Mothman            Thunderbird

Introduction:

Mothman History:

The Mothman is one of the strangest and most terrifying of anomalous creatures ever to be recorded in America. Between November 12, 1966 and December 15, 1967, it terrorized citizens in the Point Pleasant area of West Virginia. It was said to have been encountered by at least 100 people over the course of that year.

According to author John A. Keel (The Mothman Prophecies, 1975) who was on hand investigating the reports during the time of the sightings, the creature was reported to be roughly man-shaped, either grey or brown, and between five and seven feet tall. Its body was wider than a man's. It did not appear to have a head, but rather its "eyes" were set on the upper chest. These "eyes" were very large, and alternately described as glowing red lights, or a reflected red like a bicycle reflector. (Glowing red eyes are the surest sign of a paranormal entity.) When it walked it shuffled on what appeared to be human-like legs, but no feet were ever observed. Rather than arms it had bat-like wings which it did not flap. It was always seen to glide. The non-flapping of the wings, even in ascent, is particularly disturbing. Indeed, it was reported to regularly ascend straight up like a helicopter - and again be it noted, without any wing-action. (In regards to the wings, John Keel determined that a man the size and heft of the Mothman would require 24 foot wings to be able to glide.) It was fast in flight, able to pace cars going over 100 miles an hour. In flight it emitted a humming sound and often emitted a "mouse-like squeaking." Occasionally it was heard to also emit a screeching sound something like a woman screaming. (This "woman screaming" sound is common among anomalous creatures, particularly the Bigfoot creatures.) No one who saw it was indifferent to the creature - it struck terror into the hearts of all its viewers.

Recently, interest in Mothman has been rekindled due to the release of the movie The Mothman Prophecies starring Richard Gere. Cryptozoologist Loren Colman has also contributed a new book on the subject: Mothman & Other Curious Encounters (2002). For comprehensive accounts of the Point Pleasant/Mothman events, please refer to links such as: prairieghosts.com, and mothmanlives.com.

Thunderbird Artifact:

On June 15, 2002 I was visiting the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard Massachusetts. While in the Indian Museum, I noticed an artifact that bore a startling resemblance to Mothman descriptions. This artifact is ten inches tall and made of copper sheet. It was recovered in Amoskeag Falls, Manchester, New Hampshire, and was probably fashioned from a copper kettle acquired through trade with Europeans during the early Contact Period, circa 1550-1630 A.D. It is attributed to the Pennacook Indians and labeled "Thunderbird."

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