Mothman is a legendary creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area of West Virginia from November 15, 1966 to December 15, 1967. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register dated November 16, 1966, entitled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something" Mothman was said to be related to a wide array of supernatural events in the area, including the deadly collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15, 1967. Since that time, the Mothman has been called a 'harbinger of death and destruction' and has been reportedly seen worldwide.
Many of the reports that I have received over the years are concentrated in the Ohio River Valley, from southeast Ohio, through West Virginia and into northern Kentucky; but there are other sightings worldwide. I am presenting a few varied flying humanoid reports...which are also included in my 1st book Phantoms & Monsters: Cryptid Encounters
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Human Adult-Sized Flying Cryptid - Pacific, Missouri
“We were in Pacific, MO, tonight around 11:30 PM and noticed a massive flying creature, not once but three times. My son even noticed it on his own the third time. We were near a large cliff/mountain with some type of cave openings. We don't live in the area, I can say for sure we turned onto a road called Viaduct Road, went past a fire station and continued on for about 1 mile before we first noticed it. It was brownish/grey and the body portion was at least the size of a large adult human. This creature was tracking us - in a circle pattern. We were driving an Escalade with the blue color headlights and this may have cause interest in us. The third time around we viewed it in front of the vehicle, around the driver side and around towards the rear of the vehicle. The factory tinted windows did help it vanish into the sky from our point of view.
Please understand when we could see it the range must have been about 150 feet in the air, not more than 250 feet. The distance was never less than 100 yards, often much greater. We were going about 35- 45 MPH. I have never thought of anything like this in my life! It is 3:33 AM and my son and I are wide awake in a hotel, 17 miles away from the place we first noticed the creature. Please notify me if you become aware of similar sightings. Thanks.”
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Flying Humanoid - Borne Sulinowo, Poland
I received the report from a reader in Poland (unedited):
“Sir - I report to you from Poland. On a particular day in April 2008, Mrs. Izydora from Szczecinek, northern Poland went with her husband on a trip to Borne Sulinowo area. The man parked their car and soon they departed. While her husband went toward the local forest, Mrs. Izydora decided to stroll amongst ruins of the local military base. It was about 1-2 p.m.
Suddenly woman felt strange but decided to walk further. After a while she unexpectedly noticed in the mid-air some kind of semi-transparent entity. As she said, it looked like a ‘misty figure’ of a man hovering several meters above the ground. Mrs. Izydora could see its exact shape since the silhouette was outlined by whitish contour making it quite noticeable.
For some time the witness remained as if paralyzed and unable to scream while the being was hovering nearly directly above her. It remained in the air in a distance of a few meters and kept its arms stretched ‘as if preparing to flight.’ After a while of observation woman decided to retreat to her car parked nearby.
The scared woman began her retreat to the car, but then she noticed that the being started to follow her and rapidly flew above disappearing in the nearby woods. Then woman called her husband and forced him to leave the place immediately. She told him about the weird incident two days later.
Woman used a word ‘male’ in description of the being’s appearance. As she told the being despite the lack of distinctive details of appearance had a solid and massive shape, resembling a tall man. It moved smoothly and without any sound. Mrs. Izydora said that the being seemed to be ‘misty’ with a distinct outline.
The whole observation lasted a few minutes but Mrs. Izydora couldn’t recall it exactly. Another interesting fact is some kind of possible influence of the witness physical condition. Mrs. Izydora felt weak but it isn’t clear if it was connected with the being appearance. The other feeling was paralysis which prevented her from calling husband. A strange feeling passed away as soon as being disappeared in the woods.
As it is mentioned above Mrs. Izydora decided to talk about the incident after a few days. We talked to her after more than half a year after the encounter and she still was frightened. She told us that she never expected to experience such an encounter with something she could not explain rationally. Beside Mrs. Izydora is open-minded person she doesn’t want to come back to that place despite the fact that previously it was often visited by her and her husband.”
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Mothman Sighting Near Huntington, WV
I received this information from Mike P., a colleague in Chesapeake, Ohio. I was given the witness contact email at the time. I received a response today. The following is the original email:
“Hello - a friend suggested I write to you about something that happened to me several weeks ago. I am divorced and have 2 boys, 15 and 12 years old. Both of my sons were with me at the time of the incident. We live in Huntington, West Virginia - moved here in 2009 from Milwaukee, WI because of my job.
On March 2nd, we were travelling south on Rt. 2 (Ohio River Rd.) just outside of Huntington near Cox Landing Rd. It was around 8:30 PM - we were on our way back home after visiting a co-worker. About a mile past the intersection I noticed something flying from behind a house on the right side. It was hard to make out at first but as it came towards the road it looked like a huge butterfly. Even though it was dark the light from the side of the house illuminated it enough that I could make out a shape. I sped up to avoid coming in contact with this thing but as I did it circled around and flew just ahead of us on our right side. The wings were enormous and broad like that of a butterfly. It was strange because I never saw it flap the wings - almost like it was gliding. My boys were now aware of a it and were terrified. I didn't want to stop the car so I decided to speed up some more. After about 20 seconds it suddenly shot up into the air and disappeared.
One thing I want to mention is that we were under severe storm and flash flood warnings that evening. There were some high wind gusts and hail. There had been several tornadoes southwest of us in Kentucky.
When we got home we talked about it - my oldest boy said it looked like a person dressed in a black shiny suit. He didn't see legs or feet but said the body shape looked like a tall thin man. My youngest boy said he didn't get a very good look but felt like something bad was going to happen. My description is very similar to my oldest son's - but the wings were massive and broad. I'd say the wings may have been over twice the size of the body. The entire thing was dark colored but there was a faint orange glow from the head area - I never noticed a face or other features.
Last week I was talking to a friend and told her about the incident. She found your name and contact information and forwarded it to me. She mentioned something about Mothman sightings in this area and I read some of the stories. I'm not sure if this is the same thing but it does fit the description. There were a few drawings on Google - some are close to what I saw but don't generally match the wing size.
If you have questions please use my email. I'm more curious of what I saw and anything else you can offer. I don't want to believe the Mothman stories but maybe you have an explanation. Thank you for your time” - N.R.
NOTE: I received a response from N.R. the next morning. Her estimation to the size of this being is a thin 5' body and a wing span of 12-15'. Also that it was black and shiny like 'polished black leather'. N.R. believes that her top speed was around 60 MPH and that it easily kept in front of her. She agreed to me publishing the encounter though she doesn't want any personal information disclosed. She was very curious as to what they witnessed. BTW, the location of this sighting is approximately 30 miles south of Point Pleasant, WV.
Phantoms & Monsters: Strange Encounters
Encounters with Flying Humanoids: Mothman, Manbirds, Gargoyles & Other Winged Beasts
The Mothman Prophecies: A True Story
Monsters of West Virginia: Mysterious Creatures in the Mountain State
