In West Virginia folklore, the Mothman is a creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 12, 1966, to December 15, 1967.
On November 12, 1966, five men who were digging a grave at a cemetery near Clendenin, West Virginia, claimed to have seen a man-like figure fly low from the trees over their heads.[6] This is often identified as the first known sighting of what became known as the Mothman.
Shortly thereafter, on November 15, 1966, two young couples from Point Pleasant, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, told police they saw a large grey creature whose eyes “glowed red” when the car’s headlights picked it up. They described it as a “large flying man with ten-foot wings”.
The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States.
John Keel later described the phenomenon in his 1975 book The Prophecies of Mothman.
Now a new Seth Breedlove-directed documentary aims to shed new light on the enigma.
“The final chapter in [Seth] Breedlove’s Mothman trilogy, The Mothman Legacy will tell the story of dozens of sightings of a folk legend of dubious origin, who allegedly continues to be seen throughout the area today,” the press release reads.
“With a dozen eyewitness interviews, the film promises to offer some of the most intense and terrifying encounters ever recorded.”
“Many believe the Mothman to be a 1960’s phenomenon, an omen only appearing before tragedy, and disappearing after a flap of sightings and the subsequent Silver Bridge collapse in 1967. But what if there’s more? What if the origins of this omen trace back much further and go much deeper than anyone realized? And what if…the sightings never ended?”
The Mothman Legacy will debut at the annual Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant in September.
