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Point Pleasant 'Mothman' reports

When: 15 Nov 1966
Where: Point Pleasant, WV
Sources: 1 public source

The West Virginia Ordnance Works, the 'TNT area' outside Point Pleasant USACE, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Two couples told police they saw a man-sized winged creature with red eyes near the TNT area outside Point Pleasant; local papers covered it for weeks. John Keel's 1975 book later tied the reports to UFOs and the Silver Bridge collapse. It remains folklore.

Sources

PressFrom Mothman To The Silver Bridge: 13 Months In The Life Of A Local Journalist (opens in a new tab)West Virginia Public Broadcasting / 2025-10-20

How sources are chosen and tiered

How the story came out

Happened 15 Nov 1966. First made public 8 years later (24 Mar 1975).

15 Nov 1966It happened (this event)
24 Mar 1975John Keel publishes 'The Mothman Prophecies' - first made public
25 Jan 2002'The Mothman Prophecies' film released
13 Sep 2003Mothman statue unveiled in Point Pleasant

See it on the timeline: happened vs became public

Where it fits

Earlier in SightingsGemini 11 crew photographs a tumbling object in orbitSep 1966 Later in SightingsFalcon Lake incident (Stefan Michalak)20 May 1967

See it on the timeline More in Sightings