The Mothman Legend - Page 2
© Florence Cardinal
The commonest explanation of the Mothman legend is the story of Chief Cornstalk, a chief of the Shawnee people who inhabited the area in the 1700s. He was invited to a peace talk with the white leaders. While there, some of his braves murdered two white men. Chief cornstalk was jailed and killed, but with his dying breath, he issued a 200-year curse on Point Pleasant. If this is the true explanation, then the curse should be over. Chief Cornstalk died in 1777.
And, in fact, Mothman did disappear. In December of 1967, the biggest tragedy of all struck the town. The Silver Bridge between Point Pleasant and Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed. 31 vehicles carrying 67 people plunged into the water. 46 people dies, and two of the bodies were never found. Since that event, the Mothman has never been seen. Some folks say he came to warn the population about the bridge. Others say he caused the collapse. Another theory is that he was beneath the bridge and was crushed.
Mothman may have disappeared, but the legend lives on in books, like The Mothman Chronicles by John Keel. Movies have also been made and yet another one, this one starring Richard Gere and based on Keel's book, is slated for a 2002 release. He even lives on in music. A West Virginia group called "Pet the Pig" has a record entitled "Mothman and Other Twisted Tales."
I shall end this article with the words or Marcella Bennett, a Point Pleasant resident who saw the Mothman.
"I shall never forget what I saw. It seemed like it always lingered with me."
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