Overview
Mothman is a winged, man-sized figure with glowing red eyes reported around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in 1966 and 1967. Witnesses described something gray or dark, six to seven feet tall, with large wings. One group said it kept pace with their speeding car without flapping.
The best-known encounter came on November 15, 1966, near the 'TNT area', an abandoned World War II explosives plant north of town full of concrete bunkers and overgrown roads. Two young couples said the creature chased their car. The local paper ran the story the next day, and dozens more reports followed over the coming months.
On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge across the Ohio River collapsed at rush hour, killing 46 people. Writer John Keel later tied the sightings to the disaster in The Mothman Prophecies (1975), which became a 2002 film. Since then, Mothman has often been described as an omen of tragedy. Skeptics have offered a sandhill crane, a heron or an owl, with headlight eyeshine explaining the red eyes. Point Pleasant has embraced the legend, with a museum, a shining steel statue and a festival that draws more than ten thousand visitors each September.
Timeline
- November 12, 1966Gravediggers near Clendenin report a man-like figure flying from trees.
- November 15, 1966Scarberry and Mallette couples report being chased near the TNT area.
- November 16, 1966The Point Pleasant Register reports a 'man-sized bird'.
- Late November 1966Reports continue across Mason County and the Charleston area.
- December 15, 1967The Silver Bridge collapses, killing 46.
- 1975John Keel publishes The Mothman Prophecies.
- 2002Feature film released; Mothman Festival begins.
- 2003Bob Roach's 12-foot statue unveiled.
- 2006Mothman Museum opens.
Reported sightings
Cemetery near Clendenin, West Virginia
November 12, 1966 On the record
Five men digging a grave said something that looked like a brown human being lifted out of nearby trees and flew low over their heads. Witness Kenneth Duncan said they watched it for close to a minute. This is often listed as the first report of the 1966 wave, three days before the Point Pleasant sightings.
Source: qsl.netSalem, West Virginia
November 14, 1966 Told story
Newell Partridge said he saw two red objects hovering in a field near his home. His German shepherd, Bandit, ran toward them and was never seen again. The story was later folded into the Mothman timeline by researchers, though Partridge did not report a winged figure.
Source: qsl.netTNT area, north of Point Pleasant, West Virginia
November 15, 1966 On the record
Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette were driving in the TNT area, a former World War II munitions site, when they saw a tall figure with large wings and huge, glowing red eyes. Linda later described it as a slender, muscular man about seven feet tall. The four raced toward town, and they said the creature followed above the car at high speed.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgRalph Thomas home, near the TNT area, West Virginia
November 16, 1966 On the record
Raymond and Cathy Wamsley, Marcella Bennett and her baby daughter Tina had come to visit friends when a big gray figure with glowing red eyes appeared near their parked car. Her description, a large gray shape bigger than a man with terrible red eyes, became one of the most quoted.
Source: grunge.comTNT area, West Virginia
November 18, 1966 On the record
Two volunteer firemen, Paul Yoder and Ben Enochs, reported seeing the creature in the TNT area. Their account added to the list of local residents with official roles who said they had seen it.
Source: qsl.netCharleston, West Virginia
November 21, 1966 On the record
Richard West reported a six-foot winged figure perched on a neighbor's roof, with a wingspan of six to eight feet. It was among a cluster of reports in the Kanawha Valley that fall.
Source: qsl.netNear Mason and St. Albans, West Virginia
November 27, 1966 On the record
Connie Carpenter reported an encounter with the creature near Mason, and two girls in St. Albans reported one the same day. These reports pushed the sightings well beyond Point Pleasant.
Source: qsl.netSilver Bridge, Point Pleasant to Kanauga, Ohio
December 15, 1967 Told story
The Silver Bridge collapsed into the Ohio River during rush-hour traffic, killing 46 people. John Keel's 1975 book linked it to the Mothman sightings, and local lore came to treat the creature as a warning. Accounts differ on whether anyone actually reported Mothman at the bridge.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgEvidence
Multiple named witnesses Unexplained
Dozens of local residents, many named in newspapers, reported a similar creature within weeks.
Sandhill crane explanation Disputed
WVU wildlife biologist Robert L. Smith proposed a sandhill crane: nearly human height, about a 7-foot wingspan, with red coloring around the eyes.
Owl explanation Disputed
Skeptic Joe Nickell suggested a barred owl, with eyeshine from headlights producing glowing red eyes.
2016 photos Disputed
Anonymous photos said to show a figure near Point Pleasant were released online.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
The witnesses were ordinary local people who went to the police right away and gave consistent descriptions: very tall, gray or dark, big wings, red eyes. Several sightings involved more than one person, and some witnesses stayed shaken for years.
Researchers note that the reports came in quickly, from different towns, and from people who did not know each other. To many, the size and behavior described, especially flying alongside a car at speed, do not fit a bird.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Sheriff George Johnson thought witnesses had seen a large heron, and biologist Robert L. Smith suggested a sandhill crane that had wandered off its migration path. Others proposed owls, whose eyes shine red in headlights.
Skeptics also note that once the newspaper story broke, people were primed to see a monster in the dark TNT area. The link to the Silver Bridge was made in hindsight; the collapse had an engineering cause.
Open questions
- Why did multiple witnesses describe it keeping up with a fast car?
- Did any sightings happen after the bridge collapse?
- Was a sandhill crane or owl present in the area in 1966?
Visiting
Where: Downtown Point Pleasant, WV, and the TNT area north of town.
Access: The Mothman Museum is at 400 Main Street (Mon-Thu 10-5, Fri-Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5; about $4.99 ages 11+, $1.99 under 10). The steel statue on Main Street is free to see any time. Check access rules before visiting the TNT area.
Events: The Mothman Festival runs the third weekend of September.
Did you know?
- The first newspaper headline called it a 'man-sized bird', not Mothman.
- Point Pleasant's 12-foot statue was made by artist Bob Roach in 2003.
- The Mothman Museum calls itself the world's only Mothman museum.