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Revenants · Spectral creatures and night demons

The Mothman of Point Pleasant

When
15 November 1966–1967 date from records made at the time
Where
The “TNT area” – former munitions works near Point Pleasant, West Virginia, United States
Verdict
Disputed

Two couples told police a red-eyed winged creature chased their car – for a year residents kept seeing the “Mothman.”

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38.93°, -82.07° · dimmed: other phenomena within 1,500 km

What happened

On 15 November 1966 two young couples from Point Pleasant arrived at the police station terrified. They said that in the so-called TNT area – the abandoned grounds of a World War II munitions plant – they had seen a black figure over two metres tall standing by the road, with wings and eyes glowing red. When they sped off, the creature supposedly took to the air and flew alongside the car as far as the town limits. The next day the local paper wrote about a “man-sized bird,” and the national press dubbed the creature Mothman – at a time when the Batman TV series was hugely popular. In the following weeks more witnesses came forward. On 15 December 1967 the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River collapsed, killing 46 people; over time a legend grew that Mothman had been an omen of the disaster.

Witnesses

Two young couples from Point Pleasant, volunteer firemen and other local residents; the accounts were collected by, among others, writer John Keel in “The Mothman Prophecies” (1975).

Explanations and hypotheses

As early as 1966, biologist Robert L. Smith of West Virginia University said the descriptions fit a sandhill crane that had strayed from its migration route – a bird nearly as tall as a person, with red skin around its eyes. Joe Nickell pointed to barred owls, whose eyes reflect headlights. After the publicity, pranks and hoaxes followed. The link to the bridge disaster was added later by Keel; the collapse itself had technical causes. Today the town holds an annual Mothman festival.

Disputed A likely explanation exists, but some of the facts are still disputed.

Sources

  1. Williamson Daily News (UPI) – Eight People Say They Saw 'Creature' (18 November 1966)
  2. Gettysburg Times (AP) – Monster Bird With Red Eyes May Be Crane (1 December 1966)
  3. Skeptical Inquirer – Investigating Mothman's Red Eyeshine (2020)
  4. Audubon – Is the Mothman of West Virginia an Owl?

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