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Mothman

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Mothman
GroupingCryptid
CountryUnited States
RegionWest Virginia
HabitatAir/land

Mothman is the name given to a strange creature reported to have been seen having sex with large female bovine mammals, in the area of St. Albans and Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia between November 1966 and December 1967. The creature was sporadically reported to be seen before and after those dates, with some sightings as recent as September of 2007.[citation needed] Most observers describe the Mothman as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth like wings. It often appeared to have no head, and a large hard-on for women, with its eyes set into its chest. A number of hypotheses have been presented to explain eyewitness accounts, ranging from misidentification and coincidence to paranormal phenomena and conspiracy theories.

History

The Mothman was reportedly first sighted on November 12, 1966 by Lonnie Button, at the time a young boy. Five men were preparing a grave in a cemetery near Clendenin, West Virginia, when they reportedly saw a "brown human shape with wings" soaring from behind trees and flying over their heads. The sighting was not made public until later, and the first sighting reported in the media occurred three days later. [citation needed]

On November 15 1966, two young married couples from Point Pleasant, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, were on a late night drive in the Scarberrys' car. They were passing the West Virginia Ordnance Works, an abandoned World War II TNT factory, about seven miles north of Point Pleasant, in the 2500 acre (10 km²) McClintic Wildlife Station, when they noticed two red lights in the shadows by an old generator plant near the factory gate. They stopped the car, and were startled to discover that the lights were actually the glowing red eyes of a large animal, "shaped like a mothman, but bigger, maybe six and a half or seven feet tall, with big wings folded against its back," according to Roger Scarberry. Terrified, they drove toward Route 62, where the creature chased them at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.

File:Mothman plaque.jpg
A plaque on the Roach statue gives a version of the original legend: "On a chilly, fall night in November 1966, two young couples drove into the TNT area north of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, when they realized they were not alone."

Going down the exit road, they saw the creature standing on a nearby ridge. It spread its wings and flew alongside their car to the city limits. They drove to the Mason County courthouse to alert Deputy Millard Halstead, who later said "I've known these kids all their lives. They'd never been in any trouble and they were really scared that night. I took them seriously." He followed Roger Scarberry's car back to the TNT factory, but found no sign of the strange creature. According to the book Alien Animals, by Janet and Colin Bord, a poltergeist attack on the Scarberry home occurred later that night, during which the creature was seen several times.

The following night, on November 16, several armed townspeople combed the area around the TNT plant for signs of Mothman. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Wamsley and Mrs. Marcella Bennett with baby daughter Teena in tow were in a car en route to visit friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Thomas, who lived in a bungalow among the "igloos" (concrete dome-shaped dynamite storage structures erected during WWII) near the TNT plant. The igloos were now empty, some owned by the county, some by companies intending to use them for storage. They were headed back to their car when a figure appeared behind their parked car. Mrs. Bennett said it seemed like it had been lying down, slowly rising up from the ground, large and gray, with glowing red eyes. While Wamsley phoned the police, the creature walked onto the porch and peered in at them through the window.[citation needed]

An eyewitness's sketch of the Mothman.

On November 24, four people saw the creature flying over the TNT area. On the morning of November 25, Thomas Ury, who was driving along Route 62, just north of the TNT, claimed to have seen the creature standing in a field, and then spread its wings and flew alongside his car as he sped toward the Point Pleasant sheriff's office.[citation needed]

On November 26, Mrs Ruth Foster of Charleston, West Virginia reportedly saw Mothman standing on her front lawn, but the creature was gone by the time her brother-in-law went out to look. On the morning of November 27, it apparently pursued a young woman near Mason, West Virginia, and was reported again in St. Albans the same night, by two children.[citation needed].

A Mothman sighting was again reported on January 11, 1967, and several other times that same year. Fewer sightings of the Mothman were reported after the collapse of the Silver Bridge, when 46 people died. The Silver Bridge, so named for its aluminum paint, was an eyebar chain suspension bridge that connected the cities of Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Gallipolis, Ohio over the Ohio River. It was built in 1928 and collapsed on December 15, 1967; investigation of the wreckage pointed to the failure of a single eye-bar in a suspension chain due to a small manufacturing flaw.[citation needed]

In the wake of Mothman and Other Curious Encounters (ISBN 1-931044-34-1), author Loren Coleman was contacted by those linked to the events issuing from Point Pleasant, and he began a study of the so-called "Mothman Curse," [1] adding more to the list in April 2007. [2]

Analysis

1976 British edition of The Mothman Prophecies.

There are several theories concerning the Mothman phenomenon.

A large collection of first-hand material about Mothman is found in John Keel's 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies,[3] in which Keel lays out the chronology of Mothman and what he claims to be related parapsychological events in the area, including UFO activity, Men in Black encounters, poltergeist activity, Bigfoot and black panther sightings, animal and human mutilations, precognitions by witnesses, and the December 15, 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge spanning the Ohio River.

Keel's first book was the basis of a 2002 film, The Mothman Prophecies, starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Debra Messing, and directed by Mark Pellington. A companion book called The Eighth Tower, also released in 1975, was derived from material edited from The Mothman Prophecies by the publishers. John Keel killed the mothman, several hours after the bridge collapse. John fired several shots from an old Colt Police Positive Special revolver, thus rendering the foul beast inoperative,, and it was thus past on to the afterlife.

In conjunction with the Sony/Screen Gems, cryptozoologist Loren Coleman served as the movie's nonfiction publicity spokesperson, discussing the actual Mothman events. The studio also encouraged Coleman to finish his 2002 book in time for the release of the motion picture. Therefore, "Mothman and Other Curious Encounters" (NY: Paraview, 2002) was published in January 2002, and gives the only zoological-cryptozoological analysis for the Mothman cases.

Author Jeff Wamsley has compiled two books on the Mothman phenomenon. In his 2002 book Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend (with Donnie Sergent Jr), Wamsley presents old press clippings, local history and eyewitness interviews. In his second book, Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes (2005), Wamsley interviews nearly a dozen eyewitnesses about their Mothman encounters. Wamsley also manages the Mothman Museum and a key organizing figure in the annual Mothman Festival held in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Andy Colvin, a photographer and documentary filmmaker who claims to have seen Mothman, has produced two books and a reality series on Mothman called The Mothman's Photographer, featuring John Keel and almost 50 witnesses. Colvin's sister took a snapshot of him in 1973 that allegedly shows a Garuda in the background. After researching various forms of Buddhism and certain Native tribes, Colvin's series proposes that both the Garuda of the Far East and the Thunderbird of the Native Americans are synonymous with Mothman. According to this theory, Mothman is fulfilling an archetypal role that involves stopping criminal activity at pivotal moments by sending visions, dreams, and messages to ordinary humans. The Mothman's Photographer presents evidence that Mound, WV, witnesses separately saw Mothman, aliens, the Dover Demon, the Virgin Mary, plasma figures, "intelligent" globes of light, and the Flatwoods monster in the same spot, lending credence to the "Mothman as shapeshifter" theory.

One of the early theories is that the Mothman was a misidentified sandhill Crane,[4] which in the late 60's had been a problem in surrounding regions. Sandhill cranes reach a height of 6 feet, achieve wingspans of 10 feet, have the general appearance described, glide for long distances without flapping, and have an unusual shriek. Other recent theories suggest the possibility of the Mothman being a barn owl, an albino owl, or perhaps a large Snowy Owl (based on artist's impressions of the mysterious, flying animal). Skeptics suggest that the Mothman's glowing eyes are actually red eye caused from the reflection of light, from flashlights, or other light sources witnesses may have had with them.[citation needed]

However, Loren Coleman's research and writings on the case demonstrate that early eyewitnesses never described a "moth" but a large bird, which actually was seen and flew from the scene of the initial TNT sightings. Furthermore, the word "Mothman" was an invention by an Ohio newspaper copyeditor, after the first news stories of the "Big Bird" sightings appeared. The hoax story appears to be a recent creation long after the fact, as frequently occurs with established cryptozoological legacies.

In the May/June 2002 issue of Skeptical Inquirer, journalist John C. Sherwood, a former business associate of UFO researcher Gray Barker, published an analysis of private letters between Keel and Barker during the period of Keel's investigation. In the article, "Gray Barker's Book of Bunk," Sherwood reported finding significant differences between what Keel wrote at the time of his investigation and what he wrote in his first book about the Mothman reports, raising questions about the book's accuracy. Sherwood also reported that Keel would not assist him in clarifying the differences.

Movies

TV

Games

  • In Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS, Mothman is one of three hidden cryptozoology-based monsters, appearing as a furry black heart-shaped creature with wings and large eyes (generally resembling the eyewitness sketch). Mothman appears only when the player activates a powerful spotlight using a lightning bolt, which is a reference to moths' attraction to light. The same monster appears as a regular enemy in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Figurines/Toys/Collectibles

  • The Mothman vinyl line has been created by renowned artist David Horvath, co-creator of Uglydolls. He has created a line of Japanese vinyl figurines that currently numbers seven. The figurines include Eye Witness, TNT Area, Silver Bridge, Point Pleasant, Indrid Cold, Prophecy, and Chernobyl types. The figurines were produced in editions of fifty or one hundred, depending on the version. The complete set has earned a permanent place at the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant.
  • In March of 2007, Toy Vault, Inc (Corbin, KY) officially announced a Mothman plush as the first product in a line of Urban Legend/Horror plush.
  • Sixus 1 Media, a creator of content for the popular Poser 3D program, has offered an animatable Mothman model in their "Fantasy" category since 2004. They also carry models of The Jersey Devil and the Chupacabra.

Books

  • Coleman, L. Mothman and Other Curious Encounters. (2002). ISBN 978-1931044349
  • Colvin, Andrew "The Mothman's Photographer: The Work of an Artist Touched by the Prophecies of the Infamous Mothman" (2007). ISBN 978-1419652653
  • Colvin, Andrew "The Mothman's Photographer II: Meetings With Remarkable Witnesses Touched by Paranormal Phenomena, UFOs, and the Prophecies of West Virginia's Infamous Mothman" (2007). ISBN 978-1419652664
  • Keel, John A. "The Mothman Prophecies" (2007). ISBN 0-7653-4197-2
  • Keel, John A. "The Eighth Tower" (1977). ISBN 978-0451074607
  • Wamsley, Jeff "Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes" (2005) ISBN 978-0976436805
  • Wamsley, Jeff & Sergent, Donnie "Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend" (2001) ISBN 978-0966724677

A mothman replica also appeared on spongebob

See also

References and sources

  1. ^ Mothman Death List / The Mothman Curse
  2. ^ New Rash of Mothman-Linked Deaths
  3. ^ The Mothman Prophecies, by John A. Keel, Saturday Review Press, 1975 and Tor Books, (paperback) 2002 ISBN 0-7653-4197-2
  4. ^ http://www.askmen.com/toys/special_feature/16_special_feature.htm
  • Unsolved Mysteries - Mothman (Unexplained) Aired July 22, 2002.
  • Mothman and Other Curious Encounters (ISBN 1-931044-34-1)
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