A medieval depiction of a harpy as a bird-woman. Photo from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hybrid_creatures_in_folklore
NY Times has released the following information about a recent discovery by scientists about injuries by hail winds. While the people unfortunate enough to suffer injuries or even death by hail has always seemed to be random, we now know that it is deliberate. This article is the final edition of the Hybrid Creature's Spotlight.
NY Times: Weather is a mysterious part of our world. Different regions have different weather occurrences based on the pressure in that area, geographic location such as being close to the ocean, and tectonic plates. Weather patterns are explained by science and can't be disputed due to the extensive research by scientists into this area of study. Thousands of people are injured by weather every year. If a person is struck by lightning, is it said to simply be bad luck. If a person is hit by hail in hail winds, it is simply said to be bad luck. But is that all it really is?
Harpies are a mythical creature storied in Greek and Roman mythology. This creature is a combination of a maiden and a bird. While some may picture this as an elegant creature, the tales portray otherwise. Harpies are punishers of wrong doers. The name Harpy translates to mean "snatchers" or "swift-robbers". They are also known to be associated with the destruction of wind.
So how do Harpies and hail winds connect? As global warming has progressed, it has plagued our world with more unexpected and extreme weather. This increase in storms has given scientists more opportunity to study these storms.
One evening, a group of scientists huddle under a storm proof tent in North Texas. North Texas is one of the places in the U.S. most frequented by hail winds. This tent withstood the damage of hail and wind, but also allowed them to see into the darkness and study the storm first hand. One Scientist, Bob Joseph, noticed something in the sky that seemed a bit strange. It looked like a very large bird. The bird appeared to be throwing large balls of ice towards the ground.
"I couldn't believe it. As a scientist, I have studied the sky and weather patterns for 30 years. I didn't understand what I was seeing. This bird creature hurled a softball size piece of ice directly towards a man who was standing in the park," explained Bob Joseph.
The ice hit a man named Frank Pilgowski, causing him a severe concussion. When Frank arrived at the hospital, he was delusional. He confessed murders to the doctor, describing them in great detail. These confessions were checked on by the police who discovered 4 human remains in Pilgowski's backyard.
The next hail storm, the same group of scientist set out to study the sky again, but this time they had a plan: capture the bird-like creature. Using a military grade drone with a net attachment, they launched the net to capture the Harpy. Once the Harpy fell to Earth, she was questioned. The scientists and local law enforcement found all her statements to be true. She explained that she is sent from Gods above to punish those who have committed crimes. The Harpies throw ice to Earth with great precision, targeting bad people.
The Harpy was released back to the sky to continue her lives' mission, punish those who commit crimes.
Author's Note: For the final edition of my Hybrid Creatue's stories, I wanted to find something that I could connect with the poor nature of Harpies. It was difficult because although the are punishing people, in the case of Frank Pilgowski it was well deserved. This actually turned out well, showing how they're scary quality can actually be a positive.
Harpies are known to steal food and other things to make other's lives more difficult. This was difficult to connect to something on Earth in the way that I did with Mermaids and Fauns. I chose to use the Harpies' personification of destructive winds instead, as I thought it would make more sense and still show their nature of punishment.
To stay on trend with the past two stories, I researched natural phenomenons that connected with the sky. There wasn't as much that is a mystery anymore besides UFO's, which I did not understand how to connect to Harpies. I chose to connect them to hail storms because on average in the U.S. about 24 people are injured each year. While in reality, these people absolutely do not deserve to be injured by hail, I had to twist it to fit the Harpies quality of bringing punishment to those that do deserve it. I hope you enjoyed this final story!