The Legend of Mothman
The history of this possibly mythological creature starts in the 1960s at Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Sightings went from 1966-1967 and stopped after the collapse of the silver bridge in December of 1967. Some people still claim to see him at the coasts of the United States. With a sighting as recent as 2020 in Arizona. So let us divide into the legend of this great American cryptid.
Let me set the scene for you; the year is 1966, you are a gravedigger working the night shift with your partner. It is dark and chilly. You two hear an odd noise and look up. As you look up, you see a strange man-like creature sitting in a tree above you! This story was a reality for two people in West Virginia! Now let us explore the story of Mothman.
A few days after the reported sighting in the graveyard, one of the most famous sightings of Mothman had occurred.
Two young couples spotted a 10-foot tall humanoid with glowing red eyes. It chased them for miles down a dirt road. As they ran down that path, they luckily lost him.
They told people that it sounded like a record scratching on a record player. After this encounter, the young couples went to the newspaper and police. The police did not believe them. But the newspaper dubbed the creature Mothman.
After the second eyewitness account, many people claimed to have seen the Mothman. They also said that after the alleged sighting, they were filled with a deep sense of dread. The people of Point Pleasant speculate that Mothman lived in an empty nuclear power plant or escaped a government experiment. The claims of sightings of the humanoid came to an abrupt end in December of 1967. It should be noted that December of 1967 was the fall of the Pleasant Point’s Silver Bridge.
The bridge carried Route 35 over the Ohio River, and the official statement remains that the fall was due to a faulty suspension chain. But that did not stop the conspiracy theorist one bit. Many people thought that Mothman had played a role in the fall of the Silver Bridge, whether directly causing it or just by being a bad omen and a warning sign.
Now, let us get into the theories of what Mothman might be.
The most popular theory remains that he is a supernatural or interdimensional being. People believe he belongs in the realm of the paranormal. Whoever thought of this idea was crazy.
If he was an interdimensional creature, he would be proof that there are other dimensions besides ours. Opening a whole new door of possibilities of other things. The evidence that people use to back up these theories is that there are no animals that fit the description of Mothman and that in the ’60s someone would not have the capability to pull off a prank like that.
Another popular idea is that Mothman is actually an escaped government experiment because the sightings were reported near old government buildings and war sites.
There is not much I can really add to this theory, but I do like it. Many scientists and people in that field of work/sceptics think that he either does not exist or is actually an owl, a barred owl to be exact.
These theories are based on the description from the two couples on a date.
Now, another idea is that it is just someone who was dressing up and scaring people, but I have not heard too many people talking about this, and I have not seen much evidence for it, so I do not believe it.
If you were to ask what I think Mothman is, I would tell you that I think he is an escaped government experiment. To me, that makes the most sense. He had been spotted by an old government facility most of the time, and no one outside of the government knows what is going on in the facilities, so it could be completely true.
To wrap it all up, Mothman is an American cryptid who first appeared in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. He has essentially become the town’s mascot.
Some people believe that Mothman is an omen of death and bad luck, but others believe he is harmless. And is just a lost and confused being in the wrong dimension. Thank you for your time and for reading this article. It would be great if you could follow the link below and fill out the google form for what you think Mothman is. The results may even be posted in the next edition of The Herriman Telegraph.
https://forms.gle/2gmRU9KMGyixJd1Q8
Here’s a link to a song written about Mothman in the 80s.
