Behold the Mothman

In this week's episode of Paranormal Witness, we entered the dark and forbidden world of the Mothman, one of the most bewildering figures of American folklore since its first appearance around Point Pleasant, West Virginia in November 1966.

The Mothman is a wily creature. In the 2002 feature film, The Mothman Prophecies, it flapped around to and fro, making its presence known to various townsfolk with its strange screams of death. It even knew Richard Gere had a Chapstick in his hand ... over the phone!

Here are a few fun (-ish) facts about this mysterious harbinger of doom.

1. Over 100 people reported sightings of the Mothman in Point Pleasant, WV between 1966-1967. Many people who stated they saw the Mothman experienced ear and eye trauma.
    
2. On the day of the infamous Silver Bridge collapse, several people reported seeing the Mothman flying above the bridge. The Mothman sightings in and around Point Pleasant ceased on December 15, 1967 ... the same day as the Silver Bridge collapse.
    
3. There were reported sightings of the Mothman before the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986.
    
4. On September 10, 1978, a mine collapsed in Freiburg, Germany, resulting in the loss of many lives. 21 miners who were due to work that day were scared away by the sight of a Mothman-type creature at the entrance of the mine, which became known as 'Freiburg Shrieker.'
    
5. While Mothman sightings were first reported in America in 1966, Mothman reports in other countries started much earlier. A figure resembling the Mothman, referred to as the 'Man-Dragon,' was seen by several people in the region of the Xiaon Te Dam in China in early January 1926. On January 19, the dam collapsed and and over 15,000 people lost their lives in the flooding.