The spirit of Harry Potter hovered over Hoylake last year and the phenomenon was witnessed and photographed by Royal Liverpool Golf Club member and Heswall resident, Carol Stoddart.
Fans of the young wizard will be well aware of the importance of owls to the Potter universe.
Harry himself has a companion Snowy Owl called Hedwig, while the Weasleys have more owls than you can shake a broomstick at, including Hermes and Pigwidgeon.
Laughing, Carol describes her magical encounter: “I was playing with my dear friend, Liz Peters, in August last year, and everything was normal. I am a bad golfer who feels so privileged to be a member of Royal Liverpool, but that doesn’t stop me veering right with unerring accuracy.
“We were approaching the 4th green and I thought, ‘Where can my ball be?’ Then I saw the owl! I just had to take a photograph!”
Sadly the mysterious bird of prey that had taken shape in the rough displayed no supernatural abilities in terms of helping Carol find her ball.
“I lost it,” she reports – but her dismay was more than compensated for by the strange appearance of the Hoylake Hooter.
Carol’s experience is a reminder of the large number of people who have seen something mysterious where it is least expected.
Perhaps the most extraordinary phenomenon of them all is the regular apparition of Jesus in people’s food.
Just two examples of many: at Posh Pizzas in Brisbane, Australia, Christ manifested himself in a three cheese pizza.
While over in Michigan USA, as churchgoers were enjoying cooking for a festival, Jesus appeared to them in a pierogi (an Eastern European style dumpling).
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