Five Tales of Avian Terror

by H.J. Dutton

No animal in mythology and fiction has had stronger associations with horror than the bird. Millennia before James O’Barr’s brooding series The Crow was collected into a graphic novel in 1993 and adapted into a cult film classic in 1994, corvids were associated with death and other ill tidings. Their natural role as opportunistic scavengers connects them to war, plague, death, and melancholy, as in Poe’s famous poem. A nocturnal predator, the owl commonly appears as a dark, foreboding figure tied to death and witchcraft, as in the legend of La Lechuza, the shapeshifting “Owl Witch” of Mexican and Texan folklore. The cuckoo’s habit of sneaking its young into others’ care associates it with manipulation and betrayal, as John Wyndham’s title for The Midwich Cuckoos (1957)–not about imposter offspring from birds but from humans–reflects. 

Whether their portrayals in popular culture are positive or negative, birds link to human spirituality in general. Because they fly, birds bridge the gap between earth and sky (Heaven) and can serve as transitions between the two realms. A bird’s ascent often symbolizes the human soul’s departure from the mortal plane and its ascent to the afterlife. More than that, birds can serve as ethereal psychopomps, guides that lead departed souls to wherever they’re meant to go. Sparrows in Stephen King’s The Dark Half (1989), for example, perform this role, which is coupled with dread due to fear of death and the unknown but isn’t necessarily negative. 

Below, I’ve selected five relatively recent stories that showcase both how traditional bird symbolism has persisted in horror and how it has changed. 

“Black Bird” – Junji Ito (2014)

This is the first manga entry I’ve added to one of these lists, something I might make a habit of in the future. The story follows Moriguchi, a hiker, as he recounts the month he went missing in the mountains, and the horrific way in which he survived the ordeal. A brilliant subversion of the guardian angel trope. Ito is one of the modern masters of J-horror, and a must-read for anyone who wants to explore the genre within a graphic novel medium. 

“Beneath Our Feet” – Max Aaron (2016)

An anonymous narrator recounts bizarre changes in the behavior of his pet African gray parrot. Things take a darker turn when the parrot’s ramblings imply something else is in the house with them. One of the podcast’s shorter tales, but arguably all the more unnerving for its lack of resolution. 

“Great Blue Heron” – Joyce Carol Oates (2017)

As she reels from the death of her spouse, Claudia suffers pressure from in-laws to sell her home. She takes solace during the tense ordeal in the presence of a heron that routinely visits the lake outside. A somber and beautiful example of bird symbolism in literary fiction. 

“Pigeon from Hell” – Stephen Graham Jones (2017)

While its title pays homage to the classic Robert E. Howard tale, Jones’s story practices a very different flavor of horror. Kara, a babysitter, is reminded during an otherwise harmless conversation of a past tragedy, in which a child went missing. The catalyst for the memory is both peculiar and surprisingly creepy. Another superb exercise in the dynamic between character and symbolism. 

“Agate Way” – Laird Barron (2025)

A recent blend of folk and cosmic horror, this story follows sisters Casey and Tara as they investigate strange happenings in a dying neighborhood. During their visit, they attract the attention of something ancient and hungry. One of many testaments to Barron’s mastery of the weird.