I recently received the following account:
My daughter (whom was 3 years old at the time) & I were heading home after an evening of visiting family in Davis, WV. The ride home entailed that we travel through a desolate stretch of US 219 (Seneca Trail) just north of the nearby town of Thomas, WV. I was traveling along this route just as I had hundreds of times prior, listening to my daughter sing along with the radio, when directly in front of us (at a distance of roughly 60-70 yards) & in line with the tree tops I noticed movement. I had to slow my vehicle slightly & allow my eyes to adjust on the object, as it was barely illuminated by the upper arc of my vehicle's high-beams. Upon doing this I could tell that it was flying directly towards us at a brisk pace. In a matter of only a few seconds it had closed the distance between ourselves & it to 30-40 yards, and the first thing I could clearly see was the unmistakable fluttering of the beings giant wings. It flapped them a few times in order to halt it's movement, then landed directly in front of us (I would estimate that it was only 20 yards away at this point), as if it was intent on impeding our progress.
At this point I was in shock at what was standing before us. The being was 7-8 feet tall (head to toe), with it's folded wings towering another 2-3 feet above it's head. It was humanoid, with a stature that I can only liken to that of a bodybuilder, and void of any hair on it's head. The skin was an ashen gray, and covering it (head, torso, arms) was a tribal-like tattoo that was black in color. It's eyes were completely black. At this point my daughter has taken notice of it & is completely hysterical. I had what seemed to be a million thoughts rushing through my mind, ranging from attempting to process what I am witnessing to trying to calm my daughter & plan how we can immediately vacate the area. All the while this being is silently standing in front of our vehicle, just staring at us. This encompassed what felt like an eternity but in reality was merely 10-15 seconds. Suddenly the being opened it's mouth, then a few seconds later emitted a high frequency shriek/scream. Upon screaming it also extended it's wings from behind it's back, which I noticed to be covered in black/leathery skin (much like the wings of a bat) & tattered along the lower edges. It then flapped them a few times, propelling itself aloft to a height of a few feet, then immediately flapped them in quick succession & disappeared upward & over our vehicle. I immediately accelerated my vehicle & left the area behind us as quickly as possible. Fortunately we encountered nothing further from the being. JD
NOTE: This eyewitness and his wife contacted me recently in reference to an incident that occurred in Point Pleasant, WV at the TNT area. After the incident, they have subsequently been subjected to unexplained activity at home and elsewhere...including bizarre telephone calls and other strangeness. The above account is just one of the extraordinary encounters. I plan to follow-up on this case...which seems to leap right out of the pages of John Keel's 'The Mothman Prophecies.' By the way, since the start of the 'Chicago Phantom' sightings, there has been a stark increase of new and older flying humanoid related encounters coming our way...Lon
Monsters of West Virginia: Mysterious Creatures in the Mountain State
Encounters with Flying Humanoids: Mothman, Manbirds, Gargoyles & Other Winged Beasts
The Mothman Prophecies: A True Story
Phantoms & Monsters: Unexplained Encounters
