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.
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.
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.
Continuing our AI journey from last time exploring Little Red Riding Hood herself as the Big Bad Wolf… All of these are based upon the AI generated art and prompts using NightCafe and then created as posters in Canva.
How very… Phantom of the Opera predatory… this is definitely not what I had in mind. Maybe something more cutesy?
Ugh. Maybe not.
Wow, that seems like such a cop out, cropping off the head so you don’t have to depict it. And I don’t want to lose the Little Red Riding Hood reference completely.
So no surprise there, I knew that was too many references to work.
And as promised in Big Bad Poetry, we shall embark on our next AI journey, this time looking at Little Red Riding Hood. I had wanted to depict her as the Big Bad Wolf one and the same, although maybe not so big nor bad. But it just wasn’t happening quite as planned. All of these are based upon the AI generated art and prompts using NightCafe and then created as posters in Canva.
So I actually like this even better than my original vision, it is playful and even a bit serene (especially given the Sinister style). The wolf is just being a wolf. It’s quite lovely, really. But it wasn’t what I had in mind, so I revisited the idea later to see if I could get that result…
Over the river and through the wood flashed the fleet-footed Red Riding Hood on her way to her âgrandmotherâsâ house.
When running past, who should she see but just one of the little pigs three cowering like but a tiny mouse.
âBut my dear piggy, what do you fear?â Red Riding Hood asked as she slunk near, teeth hidden under a sheepish smile.
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The nervous small pig looked up in fright and decided that Red was alright, missing the subtle clues by a mile.
âThe Big Bad Wolf, that horrible beast upon the other wee pigs did feast!â the last little pig said with a squeal.
Red Riding Hood laughed with a great growl and threw back her heavy long-robed cowl, in a vast terrifying reveal.
For she was really the wolf Big Bad hidden beneath the cape that he had stolen from Red Riding Hood at point.
âAnd now Iâve caught you too my pretty and surely tâwouldnât be a pity if I gobbled you up in this joint.â
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Tâwas then the wee pig leapt to his feet And cried, âBig Bad Wolf, I shall defeat, for I am no ordinary swine!â
The little pig also wore sheepâs clothes spun in spells every woodland witch knows; Old Granny herself was quite divine.
âNow give me back my granddaughterâs cape, before I grab you by your ruffed nape and send you pig-squealing down the roadâŠâ
The wolf dropped the cape and ran, that cur, but Granny was swifter and hexed his fur and the wolf she turned into a toad.
Thus the moral of this story goes, when in the woods, no one really knows what sheepish sheepâs clothing is a ruse that big bad wolves and old witches use.
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So this is actually an intro to my next AI art journey with NightCafe which developed from me not getting the results I wanted (Little Red Riding Hood herself as a wolf). Here’s a preview with Eric’s versions as he is much more literal in his prompting than I am, but where’s the fun in that? đ
Prompts (from left to right) in Dark Fantasy style, executed Aug. 1, 2023:
Bipedal wolf in Red Riding Hood’s cloak
Bipedal wolf in Red Riding Hood’s cloak close up portrait
Bipedal wolf in red cloak close up portrait
Portrait of myself with dark makeup and crow skull headdress, backlit by the sun.
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.