DuBois Area High School

Mothman: Monstrous Threat or Economic Pawn?

Kaylee McCracken

Senior Research Capstone

McLaughlin

December 23, 2020

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Kaylee McCracken

McLaughlin

Senior Research Capstone

23 December 2020

Mothman: Monstrous Threat or Economic Pawn?

The first report on Mothman was in the ​Point Pleasant Register​ in 1966 titled, “Couples

see Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something” (Mothman Historian). From that moment on, the

legacy of Mothman was expressed in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. There are a plethora of

theories concerning Mothman, but the only true one is he was created by the people of Point

Pleasant to enhance the failing economic status by creating a tourism culture and jobs in Point

Pleasant.

Mothman is a cryptid -a mythological creature- widely thought of as a tall winged man

with beady red eyes. The first sighting of this creature was on November 12, 1966. Five men

digging a grave at a cemetery in Point Pleasant said they saw a “man-like figure” fly low from

the trees over their heads. Then, on November 15, 1966, two young couples from Point Pleasant

told police they saw a “large grey creature'' whose eyes “glowed red...red.. like you’ve never

seen red” (Bergara). Over the next few weeks, there were many sightings of the creature who had

been named Mothman by the press. He was widely described as six to eight feet tall, had an eight

to fifteen-foot wingspan, striking red eyes, a head that went in like a bird, stood on two hind legs,

brown or gray, and sounds like a “record played at a high speed” or the “squeak of a mouse”

(Bergara). A contractor named Newell Partridge even blamed the disappearance of his German

shepherd dog on Mothman. People all over the world started hearing of the elusive creature. The
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population of Point Pleasant was terrified of the monster, while the rest of the world was

intrigued, as he did not pose a threat to them. Overnight, people from all over the world came to

Point Pleasant in hopes to catch a glimpse of Mothman. Due to the intrigue, Mothman became

the mascot of Point Pleasant, which the locals embraced. The Mothman Museum was created,

restaurants with Mothman inspired dishes were opened, and a statue was erected in honor of the

creature. Point Pleasant has a population of a little over 4000. There are a reported 1000 people

who are drawn to the town to see Mothman (Mothman Museum). This means an equivalent to

one-fourth of the population are tourists.

Moth-mania spread across the country due to sightings in Chicago and a new film

released about the creature. In 1975 John Keel wrote ​The Mothman Prophecies​ claiming it was

based on the “real” sightings in November 1966 and December 1967. It was later made into a

movie of the same name due to the ever-growing Moth-mania, and, in tandem, it increased the

popularity of the creature. The film is really what brought Mothman to notoriety, because big

stars like Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Will Patton, Debra Messing, Lucinda Jenney, and Alan

Bates were cast, the film became quite popular. This popularity has fueled the idea that the

people of Point Pleasant created the creature for profit. Further proving this theory is the fact that

The Mothman Prophecies ​made $55,157,539; $11,208,851 being made in the first weekend (The

Mothman Prophecies).

There are many theories about who and what Mothman is or was. One popularly believed

theory is that Mothman is an alien. However, it is not known what aliens look like, what they are

capable of, or where they are. The likelihood of Mothman being an alien is slim at best. Other

theories are much more probable. Another theory is that Mothman is an interdimensional
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creature. This theory has no evidence and is purely speculation. The fact that it cannot be proven

by science or paranormal rules it out as a viable theory. A less fantastical theory is that Mothman

is a sandhill crane. A sandhill crane is a type of bird with red around its eyes, a very large

wingspan, and is native to Chicago. However, it is not native to West Virginia and has never

even been officially reported there (Alvarado). This may explain the outbreak of sightings in

Chicago, but does not explain the numerous sightings in Point Pleasant. Another theory is that

Mothman is not real, but is simply a shared delusion. A shared delusion is an incident where two

or more people with preexisting physiological relationships see the same nonexistent thing

(Oxford Languages). Considering most people who saw Mothman did not know each other well

or at all, this theory can be ruled out. Furthermore, the theory that Mothman is a shared delusion

is mainly proposed by skeptics trying to quickly disprove Mothman’s validity logically. As Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle said, “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how

improbable, must be the truth.” After ruling all other theories out, the most likely and rational

one is that Mothman is a tactic to help improve Point Pleasant’s failing economy. Many people

speculate this after seeing Point Pleasant's economy booming. Mothman has helped Point

Pleasant in many ways. The propaganda and press surrounding Mothman is astounding. The

people of Point Pleasant had a motive to create the legendary creature- to create jobs and

tourism. The people who genuinely believe in Mothman are just victims of the agenda present in

the officials of Point Pleasant. As a paper published by The Ohio State University states,

“​...many signs of a pseudoscientific belief are present here, such as the retreat to the supernatural,

the abundance of anecdotal evidence, and even the appeal to authority caused by police actively
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investigating the sightings. (​Alvarado​)” ​This theory becomes reality after analyzing all the

evidence, or lack thereof.

The validity of Mothman is mainly proclaimed by the workers and residents of Point

Pleasant. One reporter, Alison Stine working for a paper called ​The Awl​, interviewed a worker

named Jeremy: “Jeremy, who staffs the museum most days, was humble about what Mothman

has done for the town. “I’m thrilled this is here,’...’ I wouldn’t have a job without this.’” (Stine).

Fallon Pierson, a reporter for a news channel called WCHS writes, “Harris has owned The

Mothman Diner in Point Pleasant for 48 years. She also helped start the Mothman

Festival.”(Pierson). She also points out that Harris is one of the biggest advocates for Mothman’s

validity and owns The Mothman Diner. This may be because all her income is the result of

Mothman. In the interview, Harris said, "It's a good thing. It brings lots of people to the area.

He's here to stay” (Pierson). Any speculator can easily pick up on how lucrative Mothman is for

Harris and other locals.

One extremely beneficial tourist attraction is the Mothman Museum. The Mothman

Museum charges $4.50 for adults and $1.50 for children ten and under. According to the

Mothman Museum website, 5,000 people from all over the world for one Mothman event

(“Mothman Museum”). Assuming approximately 4,000 of these people are over ten the

Mothman Museum earns $19,500 per event. The Mothman Museum has the tagline, “In

November 1966, eerie things began to occur in the small town of Point Pleasant. Strange lights in

the sky...mysterious “men in black”...and a flying red-eyed creature called Mothman who

changed this small West Virginia town...forever.” (Mothman Museum). This seems like a sci-fi

film trailer. If people honestly saw a man-sized bird with glowing red eyes, they would be
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hysterical and panicked. They would most certainly not be creating statues and a museum as a

shrine. Due to the unexplainable behavior of the people of Point Pleasant, it is clear Mothman is

a ploy for the people of Point Pleasant to financially benefit; and it is most certainly working. In

Stine’s article she also says, “​As we talked, nobody walked past us. No passersby wandered

downtown or went into the historic hotel or the old theatre or the McDonald’s. But several

people, some with out-of-state plates, drove up to a hulking, steel statue, planted on a traffic

median on the main street. They wanted to take a picture. ‘Seven, ten people a day will take a

picture with that statue,’ Humphreys told me. ‘People drive into town just to see it.’”(Stine)

In summary, Mothman is a cryptozoological creature, not supernatural, and is an

economic pawn for Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The elusive Mothman may be just a myth, but

he is intriguing. However, it is time for people to realize that the town of Point Pleasant is taking

advantage of people’s fears for their benefit. It is incredible how one bird…creature…

something…has so widely gained the attention of people all over the world and it is unlikely he

will end his fame any time soon.

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Works Cited

“Mothman Museum.” ​Mothmanmuseum.com,​

www.mothmanmuseum.com/mothman-museum.html.

Alvarado, Elsa. “Mothman: A West Virginia Folklore.” ​The Psychology of Extraordinary

Beliefs,​ u.osu.edu/vanzandt/2019/02/11/mothman-a-west-virginia-folklore/ .

The Awl, and Alison Stine. “The Mothman Economy.” ​The Awl,​

www.theawl.com/2016/03/the-mothman-economy/.

Pierson, Fallon. “Man Photographs Creature That Resembles Legendary ''Mothman’ of Point

Pleasant.” ​WCHS,​ WCHS, 23 Nov. 2016,

wchstv.com/news/local/man-photographs-creature-that-resembles-legendary-mothman-of

-point-pleasant.

Weller, Rick, and Ryan Bergara. ​The Search for the Mysterious Mothman​. Performance by Ryan

Bergara, and Shane Madej, ​The Search for the Mysterious Mothman,​ 20 Apr. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CupbRr2m_sM​.

Mothman Historian. “Mothman Newspaper: ‘Couples See Man-Sized

Bird...Creature...Something.’” ​YouTube,​ 2107,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elBUX0R1Tts

“Oxford Languages and Google - English.” ​Oxford Languages​,

languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/.

“The Mothman Prophecies.” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2825225729/.