Mothman lives!

From November 1966 to December 1967, a number of people in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, claimed to have been frightened by a large, man-like creature with glowing red eyes and wings. As they drove near it, it rose up and followed them in the air. A reporter called it Mothman.

No one knows exactly what Mothman looked like, since the sightings occurred late at night. It was often observed near an abandoned dynamite factory outside of town. It also appeared several times on top of a large suspension bridge spanning the Ohio River.

In December 1967, the bridge suddenly collapsed. After that, Mothman was not seen again. Some believe the creature was trying to warn people — however ineffectively — about the coming disaster.

All this was dramatized quite nicely in the 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies, with Richard Gere. The film does a particularly good job of allowing the interpretation of Mothman both as a living creature and as a variety of optical and acoustic illusions.

The film was based upon John Keel's 1975 book of the same name. Both works have drawn tourists to Point Pleasant, making it the Roswell of the East. A four-meter-high statue of Mothman now greets visitors there.

Each year on the third weekend of September, the town celebrates Mothman as part of its local history. This year's festival, on September 18 and 19, offers conversations with eyewitnesses and a nighttime hayride to the abandoned dynamite factory. Mothman pancakes will be sold, and a Mothman 5K run will be held in the streets of downtown Point Pleasant.

There is even a Miss Mothman Festival Pageant, in which women of all ages are chosen to represent and promote the festival. Disappointingly, the contestants do not dress as monsters. The contest would be so much more effective if they did.

The Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant is open year-round. It displays notes and drawings from interviews, personal artifacts and newspaper articles from the time. I'd love to go there. Maybe next time!