The story is well known in northern Mexico and South Texas, where a brief wave of hysteria surrounding one instance of the legend erupted in the 70s.
La Lechuza is seen in a mural on the side of a convenience store in Robstown, Texas. The legend is deeply tied to the town's own story of the"Big Bird of Robstown" or"El Pajaro Gigante de Robé."
“La Lechuza lived at the far end of a small town, which people normally classify as somewhere in the desert area in northern Mexico. She lived alone, and that made townspeople suspicious of her,” she said. “One season, a small child, a little boy, goes missing from the town, and no one is able to find him.”
Soon, sightings were reported in nearby Banquete and Alice. It became something of a wave of hysteria, but one that retained a sense of humor as Robstonians began to embrace their cryptid., ranging from it being conjured up to scare people away from the new Familias Unidas organization, to it being a form of justice finally arriving to the town.
“She particularly terrorizes men who find themselves walking alone, maybe drunk on a weekend night, or maybe drunk on a work night, coming home late, possibly coming home drunk,” she said. “Men that might be known to be into sort of lascivious behavior, people that are abusive, unkind, cruel people that might cheat on their spouses or even abuse their children or partners.”