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 Author: Tracey Huntley |
Cryptozoology
Main Entry: cryp•to•zo•ol•o•gy
Pronunciation: "krip-t&-zO-'ä-l&-jE, -z
Function: noun
the study of the lore concerning legendary animals (such as Sasquatch) especially in order to evaluate the possibility of their existence.
1966-1967 Point Pleasant West Virginia
Imagine yourself, closing up shop for the day, the evening sun setting behind the horizon. As you are taking your scenic drive through the woods on the outskirts of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, dusk sets in. The road is secluded and dark; tall trees line the roadway. As you play the day’s events back in your mind, you are suddenly snapped back to reality when you see something in front of your vehicle. Head lights cast an eerie glow on something that is not the likes of anything you have ever seen.
It is hard to comprehend it as reality. Time seems to play out in slow motion. As you are slamming on the brakes, the 7 foot tall creature spreads its massive wings, rises up from its crouch, and flies off with a loud screech. You may have very well encountered the infamous Mothman.
How do we, as the general public feel about the Mothman? In this article, I will offer some different views and ideas as to what some people think this phenomenon might be. The ultimate opinion is left up to you.
A Brief History of the Mothman
The Mothman is an alleged creature whose appearance is said to predict disaster. Its eyes have been compared to glowing red taillights, large and round. In many cases its head sits lower than its shoulders. It is said to stand 7 feet tall, maintaining the shape of a man. The wings are reported to be proportionate with its gray- skinned body.
The first reported sighting in recent times occurred on November 15th, 1966 at a TNT plant left over from World War II.
The unknown creature is said to have chased 2 couples all the way into the town of Point Pleasant, while keeping level with the car windows and maintaining the car’s high speeds.
In a separate report, a couple stated that the creature was at their window staring in at them. The woman became highly distressed after the event. By the time the authorities arrived, it had vanished.
There was a wide range of sightings after that as more people came forward. Between 1966 and 1967, the reports were numerous.
The number of sightings varies from source to source. Some report over 100 within a 13 month period, while others say around 50 - 60.
A 2002 movie was made from the book, The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel, depicting the events that took place.
I have to say that the movie was highly entertaining, and well put
together, but I am still trying to separate actual facts from entertaining fiction in the movie. I haven’t found any reported accounts of exchanges of words of warnings the Mothman may have given to individuals in
that time period such as was represented in the movie.
The movie portrays the Mothman giving Richard Gere verbal warnings and clues to disasters. Many opinions of Hollywood’s depiction were not so kind.
The reports from different citizens of Point Pleasant, and other surrounding areas were not limited to the Mothman itself.
Some people reported of strange phenomena and events during the height of the sightings included but not limited to:
* Poltergeist activity
*Lights in the sky, especially around the TNT plant. An Ohio reporter named Mary Hyre who had conducted extensive reporting on the Mothman sightings, received in excess of 500 reports of strange lights in the sky within one weekend alone.
* Reports of Men in Black (MIBs) visiting and pressuring citizens and witnesses, sometimes not so subtly.
In most cases, I have found that skeptics and believers agree on one thing.
In Point Pleasant particularly, the paranormal phenomena and the separate sightings of the Mothman all occurred within the same time frame.
In many cases Following sightings and encounters, a disaster seem to occur.
An interesting quote from the author of Mothman Prophecies John Keel…
“The objects and apparitions do not necessarily originate on another planet and may not even exist as permanent constructions of matter. It is more likely that we see what we want to see and interpret such visions according to our contemporary beliefs.”
Different Theories
*Some folks believe that the Mothman is extraterrestrial in nature, possibly visiting here to give us warnings that some sort of disaster is eminent.
Native American Curse?
*Chief Cornstalk was a Native American Shawnee leader during the Revolutionary War. He tried to find a balance of peace between the Indians and the Americans, until he was overcome with opposing force sand was forced to retaliate. Chief Cornstalk was eventually captured along with his son, in what is now known as Point Pleasant W.V.
While they were in captivity, a Shawnee Indian slaughtered an American soldier.
Out of vengeance over the slain American soldier, the Americans in turn, killed Cornstalk and his son.
Cornstalk bid a curse over the town of Point Pleasant. He declared that he had tried to do only good, and fought only when his people were threatened. Peace was his main priority, and for that, they chose to kill him. Thus, was born the curse of the Mothman.
*Skeptics have different ideas of what could have happened. Some skeptics say it could have been a Sand Hill Crane (with an average wingspan of 10 feet) that migrated in from Canada, others say simply an owl.
* Mass hallucination has also been claimed.
* Mutation: Some people theorize that toxic chemicals from the TNT site may have caused strange mutations in birds…
The Mothman has been reported outside the small town of Point Pleasant as well. Places such as Germany in 1978 by a group of mine workers.
The miners had been afraid to enter the mine because of a creature they had just witnessed. Moments later, the mine collapsed. I will include a link to an article that better details the account of the miners at the end of this article.
Unexplained Photos
A couple of years ago, while looking up information on the Mothman, I came across a message board with a post about a couple from Russel, Kentucky who had been on a walk with their dogs. They lived on the border of Kentucky and Ohio, and had taken their digital camera along to take pictures of their family pets.
While walking on the banks along the water, they looked toward the scenic view of the bridge that connected the two states. What they saw, they couldn’t explain. It was crawling along the rafters at the top of the bridge. It stopped, looked straight at them, then flew off…
These photos have been migrated all around the internet. I cannot find any evidence that they have been faked, yet verification is nearly impossible. The final conclusion is yours to decide.
If the date stamped on the photos is correct, they were taken in 2003. If you have any information on the pictures, you can contact me at Tracey@hotspotsz.com
To read more about what the miners in Germany may have experienced, you can go here: Horrorfind
Further reading on the Mothman: lorencoleman.com
Point Pleasant official site: Point Pleasant West Virginia
Tu-Endie-Wei State Park has memorials of Cheif Cornstalk, amongst many other interesting things: Tu-endie-wei State Park
Unexplained Mysteries has a very cool cryptozoology section: Unexplained Mysteries
Cryptozoology.com is a very interesting site: Cryptozoology.com
Official site of the Mothman: Mothmanlives.com
s8int.com is where I found the photos and the story about the couple in Kentucky: s8int.com
Until next time,
Tracey Huntley
Hotspotsz.com
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2 Comments ...
this is one of your BEST articles yet 
