Nell's nocturnal visitor (a story from the sticks, direct from the horse's mouth)

‘On Tuesday night I went out to eat dinner with my neighbours. I was out until around 9.30pm, which is a late night for me in Ntcheu. I should note here that it has been getting cold at night, and so therefore I have not been opening the windows, or leaving the doors open for any length of time, other than to enter or leave the house.

Upon returning to my house I made tea for my night watchman, Earnest. We had a disagreement since I told him I would be deducting money from his wages if he continued to come after dark. Despite this we said good night on good terms, and I slept peacefully at 10pm.

At 10.55pm I was awoken by loud noises coming from the kitchen. There was a crashing of pots and pans as they fell to the floor. My thought was that intruders must have entered the house. I was terrified. Somehow I summoned the courage to pull on some clothes and grab my keys. Then I made a run for the door. Upon leaving my bed room (it was dark) I felt something slap me in the face. I kept running and realized that there was some kind of large bird circulating in the hall. I saw that it was an owl. I fumbled with the lock and the bugler bars until I escaped from the house and shouted for my night watchman, Earnest. He was no where to be found. I shouted and shouted but he didn’t come. I did not know what to do, but I was not ready to confront the creature alone. I called for my neighbours and they came together not believing that an owl could be inside my house. We put jumpers and blankets around our heads to protect them from the bird’s attack. My neighbours approached the bird with a broom and a mop. Thankfully it panicked and flew through the open door. All of us were terrified.

My neighbours told me that owls in Malawi are associated with witch craft. None of us could explain how or why the owl had entered the house. Some suggest that it may be linked to the disgruntled watchman, and that the watchman transformed himself into an owl. In fact, nearly everyone in Ntcheu believes that the owl was an evil presence, and was the watchman in another form. Many people have come up to me to express their regret at the evil owl. The watchman later denied all knowledge of the incident. He claimed to have been present the whole time, but we can safely say he was not… in his human form.’

(Nell works for WFP as a Food Aid Monitor in Ntcheu district, two hours by car from Lilongwe, and two hours from Blantyre. This weekend she escaped up to Lilongwe, fleeing the owl and the disgruntled night watchman.)