Did you see the mothman?

Question

I heard the first time people saw him was on a movie theater in West Virginia. Was anyone there to see him? I also heard that every time after that when people saw him something bad happened shortly after. Is that true?

Answer 1

Here is a link to the site run by the people who run the mothman museum in downtown point pleasant:

http://mothmanlives.com/

Pt. Pleasant is a crazy little town!

Here is a link to a recent newspaper article about it:
http://www.columbusmessenger.com/120406/southwest/clayton.php

There is tons of info out there on this topic but the book Mothman Prophecies by John Keel is the definitive work of the time.
The mothmanlives website is done by point pleasant folks and is the best one out there on the topic.



EDIT: Reading some of the other answers, I'm feeling the need to add to mine. Go to the info from the Point Pleasant folks. Regardless of what you think of Keel, one of the most respected local reporters of the time had a lot of experiences of her own. She was with the Pt. Pleasant bureau of the Athens Messenger and her name was Mary Hier (not sure I spelled that right).

I don't know about indians and mothman, but legend has it, Point Pleasant was placed under a curse by a Chief Cornstalk. I believe for the murder of his son. There is no proof of the curse, but many things have been attributed to it including the bridge collapse.

It only takes an afternoon in Point Pleasant to get a feel for what an odd little place it is. The locals believe something happened and that is good enough for me.

Answer 2

The Mothman has been described by Indian tribes (stories handed down) for a couple hundred years. The Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant, West Virginia may be the most famous, but they are not the first.

The Mothman is not always a bad omen to the person seeing it. A man in Texas avoided multiple car accidents by minutes after seeing the mothman.

Answer 3

No, I never saw the mothman, but I am from Huntington, West Virginia, which is about an hour south of Point Pleasant, and I have cousins from right across the river from Point Pleasant. One of my cousins married a girl from Point Pleasant, also.

I never heard anything about the Mothman at the time, but the collapse of the Silver Bridge was a big deal, all over that area, so I remember that. I also remember my parents saying that we were supposed to be on that bridge. We had plans to go to Gallipolis, that day, but our plans were changed at the last minute, for some reason.

So, when that book and movie came out, I was naturally very interested in it.!!!!!!

Answer 4

The Mothman,was reportedly first sighted November 12, 1966. A group of five men were preparing a grave in a cemetery close to Clendenin, W V when what they described as a "brown human shape with wings" lifted off from behind nearby trees and flew over their heads. However, this sighting was not made public until later, and the first sighting described in the media took place three days later.
November 15, two young married couples from Point Pleasant, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, were out for a drive inone of the couple's car. They were passing a World War II TNT factory outside of Point Pleasant, in the McClintic Wildlife Station, when they noticed two red lights in the shadow by an old generator plant near the gate of the factory.
They stopped and were startled to see that the lights were the glowing red eyes of a large animal, "shaped like a man, but bigger, maybe six and a half or seven feet tall, with big wings folded against its back", terrified, they drove off in their car, heading for Route 62. Going down the exit road, they saw the creature again, standing on a ridge near the road. It spread its wings and took off, following their car to the city limits.

Answer 5

Totally bogus, guys.

Keel is a certified wacko who has written a series of completely over the top books for UFO fans.;

The Movie was based on Keel's book, which GROSSLY misrepresents what actually happened. - for instance, there were NO accounts of the "Mothman" ( a name created by some playful reporters) talking, or foretelling any events, etc. No mystical phone events, etc. And most amusing, in the movie, Richard Gere was acting the part of a famous reporter from a top newspaper - supposedly Keel himelf - but in fact, Keel was a hack writer who never worked for any legitimate news source as a reporter, and at the time of the events was writing a phony UFO book. .

There were no Indian legends - the idea that there were Indian legends is just a legend. No Indian folk tales or legends regarding this topic were recorded by any folklorists prior to the movie.

There was a bridge that tragically collapsed. But that had no connection to the Mothman bird sightings.

Answer 6

The original book, "The Mothman Prophecies" by John A. Keel is based on true events. The movie is fiction, based on the book.

Personally, I haven't. But a friend of mine, passing through the area a few years ago, said that he was pretty sure that he had seen one. He also said that the Native Americans from that area had legends corresponding to Keel's info. There are two types: those which mess with people & those which only watch. He's not the type to make up stuff.

Keel's other books are recommended to the curious.

Answer 7

Hi Caity,

I've watched the movie twice and nothing bad has happened to me. I'm from Oz so I didn't have any experiences with the Mothman, but I do now of people in europe who had. In eastern europe there are many myths and recent sightings of a man/demon with big wings and glowing red eyes. My mom and two of my family friends have had an experience with him. He tends to visit people at night out in the coutryside. Nothing bad happened to them - he just gave them a fright. Personally, I think they're gargoyles - pretty harmless.

Answer 8

Yes that is true.

The movie "The Mothman prophecies" with Richard Gere is based on actual events.

I saw the movie, and I read about moth man in my readings of the paranormal.

Answer 9

I saw the mothman prophesies which supposedly was based on true stories and I think it's bs.

Answer 10

i believe in mothman. but i wasnt there. i dont think people will see him anywhere. u have to be in the middle of nowhere in the road.