Creature That Terrorized West Virginia - The True Story of Mothman
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Get to Smoothie King today and try the new blueberry, raspberry, or watermelon lemonade smoothies. They're all made with real fruit, real juice, and no bad stuff. Just check out the no-no list at SmoothieKing.com. Try the new lemonade smoothies at Smoothie King today. Hi friends, how are you today? I hope you're having a wonderful day so far. My name is Bailey Sarian, and today is Monday, which means it's Murder, Mystery, and Makeup Monday.

If you are new here, hi, my name is Bailey Sarian and on Mondays I sit down and I talk about a true crime story that's been heavy on my

Noggin, and I do my makeup at the same time. But this time we're gonna be talking about some Halloween stories while I get ready for a Halloween party that I was not invited to. Awesome. So I will stop rambling and let's get right into it. So the year is 1966. A small town situated on the Ohio River is a place called Point Pleasant.

West Virginia. This town called Point Pleasant in West Virginia, like I had just said, had a population of about 5,000 people at this time.

It seemed like everybody kind of knew each other. I mean, a lot of the people were very close-knit, so it was said. And many of the people of the community, you know, they just really stuck to themselves, minded their own business, there wasn't much crime going on, it just kind of existed. Which is a good thing, right? It's called Point Pleasant, they have to live up to that. My eyebrow looks really bad. Most of the people in the community really stayed out of trouble. There was low crime, simple.

Simple place, Point Pleasant. I've always secretly wondered what it's like to grow up in a small town where everybody seems to know each other or like, I don't know, everyone knows each other's business. Like what's that like? You know, spill the deets. I think in my mind it would be fun, but at the same time, if you're trying to be different, it's probably not fun, but whatever. So in November of 1966, a man by the name of Roger Scarberry was driving just,

just a couple miles up from Point Pleasant. In the car with Roger was his wife, Linda, their friend, Steve, Mary, and then their cousin, Lonnie. So they were all pretty familiar with the area, and they were near the McClintic Wildlife Management Area. And this was a nature preserve that had housed the West Virginia Ordinance work.

which was like a hidden TNT factory from World War II. A hidden TNT factory, that's right. Now the locals, they refer to this area as just the TNT area. And it had been long, long abandoned. And the whole area was gated off. Since this place was not far from Point Pleasant and was pretty low profile, it was a popular hangout spot for the local youths.

You know, young adults would go there, hang out, probably smoke, hail Satan, whatever you do as young adults. But people would just go out there and hang out. Roger and his passengers, they were going to the area just to hang out. They're bored pretty much. So Roger pulls over the car in front of the factory gate. Right away, he said that something just felt awkward.

It felt weird. Now Roger couldn't go into great detail about what felt weird, but if you've ever had that feeling, I'm sure you can understand. Something just feels off and you can't really explain it. But Roger's there with his friends, so it's, I mean, it's whatevs, you know? So the gang gets out of the car and they're just like hanging out, walking up towards the gate. And once they get up to the gated area, that's when they notice or they saw like some red lights turn on.

Now this is weird because it's abandoned. So like, what are these lights, right? And they're all wondering what this is. So they're just like looking at it, right? And then they notice that the lights are moving. Yeah, that's right. So they're not staying still. They're just like moving around. So they're just watching these red lights and kind of standing still, not saying much.

and then they notice that the lights are actually moving towards them and they're getting bigger and bigger and more clear and that's when they realized that these were not red lights at all. Nay nay. These red lights seem to be a pair of glowing red eyes but the worst of all there was a large dark figure becoming more clear to them

Well, actually it wasn't because all they could tell was that it was a large dark figure and then these red glowing eyes. Whatever this thing was, it stood nearly seven feet tall and seemed to have large wings folded behind its back. Satan, is that you?

So, without hesitation, the gang skedaddled right out of there. They hopped right into their car and Roger just floored it. Now, according to, well, everybody in the car, this creature, this thing, whatever it was, it immediately took flight and followed their car down the road.

I mean, Roger would later say that he was flooring it. I mean, he pushed the car up to 100 miles per hour, but whatever it was, was keeping up with them, just flying. Roger said that whenever he looked into the rear view mirror, all he could see was a shadow of a thing, and of course, the glowing red eyes.

So Roger said that he drove straight to the Mason County Courthouse to report what they all had witnessed. Now the thing that was following them, I mean, it followed them all the way to the courthouse, but as soon as they parked, it just kept flying and then it flew off. So whatever that thing was, it just flew off into the night. Cause it's like, you want to tell the police or whoever and be like, look, it's right there. It's on the roof. But it just, it flew off.

You get it, I'm sure you do. Okay. Now this was the first but not last sighting of the creature that would become known as the Mothman. All five of them go running into the courthouse, just yelling all sorts of crazy, you know? We saw something, it was flying, red eyes, it was glowing. Just like, okay.

Yeah, okay. So naturally you're thinking, "Well, nobody's going to believe them. Who would believe any of that nonsense, you know?" Well, actually, there was a deputy who was working. His name was Deputy Millard Halstead. And he just had this deep feeling that they were actually telling the truth. Very unusual.

Now that's a mystery. So in an interview, he would say that he had known these kids, he kept calling them kids and stuff. And I was like, but isn't one of them married? So are they still kids? Doesn't matter. But he said that he had known these kids all their lives and that they'd never been in any trouble and that they were just so terrified. And he had never seen them like that, that it just kind of gave him this feeling of like, maybe they're not lying. Why would they lie? Now they would question each of the individuals

by themselves in the room and they all gave the exact same story. And this look of terror in their eyes told the deputy that something definitely had happened to them. Roger, he ends up taking the deputy out to the spot where they first spotted this creature and they looked for any clues or evidence that this thing was actually alive or existed or he wasn't lying, you know? You know.

Unfortunately for Roger though, they really didn't have any luck finding any evidence. Smaller towns, people are talking. It wasn't long until, you know, word got out that there was this creature, this thing with red eyes. Everyone had heard what happened and where. People in the community were feeling all sorts of emotions. Some were upset, some were unconvinced, others scared, you know, just like a mix.

A group of people decided, hey, let's all go down to the TNT area and look for this thing. Maybe it lives there. Maybe again, there's some kind of evidence or sign that it was there to see if it's true. But once again, they wouldn't find anything. But at a nearby home, someone who wasn't looking for the demonic creature would come across him.

- That very same night, a young woman named Marcella Bennett was visiting her friends who lived very close to the TNT area. So Marcella was actually getting ready to leave her friends home when she walks out, she walks towards her parked car just outside the house with her baby in her arms. You know, she's kind of like fidgeting, trying to find her car keys, trying to unlock the door and then Marcella looks over.

And she sees a very large gray looking human like creature with giant wings and red glowing eyes.

What is this thing? Marcela says that she just sees it rising up from the ground, just steps in front of her. Marcela said that she was so scared that she dropped her infant daughter on the ground and then fell on top of her. For minutes, Marcela said that she was just paralyzed with fear and she couldn't move, but she could see this creature just looking at her with these red eyes. Marcela said that the only thing that she could really make out were these

red glowing eyes just looking at her. Marcela would tell others, I mean later on, that she was aware of what was happening to her, but quite literally she was unable to move her body.

Marcella said that time felt as if it was moving in slow motion and she didn't know how long she was on the ground for, unable to move, but eventually she was able to gain control of her body. She jumped up, she grabs her daughter and then she runs the F inside the house.

of her friends. I don't know what any of us would do in that situation. I'd probably pee my pants, then throw my baby at the creature and run, you know? Like, scary. That's probably why I shouldn't have children. Anyways, so Marcella runs back into her friend's house with her baby. Don't worry, the baby's good. Marcella runs inside and she tells her friends like what just happened. And they're all peeking outside the window to figure out like,

what it is, what she saw. So they rushed to call the police because Marcella seems to be very, very distraught, very upset. So whatever it was, it must have been bad. Now while on the phone with police, that's when they hear a loud thump on their front porch.

So everybody inside the house just kind of looks over like what was that right and they're looking over and they see just outside their front window a dark figure is looking inside.

red glowing eyes staring right at them. Everyone in the house tries to barricade themselves in the home and wait until the police arrive. But by that time, whatever it was, was gone. Everybody's talking about this creature and that's when it was given the name Mothman because of its wings, it flies, red eyes. I would have named it like a bug or something. Well, I guess moth is a bug, Bailey. It's an insect.

So, Mothman. Over the next following months, this Mothman creature seemed to terrorize the town. I mean, nearly 100 people came forward with eyewitness reports between November 1966 and December 1967.

Now, many eyewitnesses said that they originally didn't want to say anything about this thing because they feared that the people would think that they were lying, right? The community would think that they're lying or worse, they would get labeled as crazy, you know, like the others who spoke about their experience. You know, it's the late 60s being labeled crazy is like the worst thing possible. Crazy.

I'm not crazy. I'm so excited. I'm in DNA. But the bright side with all these witnesses coming forward to police, a sketch artist was able to compile drawings of what this creature may look like or may have looked like. Those who saw this thing claimed that it was very large. It was gray. It was a humanoid type creature with massive wings.

It was thought to stand between five and seven feet tall with a 10 foot wingspan. Its head was described as being oddly shaped and sitting close to its body. Some people even described him as being headless with only two eyes protruding above his chest.

And of course, every single witness who came forward mentioned its bright red glowing eyes, which were said to be extremely large. And of course, every witness that came forward mentioned its bright red glowing eyes, which were said to be extremely large.

Now when most people saw whatever this thing was take off or fly, some of them noted that it would spread its wings before ascending, but it never flapped throughout like a bird would. So there are many people who are suggesting, well, maybe it was just a bird. Get over it, it's just a bird. But these witnesses, they were not convinced. No bird would fly like that.

Nope.

I would be like, "Not today, Satan. I'm really busy." Something of my nightmares or like Jeepers Creepers, right? Oh my God, is Jeepers Creepers about Mothman? Oh man, that movie ruined me as a teen. Back to the story.

So skeptics, they suggested that this whole Mothman garbage could easily be explained. It was simply a Sandhill crane, which is a large bird with red coloring around its eyes. Many people are just not believing this story, right?

Many are thinking it's simply a sandhill crane. Calm your tits, it's just a bird. But some of the people who had actually witnessed this mothman, some of them were hunters and/or fishermen, and they pushed back because they felt confident in saying that this was not a bird. They would not mistake a bird for a seven-foot tall winged bug person thing with glowing red eyes. I hunt, I would know.

is what they're saying. There's just no way I've seen birds before. On November 2nd, 1966, just 10 days before the first Mothman sighting,

A man by the name of Woodrow was driving home to Mineral Wells, West Virginia, when he was cut off by what he thought was a car. Now it kind of caught him by surprise because he didn't see any headlights in his rear view mirror or anything, you know? And he also didn't see any cars approaching, but whoever cut him off

went around him and started going slower than him. Which, side note, don't do that. Don't cut people off and then go like the speed limit. If you're gonna cut me off, floor it, okay? I can't stand that shit. Anyways, so Woodrow is like, dude, what the hell? It's forcing him to brake. And then eventually it forces him to pull over on the side of the road because this douchebag is messing with him.

He then steps out of his car and he's like looking. And when he's looking at this car, he realizes that whatever this was, it wasn't a car at all. Woodrow said that it looked like a large unit or it looked like a kerosene lamp chimney, aka a UFO. I know some of you are rolling your eyes right now. Just go on this journey with me. Okay, go on this journey.

Like it wasn't verbally saying anything, but Woodrow felt like it was speaking telepathically.

through his mind. Woodrow felt that maybe he's just dreaming, right? Pinches himself. He's not dreaming and he's certain of that. I'm gonna call it an alien.

this alien went back into its craft and took off. It was gone within seconds, just whoosh. Now, of course, when Woodrow went home, nobody really believed him. And when he tried to explain it to others about his night, Woodrow knew that he sounded crazy, but I mean, he spoke his truth. And unfortunately, he was considered

Crazy. Now I'm only bringing up with Drost's story because it would be more and more common in future Mothman sightings to have UFO reports coming in around the same time as the sightings of the Mothman.

So many would later believe that perhaps the two went hand in hand and that maybe this creature was actually an alien or they were connected in some way. So one of the main routes into Point Pleasant was over a steel bridge, which joined the state of Ohio and West Virginia. Many would take that bridge to and from work, but overall it was just a well-traveled journey.

Rude, is what I'm getting at, you get it. December 15th, 1967, the steel bridge collapsed, tragically killing 46 people. But get this, that very same evening, there were numerous phone calls made to the local police saying that there was a large figure with red eyes, red glowing eyes that was seen hanging around the bridge.

Now this was concerning because could Mothman be responsible for the bridge collapsing? So a lot of, again, rumors are going around and many are talking. Many are thinking that maybe the Mothman was responsible for this. And more and more people are getting scared because, you know, is this Mothman guy here to harm us?

This whole bridge crashed, I mean, it's an awful sad tragedy. But also, some people in the community were believing that maybe, just maybe, the Mothman was actually there to warn people of certain tragedies to come. And maybe the Mothman wasn't the bad guy, maybe they had it all wrong, he was like an angel trying to warn them. If that were true though, Mothman did a real bad job warning people of this bridge collapsing, am I right?

As the years pass, reports of this Mothman creature have been made around the world. All of those who had witnessed him reported the same thing over and over and over again. Red glowing eyes, large dark figure, huge wings. Some paranormal authors and cryptozoologists believe that the Mothman may have been an alien. Some suggesting that maybe it was just as simple as, I don't know, an unknown species.

In the 1975 book, "The Mothman Prophecies," author John Keel claimed that the Point Pleasant residents who witnessed Mothman also experienced visions happening. Visions into the future.

And they said that they were like having random dreams, random thoughts, but of things happening. Hear me out, okay? Some of the witnesses said that they saw the Silver Bridge collapsing before it actually happened. Other witnesses said that they saw unidentified flying objects around the same time that they witnessed the Mothman.

And others said that they had visits from men dressed in all black, yeah, threatening them that if they spoke of their experiences to anyone or kept digging around for answers, something very terrible may happen to them or maybe even their families, which kept a lot of witnesses quiet for years and years for a good reason.

out of fear. To this day, occasionally you will hear stories of people who have witnessed Mothman, many believing they, if there is more than one, are out there among us, watching us, observing us.

But whether you believe in Mothman or not, many would say without a doubt that Mothman is no urban legend, but a real life monster. And that my friends is a story of Mothman, or the legend of Mothman. Do you believe in the Mothman or not?

I mean, why not, you know? Life is short, so it's like, sure. You got nothing to lose. Anyways, I just want to say a big thank you to you guys for hanging out with me today. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day ahead. I'll be seeing you guys later. Make good choices. Thank you so much. Bye.