The mothman is one of the most fearsome creatures the world has ever known. It is a winged monster that has been spotted mainly in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It has been photographed several times and appears to only be seen just before a disaster is about to happen. What is this strange creature? And does it have anything to do with the UFO sightings and poltergeist activity in this area?
What is the mothman?
In recent years, the mothman has gained popularity and fame thanks to the book The Mothman Prophecies by Washington Post journalist John Keel and its film adaptation with Richard Gere in 2002. In his book, Keel lays out the chronology of the mothman’s appearances, as well as the other supernatural events that occurred in the same period and in the same place. It’s about UFO sightings, men in black, poltergeists, and the collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River.
Eyewitness accounts all say the same thing. The mothman is about three meters long. It has a huge pair of wings that allow it to fly at 100 miles per hour. He is part man, part bird and has glowing red eyes.
It looked like a man, but it wasn’t a man. It was some kind of creature. With feathers instead of skin, according to eyewitness Marcella Bennett. The monster had hypnotic red eyes, the wings of a bat and the legs of a human.
The mothman was named after the enemy in the then Batman series.
First observations
The first sighting of the mothman happened on November 15, 1966 in the area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Linda Scarberry and her husband were driving past the abandoned TNT factory around midnight when they saw the creature. The large red eyes seemed to be set into the monster’s shoulders, as if it had no head. The couple was so impressed by the strange appearance that they fled in panic. However, escape was impossible. Even at speeds of around 150 km per hour, the mothman continued to follow the car and attack the roof. Only when the built-up area came into view did it fly away.
That same night, Newell Patridge also had a frightening experience with the mothman. At about 10:30 that evening, he was sitting in his living room in Salem watching TV. Suddenly the image turned to noise and he heard his hound howling. Patridge went outside with a flashlight to see what was going on. Then he saw the two red, flickering eyes of a huge animal. Partridge’s dog was never found.
The Drama of the Silver Bridge
From that day on, mothman appearances became commonplace. In one year, the creature was sighted more than a hundred times, mainly in Point Pleasant and around the abandoned TNT factory. The mothman couldn’t find a better place to hide. After all, the area around the TNT factory consists only of vast forests and protected animal reserves that were largely inaccessible. The mothman could therefore stay there for months without being caught.
However, the mothman disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. On December 5, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed over the Ohio River, a disaster that claimed the lives of many people. After this tragic event, the mothman was never seen again in Point Pleasant. This has led many people to conclude that there is a close connection between the mothman and the Ohio River disaster.
Bizarre events
At the same time that the mothman emerged in Point Pleasant, the area was also experiencing a number of suspiciously strange occurrences: locked doors opening and closing, strange knocking noises, telephones and televisions turning on and off, animals being found dead, and unexplained voices. Bizarre lights were also often seen above the TNT factory. Cars passing by sometimes inexplicably stopped.
The residents of Point Pleasant were also visited by mysterious strangers dressed in black and nicknamed Men in Black . They rang people’s doorbells and urged them to keep the affair quiet. Who were these strange people? Some believe that the answer to the mystery of the mothman can be found within them.
The sightings of poltergeists and men in black suits disappeared at the same time as the mothman himself, after the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967.
Declaration
Various hypotheses are put forward to explain the mothman phenomenon.
Scientific experiment
Many believe the mothman is the result of a government scientific experiment gone wrong. This theory would also explain the men in black suits who force the locals into silence.
Sandhill Crane
The Sandhill Crane is a crane that can grow up to 1.80 meters in length and has a wingspan of three meters. The two large red spots that adorn his face could possibly be confused with red eyes. It is the only bird whose description matches that of the mothman.
Angel
The religious residents of Point Pleasant consider the mothman an angel. One woman was even convinced she had seen Jesus. Others think that the mothman are manifestations of the devil.
TNT
The TNT factory caused a lot of pollution in this area during the Second World War. A large amount of toxic chemicals were released into nature and may have caused a mutation in the genes of the local birds.
Warning of disaster
However, most people are convinced that the mothman is only seen when a disaster is about to happen. When the bridge collapsed in Point Pleasant, many people saw red lights above the bridge and some even said they saw the mothman.
The mothman is also said to have appeared just before the Chernobyl explosion occurred. The mothman was also seen in Germany. In 1987, the creature is said to have been there to stop a group of workers from entering a mine that collapsed moments later.
Conclusion
Although the mothman has been seen in various places around the world, the events in Point Pleasant remain the most striking. Thousands of people travel to this place in West Virginia every year in the hope of seeing the mothman.