Death Raptor

Death Raptor is the eighth episode of the first season of the thriller horror docudrama found-footage television series Lost Tapes. It originally aired on Animal Planet on January 27th, 2009, along with Cave Demons, and was directed by Douglas Segal.

Plot
In Summer 2007, paranormal investigators Peter Grey and Jolene Sharrock were called to a church in a small California town of Fallview; according to the locals, a mysterious winged creature, which they believe to be the source of demonic activity, is haunting both the church and the forest in the surrounding area. The investigators are well-known for both their serious research into paranormal events such as ghosts for a popular television show; Jolene works a video camera to record their findings. While looking for the local church leader, they are suddenly startled by an old woman, Hazel Van Lear, who appears to be mentally unstable. She begins to tell them of the demon, but a man interrupts her as he approaches them.

He sends Hazel off to calm herself down and then introduces himself as Grant Bolton, the archdeacon with whom Peter previously had a conversation over the phone; it is he who asked them to come to the church to investigate the demonic activity. Peter interviews him in order to learn more about the purported activities: Bolton tells them that the "demonic presence" has been disturbing his congregation for years, and describes it as being as large as a man and winged with pointed ears and glowing red eyes; it was only recently that the creature became more active.

As Hazel tells them about her own encounter with the demon, she claims that it followed her to the United States from her native Mawnan in Cornwall. Steady-nerved Peter suggests that the creature is actually just a large owl, so he and Jolene climb high into the belfry of the church to see if they can find it. They immediately discover a horrible stink and disgusting leavings all over the belfry, along with the skeleton of a small pigeon. There is a sudden screech, which frightens Jolene, but Peter concludes that it was just some pigeons taking flight. They climb higher into the belfry, where they discover an owl pellet as big as a human head.

Peter dissects it with a knife, first extracting a rat skull, and then an entire human mandible. After turning over their new findings to police as possible evidence of a crime or missing persons case, they initiate the next step of their investigation: interviewing the family of Sue Ann Mills, a little girl who also claims to have seen the creature. After arriving at the Mills residence, they immediately notice sidewalk chalk drawings in the driveway, including one that resembles a cross between a man and a great horned owl that closely resembles the description of the demon given by Bolton. Sue Ann's mother, Janis, claims that her daughter hasn't been the same since encountering the demon, and has been suffering from insomnia and nightmares when she does manage to get to sleep. As they interview Sue Ann, she, too, claims that the creature is a demon; when Peter asks her about why she thinks this, she explains that she had an irrational fear in its presence, as well as that the creature chased her and was still trying to get her. She also claims that the creature knows that the investigators are pursuing it and intends to stop them.

At about 6 o'clock that evening, and even though great risk is involved, the investigators decide that the best way to flush out the creature is to return Sue Ann to the forest where she saw it. Peter resolved to take every precaution possible to ensure Sue Ann's safety, including bringing her mother along with them and using IR and thermal cameras and a digital audio recorder to record any electronic voice phenomena. It is already very dark as they walk into the forest, and Jolene suddenly begins to feel lightheaded and strange for no apparent reason. Soon, they arrive at the exact spot where Sue Ann saw the creature before, but they find nothing in the immediate area. Peter asks if Sue Ann is feeling okay, and she says that she's just feeling a little hot; Peter then notices that Jolene is also experiencing a rise in her body temperature with the thermal camera. Suddenly, there is a loud screech and the sound of rustling wings as something swoops down on them; Sue Ann immediately claims that it is the creature, but it disappears into the darkness almost immediately.

Peter, trying to maintain his composure, tells Jolene to try to get audio recordings of what is going on around them when she is suddenly attacked by the creature, which knocks her off her feet; it is so fast that no one even saw it. They suddenly notice that Sue Ann has disappeared and frantically begin searching for her. They find her quickly, and the girl again states that the creature is trying to stop the investigators. They retreat to the church with the creature in hot pursuit, its dark, winged silhouette crossing in front of the camera several times and screeching at them. Finally reaching the church at about midnight, they take refuge inside and begin to feel that they are now safe.

Suddenly, Hazel appears from behind a pillar and starts yelling at the investigators that they never should have come, that they have only aggravated the "demon." Bolton shows up next, demanding to know what is going on. After Peter explains what transpired in the woods, Hazel concludes that creature wants Sue Ann. The creature suddenly appears in the church, screeching and flying around the room, only seen as the shadows cast by the investigators' camera lights. Bolton tells everyone to hide in the altar, as it is the holiest place in the church, but the owlman chases them there, too. As everyone hides, they see that Hazel is still standing out in the open and tell her to hide with them. Hazel then claims that the creature is after Sue Ann because she is young and vulnerable, easy prey. She then says that an old woman is vulnerable, too, and walks out in full view of the owlman, ignoring the others' screams for her to hide. The following morning, Peter relinquished his tapes to the local authorities so that they could complete their own investigation, and he and Jolene suspended all future investigations indefinitely; ultimately, this case would prove to be the last one that they would ever perform, and was never aired on their television show.

Hazel's disappearance was never officially explained, and her body was never recovered; as such, any connection between the creature and events concerning her in Cornwall would likely never be established. Sue Ann, however, recovered from the encounter and is now enrolled in the fifth grade. Though the creature was never seen again since that night, locals still report hearing strange sounds in the woods near the church.