Mothman

Point Pleasant, W. Virginia was the center of a wave of bizarre experiences during the years 1966 and 1967. UFO sightings, mysterious, oriental-looking MEN IN BLACK, and other strange occurrences became commonplace in this rural area, but all of it seemed to center around a single entity that has come to be known as "Mothman".

The number of witnesses who reported seeing or having close encounters with this creature was well over 100. It was seen both in broad daylight as well as at night. It was described as being between 6 and 7 feet in height, greyish in color, and without a head, although it had big glowing red eyes at the top of its body between its shoulders, from which spread bat-like wings that spanned out to as much as ten feet.

Mothman was fond of chasing after cars, either flying alongside them, keeping pace even though the vehicles were forced by their drivers to 100 mph speeds or more, or landing in the road in front of an approaching car, wings outspread, as if it were ready to pounce on the terrified passengers. When it took flight, the creature reportedly just shot upward from the ground, and its wings were never seen to flap.

Sometimes aerial lights were seen low in the sky or hovering above the ground before Mothman would make an appearance. Other times a light would be seen out of which the creature would emerge. Many witnesses described hearing a squeaking, mouse-like sound coming from the entity.

Oddly enough, Mothman seemed to be interested in reproductive functions. It was eventually evident that Mothman was mostly seen by women during their menstrual period. Another factor was the fact that the creature most frequently buzzed cars parked in lovers' lane areas while the occupants were engaged in sexual intercourse (Mothman's appearance, of course, killing the mood in each instance).

It wasn't long before Point Pleasant became a mecca for UFO enthusiasts, tabloid news reporters, and quacks of all kinds. Thankfully, writer John Keel was a serious, first-hand researcher of the Point Pleasant phenomenon. A world-traveler and reknowned Fortean investigator, he spent a year in the town and personally witnessed much of the phenomenon himself (minus Mothman. His classic book, The Mothman Prophecies, is essential reading for anyone who wants first-hand, objective knowledge of the happenings, and it is a paranormal, true detective story unlike anything you have ever read before.

Eventually, the public Mothman furor subsided, but the witnesses continued to be plagued by inexplicable paranormal occurrences even after some of them moved away from Point Pleasant. As a horrifying finale, thirteen months to the day after the very first sighting of Mothman, the main bridge linking Point Pleasant to the state of Ohio collapsed into the Ohio River. It was ten days before Christmas, and the bridge was laden with rush hour traffic. There was great loss of life, including many eyewitnesses of Mothman. Gaily-wrapped Christmas packages bobbed about on the surface of the water along with debris and bodies. The tragedy was all over the national news networks and in newspapers across the country.

Witnesses in the line of traffic waiting for their turn to get across the bridge swore they saw mysterious lights above the bridge before it collapsed.

Actor Richard Gere had a title role in the Hollywood movie version of The Mothman Prophecies. While the film was still under production, the staff here at My Etherworld strongly encouraged you to read the book before seeing the movie, and we sincerely hope you did so, because, in true Hollywood form, the movie failed (miserably) to present the story logically and accurately. For those of you who have seen the movie, and have not read the book, we encourage you to forget the movie altogether, clear your mind of all your pre-conceived ideas about this subject, and READ THE BOOK.

You owe it to yourself.