On Nov. 16, 1966, the Point Pleasant Register ran an article titled “Couples See Man-Sized Bird… Creature… Something.” The article recounted how two couples saw a creature that resembled a large bird or an adult human with big wings. It was grayish, had glowing red eyes, and a gigantic wingspan. A couple of days after the article was published, more people reported similar sightings, and the legend of the Mothman of West Virginia was born.
The Mothman is a cryptid, a creature many believe exists but hasn’t been proven to. It’s one of the most popular cryptids along with the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and the Jersey Devil, just to name a few. Since the legend of the Mothman shot up in popularity, many in West Virginia blamed some tragic events on the cryptid.
The Mothman Prophecies
In 1975, investigative journalist John Keel published a book titled The Mothman Prophecies wherein he chronicled his probe into the notorious cryptid in West Virginia. Keel, who is also a ufologist, wrote about his accounts of the Mothman and tied them into his beliefs about extraterrestrial beings and the supernatural.
The author also touched on the Silver Bridge collapse in 1967 which left 46 people dead. Many in Point Pleasant believed that the tragedy was either caused by the presence of the Mothman in the area or that he was trying to warn people away from the bridge. Official reports say that the bridge crumbled due to corrosion, but who can say whether this was itself Mothman-related?
In 2002, Keel’s book was adapted into a movie of the same title. It stars Richard Gere as John Klein, a journalist who travels to Point Pleasant, West Virginia to investigate the Mothman. The movie received mixed reviews, but popularized the legend of the Mothman.
The Mothman statue
After the release of the movie, a Point Pleasant native named Charles Humphreys came up with the idea to erect a Mothman statue. Humphreys was the executive director of Main Street Point Pleasant, an organization formed to attract more visitors to the town. He approached Bob Roach, a retired welder, to see whether he was interested in creating the statue. Roach was hesitant at first, but he eventually agreed.
The two interviewed residents who claimed they had seen the Mothman and based on their descriptions, Roach came up with a design. The 13-foot metal statue has massive wings, red eyes, and claws on its hands and feet. It was unveiled at 201 4th St. Point Pleasant in Sept. 2003.
The Mothman statue became a popular spot, and it continues to attract tourists. Today, the statue still stands, and near it is the Mothman Museum, which houses the biggest collection of Mothman memorabilia including photographs, press clippings, and historical documents. Point Pleasant also holds the Mothman Festival on the third weekend of September each year where thousands of people from all over the country gather to celebrate the cryptid that once terrorized the town.