More than a film or the 12 foot tall, stainless steel sculpture on display in downtown Point Pleasant in West Virginia, Mothman is a strange creature seen in the United States between November 1966 and November 1967, appearing several times in West Virginia, on the border with Ohio. Artist Robert Roach portrayed the creature in his sculpture as people reported the sightings, a man-sized beast with wings and large reflective or luminous red eyes, that scientist tried to associated with owls, but due to the size and characteristics, it is believed that Mothman was a paranormal phenomena, mostly see during the 1966-69 years.

However, some theories associate Mothman with visitors from outer space or a type of Alien never seen before or after his visit. Mothman was first sighted in November 12, 1966, and named after the Batman TV series. The first apparition occurred in a cemetery close to Clendenin, West Virginia while a group of 5 men were preparing a grave. The workers described the being as a "brown human shape with wings" which lifted off from behind nearby trees and flew over their heads. This sighting was kept in secret in the belief it would not occur again, but 3 days later two young married couples from Point Pleasant, were out for a drive and saw two red lights in the shadows of a nearby World War II TNT factory.

After stopping the car, their curiosity led them to see that the lights were the glowing red eyes of a large animal described as "shaped like a man, but bigger, maybe six and a half or seven feet tall, with big wings folded against its back". This time the creature started chasing the couples, who were terrified drove off in their car, heading for Route 62 toward the Mason County courthouse after finding the creature again standing on a ridge near the road. Later it was revealed that a poltergeist attacked one of the couples' home later the same night, after the encounter with Mothman.

Apparitions of Mothman continued in West Virginia during all of November 1966, and after the reports, strangers dressed in black began to appear in the area. Nobody knew who the Mothman, or the men in black were and where they had come from or went, one year later. Some neighbors of West Virginia believe that Mothman was an alien and the men in black were government agents investigating the strange occurrences, but most people are convinced that Mothman was a paranormal being and the mysterious visitors were Catholic priests who went to exorcise the demonic creature.

There is a website that describes this and numerous other creatures of Cryptozoology in detail. The website is called: Unknown Creatures, and may be found at this address:

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

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