What are the omens associated with bats?

Answer 1

Folklore in Canada attributes that if a bat lights (lands) in a house, a man in the family will die, however, if it flies around a woman's death is foretold. Some cultures believe that death can be avoided by killing the bat and therefore death will seek out the bat and not the person or persons in the household. In some cultures the bat does not have to actually enter the house but merely fly by, near, or around it.

Bats in buildings have also been seen as omens of lesser evils than death. Various myths relate that bats in houses may bring bad luck, or portend that someone in the house will go insane, become blind, be missing the next day, that a letter with bad news will arrive, or that the people in the house will move. Zuni Indian myths, along with lore from North Carolina, Arkansas, and Illinois, all corroborate that bats flying around a chimney, or attempting to enter a building, are a sure sign of rain.

While of less consequence than death, woe be it to the bridal couple who has the misfortune to marry in a church with bats in the belfry. A great deal of very bad luck is predicted if a bat flies into the church during a wedding ceremony.

While European and North American folklore about bats in buildings generally views bats as portents of misfortune or evil, some benign lore also exists perceiving them as good omens. For example, if a bat lives in a theater, and flies over the stage during rehearsal, the play is guaranteed success.

There are so many different omens related to bats, some good, most bad, ranging from death, blindness, insanity, or just plain bad luck. Either way, most bats are harmless and should be treated with respect like any other creature of nature.