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Description
For 13 months from 1966 to 1967, the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, was terrorized by a bizarre creature known as Mothman. The creature was first described as a massive birdlike being, man-sized, dark in color, headless, with blazing red eyes set in its shoulders. Though seen throughout the Ohio River Valley, the sightings were centered around the TNT area, an abandoned World War II munitions plant that had become a wildlife preserve. The first sighting was by two young couples driving through the plant, who saw what they described as a giant bird with glowing red eyes. Terrified, they drove always, only to hear the wings of the creature hitting the roof of the car as it kept pace with them, moving at speeds of 100 miles per hour. A rash of sightings followed, and for the next year the creature was seen around Point Pleasant and the Ohio River Valley area, along with stories of UFOs, Men in Black, and other strange entities. The flap came to a tragic end on December 15, 1967, when the Silver Bridge collapsed at the height of rush hour, killing 46 people. The creature then disappeared, though supposedly similar creatures have been seen before other tragedies, such as the Chernobyl meltdown and September 11 terror attacks.

So was there a Mothman? And was it really a predictor of death? Probably not. The original sighting, and several of the sightings that followed, were likely based on owls, specifically barred owls; these dark birds have a red eye shine, and are known to live in the TNT area. The speed ascribed to the creature was likely exaggerated by the terrified witnesses. From there, hoaxes and hysteria generated further reports, which were then linked with any other strange events happening in the area. The reason they ended is not because the creature predicted or caused the Silver Bridge collapse; the bridge fell due to the failure of a poorly-maintained eyebar. The reports simply ended because, after such a massive tragedy, no one wanted to hear about some weird bird monster anymore.

Description
For 13 months from 1966 to 1967, the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, was terrorized by a bizarre creature known as Mothman. The creature was first described as a massive birdlike being, man-sized, dark in color, headless, with blazing red eyes set in its shoulders. Though seen throughout the Ohio River Valley, the sightings were centered around the TNT area, an abandoned World War II munitions plant that had become a wildlife preserve. The first sighting was by two young couples driving through the plant, who saw what they described as a giant bird with glowing red eyes. Terrified, they drove always, only to hear the wings of the creature hitting the roof of the car as it kept pace with them, moving at speeds of 100 miles per hour. A rash of sightings followed, and for the next year the creature was seen around Point Pleasant and the Ohio River Valley area, along with stories of UFOs, Men in Black, and other strange entities. The flap came to a tragic end on December 15, 1967, when the Silver Bridge collapsed at the height of rush hour, killing 46 people. The creature then disappeared, though supposedly similar creatures have been seen before other tragedies, such as the Chernobyl meltdown and September 11 terror attacks.

So was there a Mothman? And was it really a predictor of death? Probably not. The original sighting, and several of the sightings that followed, were likely based on owls, specifically barred owls; these dark birds have a red eye shine, and are known to live in the TNT area. The speed ascribed to the creature was likely exaggerated by the terrified witnesses. From there, hoaxes and hysteria generated further reports, which were then linked with any other strange events happening in the area. The reason they ended is not because the creature predicted or caused the Silver Bridge collapse; the bridge fell due to the failure of a poorly-maintained eyebar. The reports simply ended because, after such a massive tragedy, no one wanted to hear about some weird bird monster anymore.