The Mothman Cometh!

Yes, the Mothman is coming - The Mothman movie, I mean. It will be out January 25, 2002, and I, for one, can hardly wait. "The Mothman Prophecies' is loosely based on events that took place in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966. Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman stated in an interview: "These two couples saw two giant red eyes, and it very much scared them...they didn't know what to make of it." The creature was tall, perhaps as tall as seven feet. It had no head. The eyes shone from the breast of the creature and it sported huge wings. The couples fled, but the creature followed them until they reached Point Pleasant.

The local sheriff investigated the area but found nothing.The media made light of the account, but that wasn't the end of it. Over the next year, over 200 people reported abnormal phenomena in and around the Point Pleasant area, and there were more sightings of the weird, moth-like creature.

Then other strange events began to take place in the West Virginia town. It seemed Point Pleasant had become a center for paranormal occurrences. As well as sightings of the Mothman creature, people reported increased UFO activity. Others reported finding the bodies of mutilated dogs. It was a strange time indeed for the residents of the city.

Into the picture came news reporter John Keel. He became deeply involved with the reports and the entire mysterious situation. He seemed to be receiving psychic messages, prophecies, of dire events to come. He became positive that on December 15 the northeast region of the United States would suffer a severe power outage and a total blackout.

This didn't occur, but something else did. A bridge collapsed - the Silver Bridge between Kanauga, Ohio and Point Pleasant, West Virginia. 67 people plunged into the icy waters; 46 people died. Was this the prophecy the psychic messages attempted to send to John Keel? Was the Mothman a part of the message?

The result of all this was a book: "The Mothman Prophecies" published in 1975 and now out-of-print, and, incidentally, worth a nice bit of cash if you happen to won a copy. Amazon, as I write this, has one used book available for over $100. EBay, however, has some for less than that.

And this brings us to the movie. "The Mothman Prophecies" starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney, promises to be a real creeper. Director Mark Pellington has attempted to recreate the town of Point Pleasant and the pervading atmosphere that surrounded the town at the time of the Mothman Prophecies. Pellington states that he wasn't interested in creating a "creature movie." He prefers to call it a "psychological mystery with naturally surreal overtones."

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic