Stikini, or stigini and sometimes ishtikini, are a being from the legends of the Native American tribe of the Seminole. When the tribe was forced to come to Oklahoma in the1800s, they were also forced to live alongside this new threat. Stikini are witches that at night, transform into an owl.



The Stikini look like an average person during the day, going about their normal day to day lives, but after dark, they shift into an owl/human hybrid. Their arms form into wings and grow feathers while their fingers force claws from the tips. Their faces morph into a beak and the eyes change to the large black eyes of an owl, but they stay the size of a human until after the final step.



To fully transform, the Stikini must do something unthinkable to us. The creature vomits up its own organs and hides them in the woods, often leaving them to hang from a tree. This allows the monster to shrink to the size of an owl. To change back to human form, the witch must retrieve and reinsert their organs.



Once they have fully become an owl, they find their prey. Prey for this sinister being are humans and their favorite part is the heart. Stikini find a sleeping human and rip the heart out through the mouth. They then return to the woods and eat the organ. They then change back and transition back into the community.



On a warm summer night, a brother and sister were dared by some friends to go to the abandoned Native American church, which stood at the end of their own gravel driveway. The walk was long, dark, shrouded by trees, but the two kids knew the way down to every last tree.



Living there, the kids walked down the path with no problem, until they came to the churchyard. The siblings became terrified at the thought of approaching the church. They had always been told the building was cursed and not to bother it. With fluttering, belly’s the two slowly stepped onto the path that leads to the front door.



With nothing coming from this, they decided they could easily walk up to the church. The siblings then walked to the door and peered in through the side windows. The girl then caught of glimpse of something moving inside.



Quickly, the kids ran back to the gravel driveway and looked back at the church. On the roof appeared to be a set of bright yellow eyes. The children immediately sprinted back to their house and told the other children what had happened. They did not believe them and decided to go outside and look.



Halfway down the road, one child looked to the trees and caught a glimpse of a shadow. She pointed and screamed, which resulted in everyone looking. There on a tree branch sat a human silhouette until the monster had spread its wings and released an ear-piercing screech.



The group quickly ran inside the house and told the children’s parents what had happened. The father replied, “we told you to stay away from there. And now that you haven’t, you’ve seen the Stikini. It was probably hiding its organs in the church.”