BEDTIME STORIES FOR ADULTS
Have you heard about the Owl with a Brass Penis?
The Owl with a Brass Penis is a bogeyman figure in Hungarian folklore.
Lil Pete refuses to get to bed by eight? Suzy does not eat her peas? The Owl with a Brass Penis will take them away!
The expression is used to frighten kids when they do something wrong or just to get them to obey. It is one of the oldest scare tacticts that parents use on their children. If you were a Hungarian child, your nightmares would not feature scary monsters, hairy frogs and zombie ants. Instead, they would be haunted by a nocturnal bird with a metal dong.
Why an owl? Why does this bird have no distinguishing features besides the composition of its genitals?
In spiritual and metaphysical traditions brass is the metal that brings out inner truth. Owls are generally a symbol of wisdom, intuition and knowledge. An owl is to the night as an eagle is to the day. They see what others do not. As a result, this phallic threat can be interpreted as a ritualistic projection of the threatener’s fears or frustrations.
Have you ever encountered the Owl with a Brass Penis?
Watch and Listen:
Company for the Lonely 