Liminal's Lectures Vol. 1 : The Mothman

The Mothman is a West Virginian urban legend that first appeared in 1966. It is described as a creature with glowing red eyes, huge wings, and a humanoid stature. There were numerous sightings of the Mothman until the catastrophic collapse of the silver bridge in 1967. Many theories exist about the identity of the Mothman, including it being a bird or an interdimensional being. The most plausible explanation is that it was a sandhill crane, which matches the descriptions and habitat of the sightings. Later eyewitness accounts became unreliable due to leading questions and fear influencing perception. The Mothman sightings stopped after the bridge collapse but gained popularity again with the release of a movie in 2002. The Mothman legend has attracted attention in pop culture and cryptozoology. The Mothman is a West Virginian urban legend that has spawned millions of products, stories, and even businesses. First spotted in 1966, this cryptid has amassed much attention from the cryptozoologist community and from casual cryptid enthusiasts alike. Was the Mothman an alien or an interdimensional entity? Did the creature have malevolent intent? Was it a supernatural harbinger of doom that warns of disasters? On this podcast, we ask who, or what, is this iconic entity really? I'm Genevieve, and this is Liminal Lectures. The date is November 15, 1966. Two young couples, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Stephen Mary Millett, are out on a late night car drive near the abandoned National Guard armory and power plant. Suddenly, a dark figure rises behind them. Glowing red eyes, huge wings, and a humanoid stature were some of the most distinguishing features of this strange entity. Roger, who was the car's driver, allegedly accelerated to speeds of over 100 miles per hour to no avail. The creature followed them with ease, its huge wings allowing it to speed after them. This was the first reported sighting of the Mothman, beginning a series of sightings up until December 15, 1967, where locals reported to have seen the being flying above the silver bridge just shortly before the bridge catastrophically collapsed, killing 46 people in the disaster. Then the Mothman disappeared, and all papers focused on the bridge collapse. A hundred sightings were documented. In the first handful of credible accounts, happening in the first two days before the newspaper reports were printed, we have a collection of collaborating independent accounts. In these accounts, each person described clawed feet and feathers, and in fact, they do it report called them the prettiest set of wings. Many of the first eyewitness accounts mention the creature hopping around to move. The newspapers, however, did not report these early descriptors that were eyewitness accounts documented by the police. Later, the other accounts would not include any of the initial details except the red eyes that were later reported in the newspapers. Cryptozoologists and skeptics alike have been searching for an explanation for the Mothman for years. Some argue that it could have been a bird, specifically an owl or a sandhill crane. The description describes what could be an owl or a sandhill crane. The missing small pets and animals could also point to owls. Researchers believe that they could have been an alien or something not of this dimension. There are countless theories of what they could have been. For example, sandhill cranes have a huge wingspan and have red fleshy marks around their eyes. Some researchers believe that this is what this being could have been. But what is my opinion? Personally, I think the claim of the sandhill crane is the most viable option. Since it meets many of the criteria of most of the sightings, I believe that this is what this entity could have been. Sandhill cranes are also common in Point Pleasant, so the habitat is correct. Looking at images of sandhill cranes at night, I can understand how seeing something like that could be considered terribly frightening and also makes the theory somewhat more credible. These birds can fly over 55 miles per hour. There are many photos that have been taken at night and they are very eerie. Some look like an entire man with wings attached. There is also the documented red water contamination site on the National Property List that has listed the armory and the power plant. The original handful of witnesses' testimonies were credible because without talking to one another, their stories included the same core descriptions and facts. As time went on, supposed eyewitness accounts, now hearing the new story, were filled with identification errors and were corrupted by leading questions, misinterpreted events, and included conversations from witnesses, making these later eyewitness accounts unreliable. Many of these accounts could have had people looking for a sighting, seeing a great horned owl, which is common in the area, seeing the red eyes that were one of the three descriptors included in the newspaper accounts. The horned owls have red eyes, are often high in trees, and are noted as hopping, all things that later accounts included, and slowly created a divergence from the original testimonies. Folks could have been looking for a mothman, seeing the red eyes, assumed they saw a mothman, and did not practice any techniques of debunking what they saw. Fear could have also influenced them, not allowing them to closely examine their experience in real time. The original first-hand accounts were not based on hearsay or collaborations with existing evidence or accounts. The original accounts had a reaction of observation, curiosity, and then fear, while the other accounts, hearing the legend of the mothman, had an initial fear response. We know that a fear response enacts the fight or flight response, and the body's reaction to fear takes over, clouding recollection of events in an experience, whereas the first group did not have fear as their initial response, and collected a lot more information about their experience. Mothman sightings stopped after the bridge collapsed, until the 2002 movie came out, The Mothman Prophecies, increasing popularity and sightings, as well as changing the appearance to be similar to the movie. There is another account of the Flatwood Monster, a 1952 cryptid which was proven to be a barn owl. In fact, a group of firemen were known to go out into the forest to identify these sightings, seeing large bird-like creatures, and a local shot an unusually large snowy owl. The sightings took place all noted in roosting habitats for owls. Barn owls are also a candidate, and in addition can make very bizarre noises and like to roost in abandoned buildings. Still, if you shine a light on a barn owl, you are most likely not going to see limbs and a torso that resemble a human physique. However, if you shine a light on a sandhill crane, they might appear humanoid with wings attached. No one can really judge distances at night, they can also misjudge height and distance. Fear can also have someone fixate on an object, allowing their minds to play tricks on them. The Legend of the Mothman has sparked huge amounts of attention in pop culture due to the increasing interest in cryptozoology, including in myself. They are one of my favorite cryptids, as well as many others as well. On this note, I think I'll end this episode here. Thanks for listening, and remember to stay weird.