Between 1966 and 1967, the quiet town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia became the epicenter of one of the most terrifying cryptid encounters in American history. Multiple witnesses reported seeing a large, winged creature with glowing red eyes that would come to be known as the Mothman.
The Mothman sightings began on November 12, 1966, when five men digging a grave at a cemetery near Clendenin, West Virginia claimed to see a man-like figure fly low over their heads. Just three days later, two couples driving near an abandoned TNT plant outside Point Pleasant reported being chased by a large creature with glowing red eyes and massive wings. Over the next thirteen months, more than 100 people would report encounters with the mysterious entity. The sightings reached their crescendo on December 15, 1967, when the Silver Bridge collapsed during rush hour, killing 46 people. Many believers linked the Mothman appearances to the disaster, suggesting the creature was either a harbinger of doom or had somehow caused the tragedy. To this day, the Mothman remains one of the most compelling and disturbing cryptid legends in American folklore.