The Quiz: In British folklore, the call of an owl might mean…
A You’d have good luck
B Death was imminent
C A predator was nearby
It wasn’t just the British—many cultures have considered the owl a sign of bad luck, probably because of its mysterious nocturnal behavior. But the idea really took hold in British folklore and is reflected in British literature. For example, Scottish poet Robert Blair and English poet William Wordsworth described the barn owl as the ‘bird of doom.’ And in Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Macbeth,’ Lady Macbeth hears an owl shrieking at the moment of King Duncan’s demise.
The correct answer to this quiz is Death was imminent.