Point Pleasant — Mothman

Between November 1966 and December 1967, over 100 witnesses in the Point Pleasant area reported encounters with a large winged humanoid — seven feet tall, with a ten-foot wingspan and self-luminous red eyes — known today as the Mothman. The sightings were investigated at the time by journalist John Keel, who documented them in The Mothman Prophecies (1975).

On 15 December 1967 the Silver Bridge, connecting Point Pleasant to Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed during rush hour, killing 46 people. Many witnesses reported that Mothman sightings ceased immediately after the disaster, leading to speculation — popularised by Keel — that the entity served as a harbinger of catastrophe rather than a cause of it. The town now hosts an annual Mothman Festival and a stainless steel statue on Main Street.