īatman and his antagonist Killer Moth are varyingly cited as influences for the term "Mothman"ĭue to the popularity of the Batman TV series at the time, the fictional superhero Batman and his rogues gallery were prominently featured in the public eye. The bird may have wandered out of its migration route, and therefore was unrecognized at first because it was not native to this region. Smith at West Virginia University told reporters that descriptions and sightings all fit the sandhill crane, a large American crane almost as tall as a man with a seven-foot wingspan featuring circles of reddish coloring around the eyes. Additionally, he blamed buzzing noises from his television set and the disappearance of his German Shepherd dog on the creature. Contractor Newell Partridge told Johnson that when he aimed a flashlight at a creature in a nearby field, its eyes glowed "like bicycle reflectors". Mason County Sheriff George Johnson commented that he believed the sightings were due to an unusually large heron he termed a "shitepoke". Two volunteer firemen who saw it said it was a "large bird with red eyes". ĭuring the next few days, other people reported similar sightings, after local newspapers reported it. It pursued them as far as Point Pleasant city limits. Distressed, the witnesses drove away at speed, and said that the creature flew after their car, making a screeching sound. Linda Scarberry described it as a "slender, muscular man" about seven feet tall with white wings, and said that she was unable to discern its face due to the hypnotic effect of its eyes. On November 15, 1966, two young couples from Point Pleasant-Roger and Linda Scarberry, and Steve and Mary Mallette-told police they had seen a large white creature whose eyes "glowed red", standing at the side of the road near "the TNT area", the site of a former World War II munitions plant. Īn annual festival in Point Pleasant is devoted to the Mothman legend. The book was later adapted into a 2002 film, starring Richard Gere. The creature was introduced to a wider audience by Gray Barker in 1970, and was later popularized by John Keel in his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies, claiming that there were supernatural events related to the sightings, and a connection to the collapse of the Silver Bridge. The source of the legend is believed to have originated from sightings of out-of-migration sandhill cranes or herons. The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register, dated November 16, 1966, titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird. In West Virginia folklore, the Mothman is a humanoid creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967.
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