Another one of my personal favorite cryptids is Mothman. I remember watching a Discovery channel episode of Mothman when I was around 11-years old, which freaked me out but fascinated me at the same time. The internet has an obsession and soft spot for this crazy humanoid who recently had a sighting at the O’Hare Airport this past September. Come dive into this captivating cryptid with me.
Origins
The start of the folklore came to be in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966. Two couples were going for a late night drive when they spotted a “large flying man with ten-foot wings”. The gray creature’s eyes glowed red when the headlights hit them and they fled the scene in their car at fast speeds. The couples said the Monster Bird started chasing their car as they tried to get away.
Since the first sighting, many people started reporting seeing this strange man with huge wings. The town started blaming all of the bad happenings on this Mothman. Eight people reported their dogs missing within the following weeks and to explain it off as the Mothman’s doing. The creature has remained an important part of West Virgina’s folklore with a 12-foot tall statue in the town of Point Pleasant.
Sightings
While the legend started in West Virginia, other states and countries have reported sightings as well. There are conspiracy theorist that think he was sighted at Chernobyl right before the nuclear disaster. There have been 55+ reports of seeing Mothman in Chicago between 2011-2020. The most recent sighting of the creature was September 24th, 2020. Here is her story.
A United States Postal Service worker of 15 years was leaving the USPS Sorting Facility at the O’Hare Airport around 11pm. She thought she saw a man at the end of the parking lot in a long coat but when she unlocked her car, the headlights caused the eyes to glow red.
She quickly realized it wasn’t a man but some sort of creature, maybe a bird, but was at least 2 feet taller than her 5’4″ frame. The creature turned and spread it’s wings, but there are no birds that big in Chicago. The creature screeched and flew off into the air above her. Read her exact telling of the story here.
I’m not sure why there are so many sightings of the Mothman in Chicago, but it sure is interesting how many sightings there are in total. While science suggest there is no way for this creature to exist, it’s still terrifying people are seeing this thing to this day. While my mind wants to check it off as mass hysteria, but part of me wants to believe it’s real. I am skeptical, but Mothman still has a special place in my and many others hearts on the internet.
November 23, 2020 at 4:05 am
Hello Sara, I enjoy the topic you decided to write about this week. I didn’t know much of the Mothman until I started playing the game Fallout 76 (Fallout’s latest installment, and in my opinion one of the more “needs work” titles of the franchise due to it’s storyline). Here, the game really takes hold of the idea of a mutated moth and uses radiation as a means of creating a terrifying and dangerous enemy. I couldn’t help but think of this interpretation of the legend while reading your post. Really cool read and I enjoyed learning more about the Mothman!
November 24, 2020 at 5:49 am
That’s crazy that there is sightings to this day of the creature! Normally the weird stories you hear are all old without any new information.
November 25, 2020 at 4:47 am
I’d never heard of the Mothman before this post, but I now hope I never see him myself! I think it’s pretty interesting that there’s a town in West Virginia that actually has a statue dedicated to Mothman. Looking into it more, I learned there’s even an entire Mothman museum in the same town! That would be a cool visit. Thanks for sharing!
November 25, 2020 at 5:15 pm
This is so interesting. I have personally never heard of the Mothman but was fascinated to read about it. I am a little skeptical but hearing that there are possible sightings to this day is extremely interesting to me. I can not wait to read next week’s post!
November 25, 2020 at 11:08 pm
Hi Sara,
I am also fascinated by paranormal creatures, and while I remain skeptical that doesn’t hinder my interest. It is pretty odd to me that people likened it to a moth, as they are not particularly terrifying creatures. They are an annoyance, but I don’t know many people who are genuinely scared of them. It is also curious that there have been so many sightings of this mysterious creature, as I’m sure it takes a pretty magnificent imagination to conjure up that kind of monster.
December 2, 2020 at 8:20 pm
Have you ever been to Second Salem in Whitewater? I think it would be the perfect restaurant for you considering the fact the theme of restaurant is folklore and stories of mythical creatures such as the Beast of Bray Road from elkhorn, Witchtower named after the water tower in Whitewater, Old Main named after the building that burned down on campus in 1970. Old main is rumored to have been arsoned by an african american students out of protesting the predominately white and racist institution whitewater was back then but nothing is certain.
June 21, 2021 at 7:41 am
That’s crazy that there is sightings to this day of the creature! Normally the weird stories you hear are all old without any new information.
July 28, 2021 at 12:33 pm
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July 29, 2021 at 4:17 am
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