Encounter Atlas

Creature index / Winged things

Mothman

Also called The Bird, Red-eyed winged man

A winged figure with glowing red eyes seen around Point Pleasant in 1966 and 1967.

On November 15, 1966, two young couples driving near the abandoned TNT area outside Point Pleasant, West Virginia said a tall, grey, winged figure with glowing red eyes chased their car at high speed. Dozens of similar reports followed over the next year.

On December 15, 1967 the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River collapsed, killing 46 people, and the sightings were soon tied to the disaster. John Keel's book The Mothman Prophecies (1975) and the 2002 film made Mothman a pop-culture icon. Point Pleasant now has a Mothman Museum, a shiny steel statue and a Mothman Festival every September.

What witnesses report

  • Large red eyes that glow in headlights
  • Wingspan of 10 ft or more
  • Flies without flapping, at high speed

Famous cases

  1. 1966TNT area chase
    Point Pleasant, West Virginia
  2. 1967Silver Bridge collapse
    Point Pleasant, West Virginia

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