A Haunting Ballad

A Haunting Ballad

By: Shawnee McAninch

Do you ever hear a sentence or an expression and wonder where it came from? There are so many, and the older I get the more I chuckle when I hear them… especially when it comes from me. Phrases like… it is what it is; burning the candle at both ends; she’s a night owl… Sometimes it is obvious where the phrase came from - sometimes not so much.

A recent bout with THE VIRUS has affected my sleep, and the other night I was contemplating being a night owl. Being female, I can spider web with the best of them, so that thought led to thinking about owls which led to memories in the past. Memories of being dive-bombed by a Horned Owl; memories of finding a family of Barn Owls in our barn and laughing about how spooky they were; memories of being outside at night getting creeped out by the screech owls. Of all of these animals - barn owls have got to be the creepiest - I mean, their heads swivel around and watch you as you move for goodness sake! And growing up in the country, these animals were enemy number one to poultry and small animals! One memory though stands out because of its stark beauty. To this day it haunts my dreams.

In the dead of night I awoke - awareness was slow to follow. My groggy mind only knew that something had disturbed its slumber. I heard only silence. “Well missy so much for a good night’s sleep!” I thought to myself. As I rolled over in bed to go back to sleep, a weird sound intruded, and I sat back up. I was sure awake now! I leaned over and shook my husband to wake him. “Mmm mm hmmm… “ he mumbled. “Honey I just heard something weird!” I whispered… And my protector of many years gave a sigh… “go back to sleep you were just dreaming”, and he rolled back over and started snoring! Well, it was annoying, but I sure wasn’t going to get up by myself and check it out! So I laid back down, but my every sense was straining to ensure that nothing was lurking under the bed. A moment later the sound came again, and this time it woke him up also. We both sat up and waited to hear it again – both of us listening in the perfect silence that happens in the dead of night. I could hear every heartbeat and feel every breath. As we sat there the silence took on a life of its own.

All of the sudden we heard a clutter on the back porch and a branch hit the window. Talk about grown adults jumping! Then it was quiet again. At this point I’m thinking about all the ghost and monster movies I had ever seen, and I’m waiting for a hand to appear that looks like a tree branch or something equally sinister; and my husband is rooting around in his dresser to find his pistol. That’s when we heard it. A mournful moan…. Followed by another that was further away. Then another right on our back porch! The feeling of relief that came over us was palpable… owls had come to visit! When we peaked out the window, we were startled to see those orange eyes in a spooky face looking back at us. By now it seemed like the sound was coming from the barn and then the trees and then the house… and we realized we were being treated to a concert. The haunting tones were all around the house and soaring on the night air. One would sing and another would answer… I didn’t want to breathe and disturb the moment.

The ballad ebbed and flowed for what seemed like hours and then with a few rustles and a few last-minute notes, it was over, and they were gone like the ghosts in the night we had thought they were. We went back to bed and cuddled up to go to sleep, amazed at what we had just been part of. The next morning there was no sign in the barns of any creepy owl faces and we never heard them again. I have often wondered about that night… were we visited by a ghost chorus or witness to a strange and wonderful concert written and directed by nature.