īatman and his antagonist Killer Moth are varyingly cited as influences for the term "Mothman"ĭue to the popularity of the Batman TV series at the time, the fictional superhero Batman and his rogues gallery were prominently featured in the public eye. The bird may have wandered out of its migration route, and therefore was unrecognized at first because it was not native to this region.
Smith at West Virginia University told reporters that descriptions and sightings all fit the sandhill crane, a large American crane almost as tall as a man with a seven-foot wingspan featuring circles of reddish coloring around the eyes. Additionally, he blamed buzzing noises from his television set and the disappearance of his German Shepherd dog on the creature. Contractor Newell Partridge told Johnson that when he aimed a flashlight at a creature in a nearby field, its eyes glowed "like bicycle reflectors". Mason County Sheriff George Johnson commented that he believed the sightings were due to an unusually large heron he termed a "shitepoke". Two volunteer firemen who saw it said it was a "large bird with red eyes". ĭuring the next few days, other people reported similar sightings, after local newspapers reported it. It pursued them as far as Point Pleasant city limits. Distressed, the witnesses drove away at high speed, and said that the creature flew after their car, making a screeching sound. Linda Scarberry described it as a "slender, muscular man" about seven feet tall with white wings, and said that she was unable to discern its face due to the hypnotic effect of its eyes. On November 15, 1966, two young couples from Point Pleasant-Roger and Linda Scarberry, and Steve and Mary Mallette-told police they had seen a large white creature whose eyes "glowed red", standing at the side of the road near "the TNT area", the site of a former World War II munitions plant. Īn annual festival in Point Pleasant is devoted to the Mothman legend.
The book was later adapted into a 2002 film, starring Richard Gere. The creature was introduced to a wider audience by Gray Barker in 1970, and was later popularized by John Keel in his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies, claiming that there were supernatural events related to the sightings, and a connection to the collapse of the Silver Bridge. The source of the legend is believed to have originated from sightings of out-of-migration sandhill cranes or herons. The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register, dated November 16, 1966, titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird. The Morey Foundation gave $1 million to the building project as well as a $500,000 “dollar match” challenge for people who contribute to the campaign.In West Virginia folklore, the Mothman is a humanoid creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. Lon Morey, past president and chairman of Morbark, Inc. The design of the building is inspired by Herman Miller’s “Design Yard.”įields said the groundbreaking ceremony is part of the launch of the second phase of the “Let’s Build a Museum” capital campaign to raise $1.8 million for the museum’s exhibits and operations. “A child could come to the discovery museum every month for 6 years and focus on a different activity on each trip as they grow up,” Fields said. Besides Isabella County, those include Midland, Clare, Gratiot, Montcalm and Mecosta counties. “I would most like to do this,” she said as she pointed to a visual display board with a hands-on “fishing stream” exhibit.įields said there are 58,000 children under the age of 14 in the six counties that surround Isabella County where the museum will be located. Sara Araway, 6, said she already knows the first exhibit she wants to visit when the museum opens. “We will be able to provide a bridge for what schools and communities are already providing for children in a way that is not only inspiring for them but where they can explore, create and grow as they learn,” Fields said. The children’s museum is described as an interactive hands-on learning experience with exhibits featuring science, music, art, literacy and gross motor skills. “This is a byproduct of multiple lives combining to create a dream, and then to create a reality,” said Jennifer Fields, one of the founding members of the museum, at the groundbreaking.
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