Later on somewhere in time, the owl's reputation plummeted and hearing the hoot of an owl is now associated with bad luck. To counter evil owls people put irons in their fires. Or threw salt, hot peppers or vinegar into the fire, in doing so the owl will get a sore tongue, hoot no more, and no one close to you will be in trouble. When you hear an owl, take off your clothes, turn them inside out and put them back on. You might not want to do this if you are in public.

Another superstition is that any man who eats roasted owl will be obedient and a slave to his wife.