 An artistic depiction of Mothman | |
| Creature information | |
|---|---|
| Grouping | Cryptid |
| Origin | |
| First attested | November 15, 1966 |
| Region | Point Pleasant, West Virginia, US |
InAmerican folklore,Mothman is the name given to a humanoid creature that was reportedly seen aroundPoint 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 thePoint 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-migrationsandhill cranes orherons.[2][3]
The creature was introduced to a wider audience byGray Barker in 1970,[4][5] and was later popularized byJohn Keel in his 1975 bookThe Mothman Prophecies,[6] claiming that there were paranormal events related to the sightings, and a connection to the collapse of theSilver Bridge. The book was later adapted intoa 2002 film starringRichard Gere.[7]
An annual festival in Point Pleasant is devoted to the Mothman legend.[8]
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 "theTNT area", the site of a formerWorld 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 largeshitepoke. Contractor Newell Partridge told Johnson that when he aimed a flashlight at a creature in a nearby field, its eyes glowed "likebicycle reflectors". Additionally, he blamed buzzing noises from his television set and the disappearance of hisGerman Shepherd, Bandit, on the creature.[13][2] Wildlife biologist Robert L. Smith atWest Virginia University told reporters that descriptions and sightings fit thesandhill 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 theBatman TV series at the time, the fictionalsuperheroBatman and hisrogues gallery were prominently featured in the public eye. While the villainKiller Moth did not appear in the show, thecomic 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 theSilver 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 toGeorgian newspaperSvobodnaya Gruziya, RussianUFOlogists claim that Mothman sightings inMoscow foreshadowed the 1999Russian apartment bombings.[19]
In 2016,WCHS-TV published a photo purported to be of Mothman taken by an anonymous man while driving onRoute 2 inMason County.[20] Science writerSharon 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]
FolkloristJan 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 ofbarred owls, suggesting that the Mothman's "glowing eyes" were actuallyred-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, asnowy 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 toUniversity of Chicago psychologist David A. Gallo, "55 sightings of Mothman in Chicago during 2017" published on the website of self-describedFortean 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]
Somepseudoscience adherents (such asufologists,paranormal authors, andcryptozoologists) suggest the Mothman could be analien, a supernatural manifestation, or a previously unknown species of animal. However, the latter is highly unlikely, as according to thesquare-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 experiencedprecognitions including premonitions of the collapse of the Silver Bridge,UFO sightings, visits from inhuman or threateningmen in black, and other phenomena.[33]
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Mothman has become a big source oftourism 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 2006.[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]
While the1975 book and2002 filmThe 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.
The 2018 video gameFallout 76 features the Mothman as a central figure in the Appalachian folklore of its post-apocalyptic setting, appearing as a variety of mutated creatures that can be either hostile or passive toward the player.Messer, Cassi (September 16, 2018)."Mothman Museum teams up with makers of 'Fallout 76' for official merchandise".The Herald-Dispatch. RetrievedJanuary 31, 2026.
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...
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