The Chickcharney Will Eat Your Children
Some stories are old. They can persist in one form or another for thousands of years. These warnings from the past predate writing. The Chickcharney is one of them. Let me tell you a little about it.
Chickcharney
The Chickcharney is a creature that was said to have lived on the Andros Island in the Bahamas. Rumoured to have lived in the forests, the Chickcharney is believed to have been about 3 feet tall and furry. It had an ugly appearance, looking similar to an owl. The Chickcharney was said to have 3 toes and be able to turn its head all the way around.
While walking in the Pine forests, look up, if you saw 2 pine trees joined together at the top, it was a sure sign of a Chickcharney nest.
Meeting a Chickcharney could go one of two ways. For you see, these tree dwellers were neither evil or good. They were mischief makers at heart.
People were advised in these old stories, passed down at camp fires to always be respectful of the Chickcharney. Carry a bright piece of cloth while venturing into the woods and always be polite if you do run into a Chickcharney.
Do this and good fortune will be yours. Be disrespectful however and misery is sure to follow.
Unless you are a small child that is. Because the legends also tell of the Chickcharney coming out of the forest to snatch small children from their sleep, carrying them away to a fate unknown.
A Persisting Legend
Before we get into what the Chickcharney is, I wanted to share a story. As stated, the story of the Chickcharney is an old one (more on that later) but it also persists into the modern day.
One of the most famous stories involves Neville Chamberlain. If you don’t know who he is, let me catch you up. Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister of Great Britain at the beginning of the Second World War.
Before his political career began, he was sent to the Andros Island to establish a plantation for his father. It failed and he returned home with debts of £50,000. A large sum of money in the late 1800’s.
Why did he fail? Legend says that he openly scoffed at the idea of the Chickcharney and laughed at the very notion. Apparently, the Chickcharney took offence to this and sabotaged his crop of Sisal. Officially it was because Sisal just doesn’t grow in the conditions they had on the Island, but I know which story I prefer.
What is the Chickcharney?
Tyto Pollens was a giant barn owl, now thought to be extinct. Remains of it have been found in the Bahamas. And from its size and description, it matches the Chickcharney exactly. But what makes me believe that this story is so old? Because Tyto Pollens is thought to have gone extinct sometime during the last ice age. Which finished around 10,000 years ago.
The sites where Tyto Pollens has been found all date to around 18,000 years ago, before humans are thought to have settled the Bahamas. So not only are these warnings from history old, we don’t know for sure who passed them down to us.
The sea level at the time these giant birds lived would have been 120 meters (around 400 ft) lower. This means the Bahamas at the time would have been a much larger land mass, consisting of around 5 islands with a land mass over 10 times what it is now.
Looking like a common barn owl (but much bigger), Tyto Pollens would easily have been able to fly away with a small child. It would also be 3 toed and have the ability to swivel its head all the way around.
Carrying a colourful piece of cloth would have helped you stand out and being polite to a giant predator just makes sense, don’t you think?
There are some out there that believe the Chickcharney still exists. Living out on the Western half of the Island. Who knows, maybe like the legend of the Mokele-Mbebe, the Chickcharney is still there. A remnant of a world long since changed.