Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
The Mothman is a dangerous flying creature first reported in West Virginia on November
12, 1966.
It has since enjoyed a good deal of fame, thanks in part John Keel's book The Mothman
Prophecies, which would go on to become a film starring Richard Gere.
Many assume that it's simply an urban legend, but what if this freaky flying fella actually
existed?
Let's explore.
If you want more What If videos, check out our “Biggest What Ifs” playlist on the
channel.
Now get ready, it’s time to ask the question: What if The Mothman Was Real?
There are a number of tales put forth by people who claim to have seen The Mothman, and while
the description varies somewhat, there are definite similarities between them.
Despite its name, The Mothman actually resembles a moth rather little, aside from the fact
that they both fly.
It’s said to more resemble an owl or crane in appearance, standing 7 feet tall, with
a wingspan of over 10 feet.
While there's some disagreement, many reports included references to large eyes that seem
to glow in the dark.
It's said that he can fly over 100 miles an hour, but when on foot, shuffles along like
a penguin.
The first Mothman sighting in 1966 involved five men who were preparing a grave in a cemetery.
All of a sudden, they noticed a large, brown winged creature rise from the trees.
The scary part?
They all swore that it was humanoid.
The second sighting that would bring fame to the Mothman came 3 days later, when two
young married couples saw a winged creature with two large eyes, looking to be six or
seven feet tall, and resembling a man.
This time, they fled, only to be pursued by the beast at speeds of up to 100 miles an
hour.
Talk about terrifying.
That same week, a local building contractor named Merle Partridge reported his TV screen
suddenly going on the fritz, going dark and showing strange patterns.
When he looked outside, he saw two red orbs that resembled eyes, but not those of any
animal he knew.
His dog made chase, and was never seen again.
At least, not alive.
The next few days saw a number of sightings of a similar large, flying creature.
Then, when a bridge collapsed suspiciously the following year, the Mothman legend was
born.
These stories certainly sound farfetched, leading most people to assume they were either
a trick of the eyes, or dishonest stories told for attention.
Let’s be real; the people who DID see something probably just saw a sandhill crane.
However, we’re not asking if the Mothman actually is real, we’re wondering what would
happen if he WAS real.
So let’s set aside the improbability of the thing, and use these stories to figure
out how a real life Mothman might change the world as we know it.
Of course, if there was a giant man-moth flying around, there would be grave consequences.
First of all, Karl Pilkington would be awestruck.
Let’s see how many people get THAT reference.
But this would also, of course, result in a number of attacks.
The beast seems to be aggressive and highly dangerous, and would likely assault anyone
it found in the open.
It would also attack pets and livestock.
However, if there was a large, flying dude snatching people and killing animals, there’s
a good chance that people would want the thing dead.
And in this case, the large number of guns in the United States could come in handy.
Now, it’s true that West Virginia is not the most heavily armed state in the US, with
only 9.4 registered firearms for every 1000 citizens.
However, between those guns, illegal firearms, and any police or army presence, there’s
a pretty good chance that the thing would eventually be spotted and shot.
Unfortunately, this could have some unwanted side-effects.
If people were on high alert for a figure that resembles a human, they could well pull
a Dick Cheney and accidentally shoot another person.
This would, of course, be terrible, so it would be important to hunt the Mothman down
professionally as soon as possible, to limit the hysteria in the surrounding area.
This would be easier with a coordinated effort, especially with the use of technology to search
for the creature.
However, this could prove rather difficult for a number of reasons.
For one, despite a relatively large number of reports, the Mothman has been seldom seen
over the years.
And when it is seen, it tends to move quickly.
This, combined with the intense fear and paranoia experienced by those who run into it, would
make it rather difficult to hunt it down and kill it.
Furthermore, the story about the Mothman interfering with electronics would have some serious consequences,
both good and bad.
On the bright side, this might allow people to know when the Mothman was nearby; if their
electronics began to malfunction, they should be on the lookout for the beast.
However, this would make hunting the creature more difficult, particularly at night, since
it could result in various lights and sensors malfunctioning whenever you were close to
catching the thing.
However, it should be noted that it doesn’t seem to affect the electronics in cars, so
it could be that this ability is not quite so potent.
And now we return to our question: What if The Mothman was Real?
Well, as is common in these videos, people would probably start dying.
However, since there’s no indication that the creature would be especially durable,
the prevalence of firearms in the US would likely make it easier to deal with.
This would, however, likely result in accidental collateral damage, which would necessitate
a quick and professional attempt to locate the beast, and either capture or kill it.
It’s possible that this would be made more difficult since it might have the ability
to inhibit technology, but if the attacks continued, there’s a good chance that it
would eventually be killed.
So at the end of the day, it would likely keep away from humans, in which case we wouldn’t
be affected, or it would eventually be killed or captured.
Thank you for watching Life’s Biggest Questions, I hope this was interesting and informative,
and maybe even inspired you to look into it further on your own.
If you liked this video, please thumbs up and subscribe to the channel down below.
While you’re down there, let me know if you think the Mothman is really out there.
Until next time, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey with Life’s Biggest Questions, wishing you
the best of luck, on your quest for answers.