Mothman

Modern urban legend

Not to be confused with Owlman.

For other uses, see Mothman (disambiguation).

Mothman

An artistic depiction of Mothman

Creature information
Grouping| Cryptid
Origin
Region| Point Pleasant, West Virginia

In American folklore, Mothman is a humanoid creature that was reportedly seen around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. Despite its name, the original sightings of the creature described avian features. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register, dated November 16, 1966, titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird ... Creature ... Something".[1] The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States. The source of the legend is believed to have originated from sightings of out-of-migration sandhill cranes or herons.[2][3]

The creature was introduced to a wider audience by Gray Barker in 1970,[4][5] and was later popularized by John Keel in his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies,[6] claiming that there were paranormal events related to the sightings, and a connection to the collapse of the Silver Bridge. The book was later adapted into a 2002 film starring Richard Gere.[7]

An annual festival in Point Pleasant is devoted to the Mothman legend.[8]

## History

[edit]

Roger Scarberry's sketch of Mothman.

On November 15, 1966, two young couples from Point Pleasant—Roger and Linda Scarberry, and Steve and Mary Mallette—told police they had seen a large black creature whose eyes "glowed red", standing at the side of the road near "the TNT area", the site of a former World War II munitions plant.[9][10][11] Linda Scarberry described it as a 'slender, muscular man' about seven feet tall with white wings. However, she was unable to discern its face due to the hypnotic effect of its eyes.[12] Distressed, the witnesses sped away, reporting that the creature flew after their car, making a screeching sound. It pursued them as far as Point Pleasant city limits.[9]

Over the next few days, more people reported similar sightings after local newspapers covered it.[citation needed] Two volunteer firemen who saw it said it was a "large bird with red eyes". Mason County Sheriff George Johnson believed the sightings were due to an unusually large heron he termed a "shitepoke". Contractor Newell Partridge told Johnson that when he aimed a flashlight at a creature in a nearby field, its eyes glowed "like bicycle reflectors". Additionally, he blamed buzzing noises from his television set and the disappearance of his German Shepherd, Bandit, on the creature.[13][2] Wildlife biologist Robert L. Smith at West Virginia University told reporters that descriptions and sightings fit the sandhill crane, a large American crane almost as tall as a man with a seven-foot wingspan and reddish coloring around its eyes. The bird may have wandered out of its migration route, and therefore was unrecognized at first because it was not native to this region.[2][3]

Due to the popularity of the Batman TV series at the time, the fictional superhero Batman and his rogues gallery were prominently featured in the public eye. While the villain Killer Moth did not appear in the show, the comic book influence of both him and Batman is believed by some to have influenced the coinage of the name "Mothman" in the local newspapers.[14][15]

Following the December 15, 1967, collapse of the Silver Bridge and the death of 46 people,[16] the incident gave rise to the legend and connected the Mothman sightings to the bridge collapse.[2][17][18]

According to Georgian newspaper Svobodnaya Gruziya, Russian UFOlogists claim that Mothman sightings in Moscow foreshadowed the 1999 Russian apartment bombings.[19]

The Mothman Prophecies (2002) is a major motion picture, loosely based on the 1975 book of the same name by John Keel.

In 2016, WCHS-TV published a photo purported to be of Mothman taken by an anonymous man while driving on Route 2 in Mason County.[20] Science writer Sharon Hill proposed that the photo showed "a bird, perhaps an owl, carrying a frog or snake away" and wrote that "there is zero reason to suspect it is the Mothman as described in legend. There are too many far more reasonable explanations."[3][21]

## Analysis

[edit]

First edition cover of The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel.

Folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand notes that Mothman has been widely covered in popular press, with some claiming sightings connected with UFOs, and others suggesting that a military storage site was Mothman's "home". Brunvand notes that the recountings of the 1966–67 Mothman reports usually state that at least 100 people saw Mothman with many more "afraid to report their sightings." However, he points out that these written sources for such stories consisted of children's books or sensationalized or undocumented accounts that fail to quote identifiable persons. Brunvand found elements in common among many Mothman reports and much older folk tales, suggesting that something real may have triggered the scares and became woven with existing folklore. He also records anecdotal tales of Mothman supposedly attacking the roofs of parked cars occupied by teenagers.[22]

Conversely, Joe Nickell says that a number of hoaxes followed the publicity generated by the original reports, such as a group of construction workers who tied flashlights to helium balloons. Nickell attributes the Mothman stories to sightings of barred owls, suggesting that the Mothman's "glowing eyes" were actually red-eye effect caused from the reflection of light from flashlights or other bright light sources.[21][10]

Benjamin Radford points out that the only report of glowing "red eyes," was secondhand, that of Shirley Hensley quoting her father.[23] However, John Keel relays the story of witness Connie Carpenter, who allegedly saw Mothman in broad daylight on November 27, 1966 and described it as having glowing red eyes.[24][25][26]

One of the prevailing hypotheses associated with the Mothman at the time of the original sightings was that it was a misidentified sandhill crane, due primarily to the size of the bird as well as the "reddish flesh" around the crane's eyes.[27] Daniel A. Reed examined the migration patterns and historically reported sightings of Sand Hill Cranes in the area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia and proposed that, in cases where eyeshine was not noted, it was statistically more likely that witnesses were seeing and misidentifying a Great Blue Heron instead.[28] In 1966, a snowy owl was shot by Ace Henry at Point Pleasant, and it was described in local newspapers as a "giant owl" because of its nearly five feet wingspan. It's been claimed that it may have been the origin of the Mothman sightings. The bird is still displayed as a mounted specimen at the Mothman Museum.[29][30][31]

According to University of Chicago psychologist David A. Gallo, "55 sightings of Mothman in Chicago during 2017" published on the website of self-described Fortean researcher Lon Strickler are "a selective sample". Gallo explains that "he's not sampling random people and asking if they saw the Mothman - he's just counting the number of people that voluntarily came forward to report a sighting." According to Gallo, "people more likely to visit a paranormal-centric website like Strickler's might also be more inclined to believe in, and therefore witness the existence of, a 'Mothman'."[32]

Some pseudoscience adherents (such as ufologists, paranormal authors, and cryptozoologists) suggest the Mothman could be an alien, a supernatural manifestation, or a previously unknown species of animal. However, the latter is highly unlikely, as according to the square-cube law, a creature with the 6-7 foot height and 10-foot wingspan, as described by Roger Scarberry[1] would not be able to fly. In his 1975 book, Keel claimed that Point Pleasant residents experienced precognitions including premonitions of the collapse of the Silver Bridge, UFO sightings, visits from inhuman or threatening men in black, and other phenomena.[33]

## Festival and statues

[edit]

Main article: Mothman Festival

Mothman statue located in Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Mothman has become a big source of tourism for Point Pleasant.[34] Point Pleasant held its first Annual Mothman Festival in 2002. The Mothman Festival began after brainstorming creative ways to attract visitors to Point Pleasant. The group organizing the event chose the Mothman to be the center of the festival due to its uniqueness, and as a way to celebrate its local legacy in the town.[35]

According to the event organizer Jeff Wamsley, the average attendance for the Mothman Festival is an estimated 10–12 thousand people per year.[35] A 12-foot-tall metallic statue of the creature, created by artist and sculptor Bob Roach, was unveiled in 2003. The Mothman Museum and Research Center opened in 2005.[36][37][38] The festival is held on the third weekend of every September, hosting guest speakers, vendor exhibits, pancake-eating contests, and hayride tours of locally notable areas.[17]

## In popular culture

[edit]

A graphic created by the United States Geological Survey depicting Mothman

While the 1975 book and 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies may be the best known media regarding the legend, several low-budget and independently-made narrative films and documentary projects have since been released.

* Small Town Monsters has released two documentaries about Mothman, The Mothman of Point Pleasant in 2017 and The Mothman Legacy in 2020.[39][40]
* Hellier, a 2019 digital documentary series released on YouTube and Amazon Prime, includes a segment in the second season dedicated to the Mothman.[41]
* The Point Pleasant Tapes is a found footage film, co-written and directed by Jesse P. Pollack, filmed with 1960s period-correct cameras in the same West Virginia area of the sightings. The completed film made its festival debut on October 19, 2024.[42]
* The Mothman appears as the first boss in Trepang², being housed in the horizon corporation's Pandora institute.[citation needed]
* Magic: The Gathering has a card called "The Wise Mothman."[43]
* Mothman appears in Fallout 76 as an enemy from the Steel Reign update. A Cult of the Mothman also appears in the base game, being located in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.[44]

## See also

[edit]

* List of West Virginia Cryptids
* Apparitional experience
* Belled buzzard
* Bogeyman
* Cryptid town
* Flatwoods monster
* Goatman (urban legend)
* Owlman
* Popobawa
* Snallygaster
* Spring-heeled Jack

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something". Point Pleasant Register. Point Pleasant, WV: WestVA.Net, Mark Turner. November 16, 1966. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
2. ^ a b c d Associated Press (December 1, 1966). "Monster Bird With Red Eyes May Be Crane". Gettysburg Times. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
3. ^ a b c Palma, Bethania (November 25, 2016). "Mothman About Town". Snopes.com. Snopes. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
4. ^ Skeptical Inquirer, Volume 33 (Pennsylvania State University, Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. 2009)
5. ^ Gray Barker, The Silver Bridge (Saucerian Books, 1970). Reprinted in 2008 entitled The Silver Bridge: The Classic Mothman Tale (BookSurge Publishing). ISBN 1-4392-0427-6
6. ^ Keel, John A. The Mothman Prophecies (2002). ISBN 0-7653-4197-2 (Originally published in 1975 by Saturday Review Press)
7. ^ Meehan, Paul (2009). Cinema of the Psychic Realm: A Critical Survey, p. 130. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3966-9
8. ^ "Mothman Festival". mothmanfestival.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
9. ^ a b Coleman, Loren (December 1, 2001). Mothman and Other Curious Encounters. Cosimo, Inc. ISBN 978-1-931044-34-9.
10. ^ a b Nickell, Joe (2004). The Mystery Chronicles: More Real-Life X-Files. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 93–. ISBN 978-0-8131-2318-9. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
11. ^ "Munitions Risk Closes Part of Wildlife Area Again". Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
12. ^ Sergent, Donnie; Wamsley, Jeff (2002). Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend. Mothman Lives Pub. ISBN 978-0-9667246-7-7.
13. ^ The Washington Reporter (November 18, 1966). "Monster Bird With Red Eyes May Be Crane". The Washington Reporter. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
14. ^ Cassandra Eason (2008). Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters, and Animal Power Symbols: A Handbook. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-0-275-99425-9.
15. ^ Richard Moreno (August 6, 2013). Myths and Mysteries of Illinois: True Stories of the Unsolved and Unexplained. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 142–. ISBN 978-1-4930-0231-3.
16. ^ LeRose, Chris. "The Collapse of the Silver Bridge". West Virginia Historical Society Quarterly. West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
17. ^ a b Associated Press (January 19, 2008). "Mothman' still a frighteningly big draw for tourists". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on November 20, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
18. ^ "Eight People Say They Saw 'Creature'". Williamson Daily News. Williamson, WV. United Press International. November 18, 1966. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
19. ^ Lobkov, Denis (May 23, 2002). Призраки катастроф. Zheltaya Gazeta via Svobodnaya Gruziya (in Russian). Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. (English translation of the article.)
20. ^ Pierson, Fallon (November 21, 2016). "Man photographs creature that resembles legendary Mothman" of Point Pleasant". WCHS-TV news. WCHS. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
21. ^ a b Elbein, Asher (October 26, 2018). "Is the Mothman of West Virginia an Owl?". Audubon.org. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
22. ^ Brunvand, Jan Harold (1994). The Baby Train and Other Lusty Urban Legends. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 98–. ISBN 978-0-393-31208-9.
23. ^ Radford, Benjamin (May–June 2020). "Investigating Mothman's Red Eyeshine". Skeptical Inquirer. 44: 29–31.
24. ^ Strange Creatures from Time and Space, p. 218
25. ^ The Mothman Prophecies, page 17
26. ^ http://www.appalachianoddity.org/database-1966-1967/
27. ^ "Monster Bird with Red Eyes may Be Crane". The Gettysburg Times. December 1, 1966.
28. ^ Reed, Daniel (July–August 2022). "The Mothman and the Crane: A Contemporary Perspective". Skeptical Inquirer. 46 (4): 52–56.
29. ^ Sergent, Donnie (2002). Mothman : the facts behind the legend. Internet Archive. Point Pleasant, WV : Mothman Lives Pub. ISBN 978-0-9667246-7-7.
30. ^ kreidler, Marc (December 2, 2002). "Mothman Revisited: Investigating on Site | Skeptical Inquirer". Retrieved January 12, 2025.
31. ^ TREY the Explainer (October 24, 2024). The Body of Mothman. Retrieved January 12, 2025 - via YouTube.
32. ^ Terry, Josh (January 17, 2018). "People Keep Seeing the Mothman in Chicago". Vice.
33. ^ Clark, Jerome (2000). Extraordinary Encounters: An Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrials and Otherworldly Beings. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, ISBN 1-57607-249-5, pp. 178–179.
34. ^ Klein, Shayla (November 12, 2021). "The Legend of Mothman – Paranormal W.Va". Retrieved April 4, 2025. "The town has a number of stores and food items themed after Mothman which are available all year round, but the biggest tourism event for the town is the annual Mothman Festival..."
35. ^ a b "Mothman Festival returns Sept. 21–22". www.mydailyregister.com – The Point Pleasant Register. September 6, 2019. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
36. ^ "Mothman Statue, Point Pleasant, West Virginia". RoadsideAmerica.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
37. ^ Moran, Mark; Sceurman, Mark; Lake, Matt (2008). Weird U.S. The ODDyssey Continues – Your Travel Guide to America's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets, p. 260. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN 978-1-4027-4544-7
38. ^ ""Legend of the Mothman" plaque on the base of the statue". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
39. ^ Lewis, Brandon (June 6, 2017). "Ohio film company releases 'Mothman of Point Pleasant' documentary". WTAP. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
40. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 30, 2020). "1091 Acquires Global Rights To Horror Documentary 'The Mothman Legacy'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
41. ^ "Hellier Release News". Bloody Disgusting.com.
42. ^ Francis, R.D. "Jesse P. Pollack: Searching for Truth in the American Dark Interview: The author of 'Room 100: Sid, Nancy, and the Night Punk Rock Died' and director of 'The Point Pleasant Tapes'". Medium.
43. ^ https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=654345
44. ^ Bhalla, Akshay (April 28, 2024). "How To Find (& Kill) Mothman In Fallout 76". Screenrant.com. Screen Rant. Retrieved June 10, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Mothman at Wikimedia Commons
* Dunning, Brian (June 23, 2009). "Skeptoid #159: The Mothman Cometh". Skeptoid.

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