about the man, from the room he requested, to the way he kept it, to some unusual characters that paid him a visit. He died in Kansas City, Missouri on his way to California. Why there? What was so important about him that he needed to die? Well, all that will be answered, well to the best of my ability, next week. But for now, here's the set up to the events that lead to Ogletree's death.
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The Short Story of Blodeuwedd

It's been a long week, but I wanted to get something up for you. So here's the short story of Blodeuwedd, the Flower-faced creation of a Celtic wizard!
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Hoot Hoot, It’s All About The Owl

Over the past few months, I've really began to feel something stirring inside me. Usually that means a trip to the doctor, but this time it was different. I don't get a lot of feelings towards things, and I don't think I've ever had a "connection" with anything either, then seemingly out of nowhere, I had the sudden urge to look up owls, and everything associated with them, and I believe a connection was made. Perhaps it started nearly a decade ago when I left work and perched upon a telephone pole in the parking lot near my car was a big ol' snowy owl. It was the middle of a snow storm, but there he was, clear as day.
So that's where this week's episode comes into play. I wanted to look at any sort of myths, legends, and folklore associated with owls. From Europe and Africa, to the indigenous peoples of North America, the owl has played a roll in their legends and culture. From representing wisdom, to death and despair, back to wisdom again, the symbolism of owls has gone through quite the evolution.
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Always A Bride? Poor Christina Kettlewell

Back in Ontario in the 1940's a young couple eloped, they went on their honeymoon at a lovely cottage on a stunning lake, and lived happily ever after... Well, they did for about 8 days anyway until the bride, Christina Kettlewell was found dead in just 9 inches of water. And because we're looking at it, there's gotta be some crazy twist, right? Naturally. Honeymoon's are meant for just the newlyweds, so most people found it strange when the couples friend, Ronald Barrie joined them. In fact, it seemed the three were inseparable. 
Perhaps it was some kind of love triangle, or an insurance scheme, or even suicide. But whatever it was that happened at that cottage will forever be lost to the annals of time. One last note on it: the cottage also burned down the same day Christina was found, sooooooooo......
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