The Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia is memorialized in a twelve-foot high statue in Point Pleasant.
Despite a great deal of publicity, researchers have not come to a conclusion as to its nature. Although its name suggests something of a humanoid moth, those dozens or more people who saw it in the late 1960s originally described it as being something more like a bird than a moth.
The earliest reported sighting was in 1961 when a father and daughter were driving through the Chief Cornstalk Wildlife Management Area late at night when they came upon what they first believed to be a person standing in the middle or the road; that is, until the creature displayed a set of wings that reached to either side of the road, and flew away.
It wasn't seen again until November of 1966, when two young couples were driving around a former military munitions facility on the edge of Point Pleasant one night. They saw what appeared to be bright red eyes shining in the darkness. Then a figure the size and shape of a very tall man stepped into the light, and spread a set of very large wings. When the couple tried to escape in their car, the creature flew after them at speeds approaching a hundred miles an hour, emitting squeaks that were described as being like that of a huge rodent.
Over the next year, several people reported seeing the creature around Point Pleasant, and a Charleston news reporter dubbed it "The Mothman," and the name stuck.
No one has been able to describe the face, as the red eyes dominated, nor was anyone able to describe whether it was coverered with fur, feathers or scales, perhaps because it was only seen at night. Descriptions of Mothman varied, but most eyewitnesses said that it was five to seven feet tall and much broader than a man. It had a ten-foot wingspan, and eyes that glowed red in the dark.
Some eyewitnesses said that it seemed to fly without flapping its wings, yet it was able to achieve high speeds, keeping pace with cars traveling up to a hundred miles an hour. On the ground, it was said to waddle while walking, and stand erect while at rest.
The only noise it was heard to make was described as a shrill squeak, like a rodent or a squeaky fan belt.
Although it was first sighted in 1961, most of its sightings took place during about twelve months in 1966 and 1967. It was seen mostly in the Point Pleasant area of West Virginia, although there were sightings in Ohio, Kentucky, and Mississippi, although the sighting outside of West Virginia and Ohio deviated from the others in that the eyewitnesses seemed to describe a very large bird, with little resemblance to other descriptions of the creature. One eyewitness reported seeing two Mothmen together.
Sightings occurred both during the day and at night. The last sighting was about one month before the Point Pleasant Silver Bridge collapsed into the Ohio River on December 15, 1967, killing forty-six people. This led to people believing that the Mothman was a harbinger of death, which was further encouraged through a 2002 film, The Mothman Prophecies.
A ten-foot statue of Mothman was unveiled in Point Pleasant on September 23, 2003, as a means of capitalizing on cryptozoological tourism. Then-Mayor Jim Wilson said of the tourists who have come to the area since the movie was released, "I don't care why they're coming as long as they're here. If they want Mothman, then we'll give them Mothman."
Recommended Resources
Promoting the feature-length documentary about the real-life events surrounding the events that occurred in and around the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, beginning on November 15, 1966, when four young adults traveling through the West Virginia backroads encountered what appeared to be a black, lurking, lumbering, seven-foot tall man with red eyes and wings, and continues for over a year, between 1966 and 1967, the site presents a couple of trailers and an synopsis of the production.
http://www.eyesofthemothman.com/
Held in Point Pleasant, West Virginia every third weekend in September, the annual festival commemorates the 1966 Mothman sightings in and around Point Pleasant, which led to the infamous red-eyed Mothmand legend that now includes several books, movies, and documentaries. Scheduled attractions and events, live bands, guest speakers, bus tours, and other activities and events, as well as the Mothman Museum, are discussed. An online shopping area is included.
https://www.mothmanfestival.com/
Focusing on the 1966-1967 Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the site offers a brief discussion of the events, and offers biographical data for John A. Keel, the author of "The Mothman Prophecies," as well as Mary Here, who was a reporter with the Athens Messenger during the sightings, and Gray Barker, who wrote "The Silver Bridge," which linked the collapse of the Silver Bridge with the 1967 Mothman appearances in Point Pleasant. Sightings are also reported.
http://www.mothmanlives.com/
Situated in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the museum features a large collection of props and memorabilia from the movie, The Mothman Prophecies, in the town where the events actually occurred, as well as historical documents from eyewitnesses, press clippings and photographs, and information about the historical figureheads of the legend. Its location, hours, and admission costs are published, along with a webcam, links to other online resources, and an online shopping section.
https://www.mothmanmuseum.com/
The podcast reports and posts stories, testimonials, encounters, and video that relates to a wide variety of paranormal topics, as well as conducting paranormal investigations, the finding of which is reported here. Biographies of the hosts are presented, including their qualifications, experience, and interest. Other topics include show schedules, sponsors, advertising and sponsorship opportunities, and contacts. Podcasts may also be heard online, and videos are included.
https://www.mothmanradio.com/
Created and maintained by Lisa Mazzuca and her sister Evelyn, the site highlights various urban legends. This section of the site features Mothman, which was described as a man-sized, or larger creature with glowing red eyes and long wings. Various sighting reports are discussed, and an overview of the Point Pleasant, West Virginia phenomenon is provided, along with a drawing representing one description of Mothman, as well as a photograph of a statue erected to Mothman.
https://urbanlegendsonline.com/mothman/
WWU: The Man, the Moth, the Legend
Hosted on the Western Washington University website, this sub-site features the Mothman phenomenon. Mothman was a legendary or cryptid creature seen mostly around an abandoned ammunition manufacturing facility in what was known as the TNT Area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966 and 1967. Its last sighting was just before the collapse of the Silver Bridge. The creature's story, as well as films, television shows, video games, podcasts, and erotica based on Mothman are featured.
https://wp.wwu.edu/mothman/
