Back الرجل العثة Arabic Mothman BCL Мотман Bulgarian Mothman Czech Mølmanden Danish Mothman German Mothman Esperanto Hombre polilla Spanish مرد شاپرکی Persian Mothman Finnish
 An artistic depiction of Mothman | |
| Grouping | Cryptid |
|---|---|
| First attested | November 15, 1966 |
| Region | Point Pleasant, West Virginia |
| Part of a series on the |
| Paranormal |
|---|
Mothman, in West Virginian folklore, is a humanoid creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. Despite its name, the original sightings of the creature described avian features. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register, dated November 16, 1966, titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird ... Creature ... Something".[1] The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States. The source of the legend is believed to have originated from sightings of out-of-migration sandhill cranes or herons.[2][3]
The creature was introduced to a wider audience by Gray Barker in 1970,[4][5] and was later popularized by John Keel in his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies,[6] claiming that there were paranormal events related to the sightings, and a connection to the collapse of the Silver Bridge. The book was later adapted into a 2002 film starring Richard Gere.[7]
An annual festival in Point Pleasant is devoted to the Mothman legend.[8]
- ^ "Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something". Point Pleasant Register. Point Pleasant, WV: WestVA.Net, Mark Turner. November 16, 1966. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Gettysburg Timeswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Snopeswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Skeptical Inquirer, Volume 33 (Pennsylvania State University, Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. 2009)
- ^ Gray Barker, The Silver Bridge (Saucerian Books, 1970). Reprinted in 2008 entitled The Silver Bridge: The Classic Mothman Tale (BookSurge Publishing). ISBN 1-4392-0427-6
- ^ Keel, John A. The Mothman Prophecies (2002). ISBN 0-7653-4197-2 (Originally published in 1975 by Saturday Review Press)
- ^ Meehan, Paul (2009). Cinema of the Psychic Realm: A Critical Survey, p. 130. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3966-9
- ^ "Mothman Festival". mothmanfestival.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
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