Dark Thoughts: The Mothman
A look at the paranormal with a professional amateur.
Point Unpleasant
Between 1966 and 1967, a creature arrived in Point Pleasant, West Virginia that would change the town and the nature of paranormal investigation for all time. Spotted by four teens near the old TNT plant (a popular makeout spot), the being was 7 feet tall, gray, had wings that stretched to nearly 10 feet when extended, and eyes that glowed red. When the headlights hit it, it lifted off the ground and pursued their car to the edge of town. In a panic they told the local sheriff and from there all Hell broke lose.
Madness Descends
A wave of sightings in Point Pleasant and the surrounding towns drew crowds of looky-lou’s and hunters. It brought John Keel, one of the best known researchers of the paranormal and high strangeness. It also brought our old friends the Men in Black and their typical shenanigans.
Then on December 15, 1967 the Silver Bridge in town collapsed killing 46 people. Locals and investigators alike began to think the Mothman was a harbinger of doom like the banshee. Sightings still continue on occasion in West Virginia. And elsewhere. . .
Other Places, Other Sightings
The Mothman seems to come in cycles separated by years. In 1986, workers sighted a giant “black bird” with red eyes flying over them. Shortly afterward a major disaster occurred. We know it today as Chernobyl.
In Chicago for the last few years there have been sightings of what they call the Chicago Mothman with it gradually settling around O’Hare Airport. So far nothing has happened.
Mind you, if I had to head into Chicago I’d consider driving. Just to be safe.
Further Reading
Mothman on Wikipedia
Chernobyl Workers Mothman Article
Chicago Mothman
Join us each week for more of Ted’s dark thoughts about the mysterious and strange, exclusively here at Haunted MTL.
-Mountains-
A serene mountain landscape yawns; monumental evergreen trees fingering a brilliant azure sky stroked with wispy clouds. The air is crisper and fresher here, wafting its piney fragrance along the meandering deer path that bends and swerves down the gradual slope…
-Reset-
-City-
A bustling urban environment beckons, its diverse, brightly-clothed denizens laughing with one another, casually parting as you stroll through their midst. Sunlight dances through the crowd, reflecting off of towering buildings, cars, and bicycles. Sounds swell together as though breathing life into all interconnected within this rich tapestry of time and space. The street is a cacophony of alluring smells, and the savory scent of kosher all-beef hot dogs…
-Vegetarian-
Fragrant cumin zing of vegetable samosas…
-European-
Perfume of freshly baked baguettes embraces you in a warm hug as you sit at a small metal café table, savoring an espresso…
-Caffeine Free-
Lavender cremosa…
-Non-Carbonated-
Limonade…
-Reset-
-Beach-
The warm sand squishes between your bare toes as the soft ocean waves lap at your feet, beckoning you to wade further into the cool water…
-No Swimming-
The woven rope hammock stretched between two perfectly-spaced palm trees sways slowly as you lounge in its cradle, sipping a Mai Tai…
-Non-Alcoholic-
Iced lemonade in a highball glass through a red plastic straw…
-Eco-Conscientious-
Paper straw, the citrusy elixir providing respite from the steamy…
-Less Hot-
Warm breezy summer…
-Spring-
Spring air, children…
-Nature-
Birds…
-Silence-
You close your eyes, hammock gently rocking you to slumber.
We here at My Universe wish to thank you again for choosing our services. We know that there are many post-cataclysmic alternative realities available, and we appreciate your business. Please enjoy your respite from the societal collapse, and remember us next time you need to unwind.
And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website. And if you really feel like getting away and helping clean up the beach a bit, check out this relaxing video from Dylan Clark titled Seagrass. Or maybe that wasn’t so relaxing after all… 😉
Somehow I came across an older Midnight Panther comic book, Feudal Fantasy #2 from the late 1990s to be precise, and I thought I’d reappropriate it into a new story as a collage. Anyway, this is what evolved. Honestly there wasn’t a lot of content to work with, but that isn’t surprising seeing as how that wasn’t really the point of the original… And sorry, I saved the erotic bits for another project, though even that was pretty tame in this one – just a bunch of boobies.
Images: Black and white line drawings of wide-eyed anime women and men in various states of undress, looking cute, being coyly pensive, and hack ‘n slashing.
Text reads: I like… men who are dying. We ought to just kill everyone involved. The scent of blood!! I never see his face, he always wears a mask. What a waste of time. I don’t like this. The horny bastard. What a pig!! -Slash- Sounds like it could be fun.
Images: More black and white line drawings of wide-eyed anime women and men kissing and hack ‘n slashing.
Text reads: Mercenaries of glorious Edo, if you can make the flowers that bloom along the rivers during spring drop their petals, then do so. I’m the Ferryman of the River Styx. Whssh.
OK, OK – here are some boobies since you stuck with this so long. And here’s a link to some more of my comic book collages, in case you are interested.
And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website.
Black Friday.
You can’t beat the deals. So many of us. Waiting. Readying. Checking the time. Counting down the seconds. You better believe I earned my place at the start of the line. I’ve been camping out here since late Wednesday. Yeah, yeah, the holiday was yesterday. Whatever, I had my family’s full endorsement.
Because that new high-definition television beckons. The best in zoning out technology. All channel access. Cutting edge entertainment. Bleeding edge. That blade is sharp, baby. Like a razor.
But this kind of escapism is costly. A reality check says it’s not in my family’s budget. We don’t make that kind of money, and so here I am. Among all the others vying for the same prize.
Only one will get there first. Only one available. Must have TV. Must have T.V. Must. Have. T. V.
An employee approaches the door. Nobody noteworthy. A soon-to-be-casualty. No more. No less.
We rise and lurch into place. Ready…
On your mark.
Get set.
Go!
Original images generated with Nightcafe AI art generator.
And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website. Or if you just want more zombies, might I recommend either Elvis or the Fashionistas?
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David Davis
February 16, 2020 at 11:11 am
The Mothman is one of those stories that gets odder and odder the further you read into it. Like, it goes way beyond the creature and connects to a lot of high strangeness.
Ted Neatherwood
February 16, 2020 at 5:27 pm
Definitely. It’s moved from a question of “real vs. fake” into having it’s own life. Like the collected minds of the world focused on it and opened us up to something strange that we can’t understand.