Have you ever been walking alone at night and felt like something was watching you, turned around and nothing was there, only to hear the screeching call of a demon from the darkness. Or have you been in a graveyard and seen a white flash across the sky that must have been a ghost.
The eerie noises and floating white orbs may be spooky apparition or they may simply be a Barn Owl. Barn Owls have inspired many ghost stories throughout the centuries. Also known as the "Ghost" or "Demon Owl", these fluffy little guys seem cute in the day, but at night when they hunt they are a silent white embodiment that can easily be mistaken for a ghost. To not help their case, they sometimes release a screeching and hissing sound when communicating to each other.
Our white faced resident ghost can be found in most parts of the UK, including the banks of the Humber and are often seen hunting for mice in fields at dusk. They are only 33-39cm tall fully grown - just slightly longer than an A4 piece of paper. Due to the nocturnal nature of the Barn Owl (hence it being mistaken for a ghost) the true wild population is unknown, but is estimated to be between 110-220,000 pairs in Europe. So when you go for a walk this hallows eve and you see a ghost it may in fact be a Barn Owl... or was it?
Photography by Kev Burnley
