Road Trip Into The Unknown: Like A Moth(Man) To A Flame.

Cryptozoology is a field of study that has been desperately trying to gain acceptance in the scientific community for over fifty years. Since the discovery of the Coelacanth off the coast of Madagascar and more recently a mass discovery of hundreds of new species in the Mekong in southeast Asia, researchers have scoured the world over for creatures that once existed and are now thought be extinct and creatures that mainstream science says can not possibly exist. These mainstream scientist forget was science is truly all about the wonder and thrill of the hunt.

Every once in awhile a creature appears on the radar of the most devoted researcher of unknown animals that even has them scratching their heads and saying, what the F. Such is the case of a strange creature that terrorized the citizens of the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia in the mid 1960s. This cryptozoological mystery seemed to step right out of the shadows and scared the living daylights out of all those who claimed to have witnessed it’s presence, the mysterious winged creature known as the Mothman will go down forever in the annals of mysterious America as the strangest monster to have ever graced our shores.

The first official sighting of this anomolous winged terror was reported on the night of November 15 1966, amid reports of strange lights and UFOs beign witnessed over the towns of Point Pleasant and Charleston, West Virginia and many believe that this was no terrestrial creature at all but rather some intergalactic visitor. Two young couples were returning from a late night out in one of the larger towns in the area when they decided to take a shortcut thru the TNT factory, an abandoned World War Two ordinance factory. As they slowed down to look at the crumbling buildings one of the young men noticed two red lights hiding just inside the doorway of one of the buildings. As their automobile came closer to the building a creature of nightmarish proportions stepped out of the shadows and gave new meaning to the phrase, “What The hell was that.”

The two couples would later tell investigators that a huge gray creature with batlike wings unfurled from behind it’s back came into view in their headlights. The two couples could not believe their eyes at the sight of the horrible and impossible beast that stood before them. Not wanting to stick around the driver of the vehicle shot off like a bat out of hell speeding off into the night.

As they sped down the road, the witnesses claimed, reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour the creature was was able to keep pace flapping it’s mighty membranous wings all the while striking the roof of the car with a large fist. The creature broke away from the chase as the car and it’s occupants neared the city of Point Pleasant. When they reached the Mason County courthouse all four reported the eldritch sighting to an incredulous Sheriff’s Deputy, Roy Milland. After the initial report, Milland drove out to the TNT factory and had a look around for this bizarre creature, he found nothing. However, Deputy Milland would later attest to the character of these young people stating that they were solid citizens and would not make anything so strange up.

Story of the young couple’s terrifying sighting quickly got around the community of Point Pleasant and several citizens grabbed their rifles and drove out to the TNT factory in the hopes that they could bag themselves a beast. Unfortunately as is the case with most mysterious beasts nothing was found as they diligently searched through every nook and cranny of all the buildings despite them being evidently unsafe.

As the days and months passed more reports of the mysterious Mothman began to filter into the Sheriff’s office and the local authorities were genuinely concerned that they may have a true case of mass hysteria on their hands. One local citizen claimed that one late night as she sat up watching television she heard a strange noise just outside her window. When she got up to investigate and peered out the window she saw a sight she would never forget. Standing next to a tree she claimed to have seen the mysterious creature the witness would later tell investigator, John Keel author of “The Mothman Prophecies”, that the creature must have stood well over nine feet tall and she watched as it unfurled it’s wings and flew off into the night sky without making a noise.

Other strange phenomenon was attributed with sightings of the Mothman, phenomenon that is usually associated with haunting phenomenon. Witnesses claimed that they experienced what could only be described as poltergeist type activity. Lights turned on and off by themselves, objects moved about homes and witnesses claimed to receive strange phone calls at all hours of the day. Paranormal researchers and UFOlogists have long believed that during sightings of UFOs poltergeist like activity has been known to occurr as with a case that happened outside of Antioch, Illinois in the 1980s and the High Strangeness that occurrs on a daily basis at the Skinwalker Ranch in Utah. Perhaps all these phenomenon are in fact closely linked.

The most dramatic sighting of the Mothman occurred to a family who were visiting a friend who lived in an artist community on the outskirts of Point Pleasant. An elderly couple, their daughter and their infant grandchild were leaving a friends home when they entering their car they watched as the Mothman seemingly rose up out of the ground behind their vehicle and let out a loud chittering noise that almost sounded mechanical in nature. The young mother was so frightened by the experience she actually dropped her screaming baby. After regaining their composure they quickly got into their car and drove leaving the terrible Mothman behind.

Other strange phenomenon seemed to follow in the wake of the Mothman sightings that would definately qualify the community of Point Pleasant, West Virginia as an episode of high strangeness. Strange men in black suits driving black sedans showed up in the town asking odd questions about whether or not folks had seen the mysterious mothman or been witness to any strange lights in the sky. Those who came into contact with these odd Men In Black would later state that when speaking with them their voices would could a person to fall into a daze almost to the point of losing conciousness. Some would claim that their dealings with these strange men were pleasant however the majority would later state to investigators that these men gave off a sinister almost diabolical feeling which made many feel that they were up to no good.

The strange series events that gripped Point Pleasant and it’s surrounding communities in 1966 would culminate in a great tragedy that is still fresh in the memories of the life long residents of the area. A few days before Christmas, the Silver Bridge an expansion bridge that connected West Virginia with Ohio collapsed killing 47 people and injuring dozens more. Those who were present and not on the bridge claimed that as they watched the bridge fall into the icy waters of the river they could see the large dark form of the Mothman fly off into the sky. When Structural engineers inspected the bridge they discovered that a few support beams had bent causing the bridge to come toppling down. If their was a Mothman, it would appear that shoddy workmanship rather than some creature was to blame for the death of dozens.

Skeptics who review the case years after the fact have stated that whatever the citizens of Point Pleasant, West Virginia had seen was not some mysterious cryptid or the lost crewman of a UFO but rather a Sand Hill crane a bird that is known to stand close to five feet tall with a large wingspan and a patch of bright red feathers that could be mistaken for glowing red eyes. Seems like a plausible explanation however the residents who witnessed the events and the creature declared emphatically that whatever the Mothman was it was certainly no bird. Even some cryptozologists have offered an alternative suggestion as to the identity of the Mothman, crypto researchers have suggested that perhaps the creature was a giant owl. Hmm. Whatever the case may be the present citizens of Point Pleasant commemorate the strange episode that terrorized their city over 40 years ago with a fair and carnival rides called appropriately enough, “Mothman Days.” And I am certain that a good time is had by all.

Rick E. Hale

t_seeker@hotmail.com