In which they didn't have to give the statue a six-pack, but they did.

Okay, I get it. Everyone's favorite cryptid is Mothman. I would usually be inclined to say he's a normie cryptid...

...But I love him too much and you should, too.

TIMELINE

November 12, 1966 - Mothman is first sighted by gravediggers*

November 15, 1966 - two couples sight Mothman

November 16-18 - eight more sightings are reported in the surrounding area

December 15, 1967 - a bridge collapses due to "faulty structuring"

1975 - John Keel publishes The Mothman Prophecies

2002 - a movie comes out based on The Mothman Prophecies

2005 - Jeff Wamsley opens the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, West Virginia

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LOCATION

Clendenin, West Virginia (and the surrounding area)

Salem, West Virginia

Point Pleasant, West Virginia

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DESCRIPTION

Mothman stands at six to seven feet tall, with white wings spanning 10 feet and a brown, barrel-chested body. He sports bright red eyes resembling bike reflectors about six inches apart, which I think is very terrifying and admirable of him. The cryptid can fly at over 100 mph but is a very clumsy runner, the poor dear.

Mothman may have the ability to interfere with electronic devices such as televisions and radios, similar to a ghost. He may also signify impending doom. He can let out a bloodcurdling shriek that gives some people vertigo and nausea, which is really horrifying when you remember he's a moth. (Just think about a screaming moth. Yeah. It's terrible.)

Some have speculated that he is merely a collective figment of imagination, since he alludes to several demonic archetypes, meaning that he has been pulled from our theorized collective unconscious. (More on demonic archetypes later.)

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FIRST SIGHTING*

Mothman was first sighted by five grave diggers, which, I mean...come on. Nothing has ever made me want to be a gravedigger more than having possible cryptid sightings. You're telling me I could be digging some poor dude's final resting spot, hanging out in the graveyard, spotting cryptids casually flying around??

I digress.

They called him a "brown human being" which seems like a really weird way of phrasing it because like...brown human beings exist and I would never just refer to one as a "brown human being." Even if they flew over my head in the middle of the night. At which point I would definitely not be using the words "human being."

Maybe it's a 60s thing. Or they were just trying not to sound crazy by saying that they saw a brown moth-man hybrid flying overhead at like two in the morning while in a literal graveyard (the article doesn't say what time they saw him, so don't quote me on this, but you get my point).

This sighting was in Clendenin, West Virginia. It is a tiny-ass town, with just over a thousand people living there. The "sightings" of Mothman suddenly make a lot more sense. Those poor, bored, 1,142 folks need something to do...

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FOLLOWING SIGHTINGS

There are hundreds of Mothman sightings. HUNDREDS. And all of them were so interesting that I gave up and just went with the first two I read about. We don't wanna be here all day, now do we?

November 15, 1966 - Two Couples

Two couples spotted Mothman while driving home together. They are the ones who would add details to his appearance such as the color and span of his wings, his height, and his eye color. Two of these eyewitnesses are Robert Scarberry (cool last name) and Steve Mallet** (also a pretty cool last name). I would assume that, given this is the sixties, these two men do not constitute one of the couples.

I do have a bone to pick with these two men, or maybe just the writer of the article I read. Apparently, Mothman wanted to avoid the lights of the headlights, "likening it to a moth." I don't know what sorts of moths these gentlemen have been familiarizing themselves with, but those things are desperate to fling themselves into the nearest light source at maximum speed. Mothman should have taken a flying leap at their car, not tried to avoid it. I call bull.

And then he chased their cars to the outskirts of town?? This has to be a typo on the article's part. I thought you just said he tried to avoid the light! Or maybe the sheer horror of seeing a seven-foot-tall moth-human hybrid with glowing red eyes messed with the couple's memory formations. Can't really blame them, in that case.

Scarberry knew how crazy he sounded but insisted it was real. He pointed out that everyone else in the car had seen the creature, too, so he wasn't alone.

Newell Partrige***

Mr. Partrige was watching TV one evening in Salem, West Virginia when strange patterns appeared on his screen. Then he heard weird noises coming from outside. This alone would have been enough to send me into tears, but our brave hero went outside with a flashlight to face the noise, seeing two glowing red eyes before the beast ran away.

Shortly after this, Partrige's dog vanished. He claimed it was Mothman.

I'm going to have to fact-check the grieving Mr. Partrige here. According to a biology website for kids (the website layout looks so familiar...why have I been here before??) very few moth species are carnivores in any capacity, meaning that moths don't eat hapless dogs. I'm offended on behalf of Mothman for these false accusations.

Besides, I'd imagine being a seven-foot-tall moth hybrid from hell doesn't really help in the friends department...maybe the poor monster was just lonely. In which case, I hope he and that dog had some quality years together.

The Silver Bridge Collapse

46 people died when the Silver Bridge between Ohio and West Virginia crumbled into the river. (Wow, this is gonna be hard for me to write about, seeing as this is one of my worst fears ever.)

Basically, one of the eyebars fractured, causing a domino effect throughout the whole bridge. Its middle caved into the Ohio River, sending 64 drivers into its depths. Only 18 would survive.

The bridge's collapse was connected to Mothman by cryptozoologists for a few different reasons. One, the tragedy took place exactly 13 months after the first sighting - and, as we all know, 13 is a scientifically spooky number.

Two, a Mothman conspiracy theorist by the name of Mary Hyre had a terrible nightmare about people drowning in the Ohio River with Christmas presents floating around them. Seeing as most of the people who plunged into the river that fateful day were Christmas shoppers, you can see the eerie parallels.

In Point Pleasant, a few weeks after this, several residents reported similar nightmares - but, suspiciously enough, all after talking with Hyre. So there's that to consider.

Three, a couple of sightings of Mothman had been reported near the Silver Bridge. Although nothing was thought of the location at the time, seeing as it was near the initial sightings, later, a connection was drawn.

Four, after the bridge collapse, all sightings of the Mothman virtually stopped. This, in cryptozoologists' eyes, supported the risingly popular idea that Mothman was actual an omen of doom, sent to warn them about the bridge. When his work was done, he vanished.

If Mothman is responsible for this bridge collapse, his death count is now 46 people and we should be very afraid.

He has since supposedly been sighted at famous tragedies such as the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, September 11th, and the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. I won't be going into depth on those because the majority of Mothman's life seems to take place in West Virginia, anyway.

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POSSIBLE HISTORICAL INFLUENCE

SHAWNEE CHIEF CORNSTALK

Some rumors claim that a Shawnee chief by the name of Cornstalk cursed the land when he was ambushed and slaughtered by white colonists. (The rumors are based on whether or not he cursed the land, not whether or not he was ambushed and slaughtered. 1700s colonists sucked.)

The reason why they've picked him might have something to do with the fact that he was reburied in Point Pleasant. Creepy, guys. Very creepy.

DEMONIC ARCHETYPES

Demonic archetypes have been around pretty much since the beginning of time. There are a lot of winged demons, especially ones with terrifying screeches and glowing red eyes. They also tend to be a little larger than life, so it stands to reason that inspiration for Mothman's appearance came from as-old-as-time storybook ghouls.

INSECT MONSTERS IN MYTHOLOGY

Insects aren't often used as monsters in classical mythology, but there are a few noteworthy bugs who make the list, most notably mosquitoes, beetles, and caterpillars. Moths come from caterpillars - you do the math.

SANDY HILL CRANES

Yup. Just like the Jersey Devil, we might be blaming poor sandy hill cranes for bridge collapses and dog disappearances and general havoc-wreaking.

On behalf of all humans, cranes, I am deeply sorry.

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MAJOR MEDIA APPEARANCES

THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES

Author John Keel collected all the lore he could about Mothman, as well as recent inexplicable events or disasters that he could blame on Mothman, publishing his findings in a book entitled The Mothman Prophecies.

Primary among his accusations was the Silver Bridge catastrophe.

"THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES"

A 2002 movie was made based on Keel's book of the same name. It received a 6.5 (out of 10) star rating on IMDB so this movie...might have actually been...good?? Well, it's PG-13 and available for digital rent on Amazon Video, so if you have a free 1 hour and 59 minutes, watch it and tell me how it is.

(Please, someone, watch it.)

THE MOTHMAN MUSEUM

Located in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the Mothman Museum sports various exhibits dedicated to the Mothman, such as exclusive audio recordings, photos, and anecdotes. It has also made its way onto my bucket list. I'm taking a picture with the ripped Mothman statue and you can't stop me.

You can buy things from their online store if you can't go to the museum itself, such as clothing, hats, and books.

I might be very, very broke soon.

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MEME****

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FURTHER READING

"Convincing Stories of People who saw the Mothman in Real Life," www.ranker.com

The Mothman Wiki, hosted on fandom.com

"The Ghosts, Goblins and Vampires of Sleep Paralysis," dreamstudies.org (on the collective unconscious)

"Mothman," www.roadsideamerica.com

www.mothmanmuseum.com

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*According to the Mothman wiki, the first sighting was in Point Pleasant, where the museum is. This is because Scarberry and Mallet saw the Mothman in Point Pleasant. I haven't been able to find another article talking about these supposed gravediggers, but since it was the earliest recorded sighting, I included it. Plus, I like the story.

**According to the Mothman wiki, Mallet's name is actually spelled Mallette.

***In certain reports, Mr. Partrige's name is not Newell, but Merle.

****The original poster's blog name has been cropped out of this meme because it has a very naughty word. I only allow semi-naughty words.