Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Crows, Ravens, and Other Death Omens

Your parents and grandparents may have told you that if a crow or raven should peck on your window, or if you should see an owl in broad daylight, then there would be a death in your house. These and other old wives' tales about death omens have been propagated down through the generations for centuries. I would conclude that the probability of a death occurring after such a sighting is no more than mere chance; however, it does happen often enough for coincidence to be ruled out. I had a crow peck on my window, but nobody close to me died. About eleven years ago, my dad's cousin, who was about to go into the hospital for major surgery, also had a crow fly into her house. She was scared out of her gourd that she was going to die. When she had her surgery, she sailed through it with flying colors, and guess what? Nobody died.

On the other hand, there are others who have been visited by crows and other "death omen" animals, and they did die. If you happen to be a fan of the reality show Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel, you probably are aware that Phil Harris, one of the star captains on the show, had a stroke and succumbed to an embolism during the last snow crab season. In the episode where he had the stroke and was taken away in an ambulance, they showed a close-up of a raven perched on his boat, cawing. I did not notice it when I first saw the episode, but when I went to the Deadliest Catch message board the next day, I found this discussion about the raven and its alleged connection to Capt. Phil's stroke and impending death:

http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/811101106/m/24319265501

Of course, ravens and crows are not the only death omens. In Irish/Celtic folklore, a ghostly wailing woman called a Banshee is said to portend death. Other people around the world have reported seeing their own ghosts, called doppelgangers, before they died. In November, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln looked into his mirror and saw two faces on his reflection, one of which was deathly pale. Five months later, he was assassinated. Countless other death omens have come true, but time and space does not allow me to post everything. However, I will leave you with some more interesting links about death omens.

Banshees and Other Harbingers of Death
Death Omens: Birds
Abe Lincoln's Doppelganger (Wikipedia)
Superstitions: Death Omens

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