- [Narrator] The legend of the Mothman
is as strange as it is scary.
A frightening, bird-like monster with 10-foot wings,
piercing red eyes, and a combination of strength and skill
to fly at top speeds.
But is it true?
Could the Mothman be real?
Or is it just another manmade mythical creature?
Let's find out on today's episode of ...
- [Announcer] Colossal Mysteries!
- [Narrator] According to the folk tales,
the story of the mysterious Mothman
began way back in November 1966
in the town of Clendenin, West Virginia.
One night, five gravediggers were hard at work
when they noticed a strange sight in the sky.
The claimed to see a mystifying man-like creature
flying fast from the treetops, out over their heads,
and off into the night sky.
This is believed to be the first reported sighting
of a creature now known as the Mothman.
The next reported sighting came just three days later
and the town of Point Pleasant.
Two separate couples told police
they saw something they couldn't explain.
A gray, six-foot creature with wings
standing silently in front of their parked car.
They told the local paper that the monster
had gleaming bright red eyes
but fled the moment they turned on the headlights.
The two couples tried to drive away,
but if you believe them, the Mothman started chasing them
through the outskirts of town,
keeping up with their car driving at top speeds
before they managed to lose it.
Over the next few weeks, at least eight more sightings
of a large bird with glowing red eyes
were made in and around the area of West Virginia,
where the first Mothman sightings had been reported.
All these strange, similar sightings
have led some conspiracy theorists
to believe that the Mothman is real
and lives in the deep woods of rural West Virginia.
But could it be true?
Could Mothman be real, or is he just a mythical creature
made famous by the media?
Experts have had a few theories from the start.
A local university biologist told newspapers at the time
that he thought the strange sightings
could all be chalked up to the sandhill crane.
It stands the average height of an adult,
with bright red skin around its eyes.
Others believe the whole Mothman myth
is nothing more than a hoax.
A particularly plucky prankster
may have caused the initial sighting.
And once the Mothman was in people's minds,
they started thinking they were seeing him everywhere.
Another theory suggests that the Mothman
could be a deformed crane.
The first sightings were reported
near old military bunkers where weapons were manufactured.
Toxic waste may have leaked into the surrounding wildlife,
causing the cranes to mutate.
It's an out-there theory, to be sure,
but it's certainly not the most bizarre.
According to the legend, the Mothman might appear
as a bad omen shortly before terrible tragedies take place.
How could anyone believe such a far-fetched theory?
Just a little over the year after the first
Mothman sightings, an unimaginable disaster
struck the community of Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
It happened at Silver Bridge, which connects Point Pleasant
to the neighboring town across the Ohio River.
The bridge was old and designed for lighter cars.
And one cool December day, the bridge
was jammed with traffic from end to end
when the unthinkable happened.
The bridge buckled and collapsed,
sending pedestrians and vehicles
plunging into the icy river below.
46 lives were lost that day.
Just eight years later, an author and UFO-ologist
named John Keel took some creative liberties,
combining the original Mothman sightings,
Silver Bridge disaster, and other reports of UFO sightings
into one big story he called The Mothman Prophecies.
His book proved popular, and over the years,
both the Mothman and the book have become well-known
by conspiracy theorists who have helped keep the myth alive.
Today, the Mothman story lives on through a museum
in its hometown of Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Each year, there's even a festival in town
for locals and tourists alike to commemorate
the Mothman's mysterious visits all those years ago.
And yet, despite all the time spent
cashing in on the Mothman story,
no one's bothered to truly find out for sure
what exactly was terrorizing the skies of Point Pleasant
on that fateful night.
(playful music)