potato_head (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
potato_head) wrote2011-04-01 06:51 pm
potato_head) wrote2011-04-01 06:51 pm
Entry tags:
Wood Devils
Hey an actual post that is not me spilling excitement all over the place!
We're going to talk about the Mothman!
Most people I assume have some basic idea of the Mothman legend/incident. It's...a lot of information to summarize, or else I would? I'm really sorry, guys, it is just a ton of information. If you haven't heard of him at all, though, here's the basics: the Mothman is a flying, humanoid cryptid (yeah, I can pull out cryptozoologyspeak when I want to, lol) that was repeatedly seen/run in to by residents of Point Pleasant in West Virginia. The main batch of sightings was in 1966-67, although occasional sightings have been reported since. There is a LOT of interesting stuff to read about him out there, and a lot of theories, so if you don't know much about him I really encourage you to go find stuff out next time you're in a creepy/cryptid sort of mood; he is my absolute favorite 'singular being' cryptid, but it's not just me, he seems to charm a lot of the cryptid and general creepy-loving crowd.
As you may be coming to expect from me by now, my theory is that Mothman is a faerie/fae type being. By now y'all probably think I think EVERYTHING is a faerie, but to be honest, it's just that I'm more likely to talk about cryptids or phenomena I think are connected to faeries than those I do not, because they are the ones I feel I have something to add to. So.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
One of the more telling things about the Mothman, to me, is simply what he looks like. If you're familiar with the story, you've probably seen the drawings of him that eyewitnesses made. Generally, it is a mostly vague figure, with vivid red eyes and wings...and very few other features. If you have actually read/listened to eyewitness accounts, you may have heard the explanation for this; the Mothman's eyes are so captivating that it is nearly impossible to remember any other details of his face. This reminds me strongly of the larger faerie that I encounter in the woods here, whose eyes have similar mesmerizing properties; I've also heard other stories of encounters with faeries with similar eyes.
The Mothman's eyes are also described as 'lit up, but not glowing' which also reminds me of the eyes of the particular faerie I've encountered; its eyes are opaque, but appear very bright, regardless of the light conditions.
The Mothman is also described as being very tall (6-7ft) which is about the size I estimate this faerie at, although it should be noted that my length estimation is shit and my height estimation only slightly better.
TERROR REACTION
Despite the Mothman never directly attacking anybody, all witnesses that encountered it described feeling incredibly frightened. One woman was 'pursued' by it as she left her car and walked to a friend's house, and panicked, and tripped and fell - on top of her baby, who she was carrying (the baby, iirc, is fine now); but once she was on the ground, despite knowing she had to get up off of the child, she was too paralyzed by fear to move. This pursuit/following also reminds me of my interaction with the tall faerie here, and specifically of the time it 'chased' me through the woods; in retrospect, it seems like it was following me, as I'm sure it could have caught me easily if it had wished, but it didn't make any threatening motion towards me. Similarly, despite the woman being frozen on the ground, the Mothman did not touch her.
CARS & WINDOWS
Most of the encounters with the Mothman were by people in their cars. He developed a reputation, in fact, for chasing cars - both in the air and on foot, sometimes behind the car, other times beside or erratically flying around it. I've discussed a few times the time that I observed a faerie running alongside our car, for reasons I still can't even take a stab at (perhaps it is related to the follow/pursuit behavior?)
There were also a few occasions on which he was described to stare into people's windows, a behavior I am VERY familiar with, uggghhhh.
ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE
I'm not sure this could really be considered anything at all, but I'll throw it out there. It's more of uh...a reverse tie-in? The electrical interference that the Mothman caused has been made well-known by the movie (The Mothman Prophecies) although in reality it only occurred in two of the sightings, comparatively few. It is, however, a phenomena associated with Mothman. There was an occasion on which I was attempting to call somebody from the phone while home alone during the day; I felt the creeping panic feeling that I generally associate with being watched by a faerie, and then the phone spat some garbled static, almost voice-sounding. I've never heard our phones do anything like it, before or since. In fact, I've never heard ANY phone make a noise like that, even the extremely broken one at work, for all the weird noises it does make.
Now that I've uh, made my case, if I in fact have, I'll discuss a few other things about the Mothman stories I find interesting.
CHEMICALS?
The Mothman is said to live (due to being seen there often) in the 'McClintic Wildlife Management Area', a government-owned piece of land that was once used for TNT manufacture and storage. It's still covered in the concrete 'igloos'/bunkers where they stored TNT and waste products. It was discovered that the chemicals from the TNT and waste products were in fact seeping out of the bunkers and into the ground, and had contaminated the surrounding area and water.
I wonder if this may have had some sort of effect on the Mothman. He displays, to me, what seems to be very forward and aggressive behavior. If his behavior were characteristic of most faeries, after all, I think we would be hearing about them more often. He also appeared to many people who don't seem to otherwise see faeries, and made a noise that was described as a sort of shriek or keen, not something I have ever heard of as associated with faeries. His feathers are also described as appearing dull and grey, which I think sounds rather unhealthy, although I am really unsure of that without seeing him myself - I know describing certain aspects of faeries I've seen makes them sound unhealthy, relative to humans or other animals, but when you see them, it is obvious that they aren't ill or dieing, that's just how they look.
Was he injured or sickened by the chemicals? Can faeries be...mutated by chemicals? I have no idea, but the idea makes me worry.
PTEROSAUR?
One of the theories about the Mothman is that he might be a pterosaur that survived to modern day. I don't have anything against the idea of surviving pterosaurs or other ancient creatures like dinosaurs; there are a lot of stories out there, and I'd like to believe they're true (especially pterosaurs I LOVE PTEROSAURS), although I don't have any strong opinions one way or the other. I am, however, of the strong opinion that the Mothman is NOT a pterosaur. The description sounds very different from a pterosaur, and emphasizes very different things than what modern pterosaur encounters emphasize - he is not described as having a long, serpentine neck, and the wings, although large, are described as feathered and NOT as dragging on the ground/being used to balance - although he IS described as lifting off into the air without flapping (as a pterosaur would, using updrafts or height - they were gliders). Pterosaurs are also often encountered early in the morning or late in the evening, but not in the dark; and their eyes are described as black and beady, not red and overwhelming. The Mothman is described as man-like, not beast-like.
Additionally, I feel that any normal animal that was this insistent and aggressive and made this much contact with people would have gotten shot, and a carcass produced; especially considering the well-armed men and police officers that pursued him.
I didn't discuss Indrid Cold and the Men in Black here, because, as fascinating as they are, I don't have a good handle on the Men in Black phenomena, nor have I read much about Indrid Cold. I've also left out the UFO's because they seem much more linked to the two aforementioned than to Mothman.
I also don't have much to say on the Silver Bridge; I have no particular standing on whether Mothman had anything to do with the Silver Bridge, whether it be predicting the failing of the bridge, or causing it. It is true that quite a few witnesses that encountered Mothman died in the bridge accident, but it should be remembered that quite a lot of people from the town in general, unfortunately, were on the bridge when it collapsed; I think it would have been more notable if NONE of those who saw him were on the bridge when it collapsed.
We're going to talk about the Mothman!
Most people I assume have some basic idea of the Mothman legend/incident. It's...a lot of information to summarize, or else I would? I'm really sorry, guys, it is just a ton of information. If you haven't heard of him at all, though, here's the basics: the Mothman is a flying, humanoid cryptid (yeah, I can pull out cryptozoologyspeak when I want to, lol) that was repeatedly seen/run in to by residents of Point Pleasant in West Virginia. The main batch of sightings was in 1966-67, although occasional sightings have been reported since. There is a LOT of interesting stuff to read about him out there, and a lot of theories, so if you don't know much about him I really encourage you to go find stuff out next time you're in a creepy/cryptid sort of mood; he is my absolute favorite 'singular being' cryptid, but it's not just me, he seems to charm a lot of the cryptid and general creepy-loving crowd.
As you may be coming to expect from me by now, my theory is that Mothman is a faerie/fae type being. By now y'all probably think I think EVERYTHING is a faerie, but to be honest, it's just that I'm more likely to talk about cryptids or phenomena I think are connected to faeries than those I do not, because they are the ones I feel I have something to add to. So.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
One of the more telling things about the Mothman, to me, is simply what he looks like. If you're familiar with the story, you've probably seen the drawings of him that eyewitnesses made. Generally, it is a mostly vague figure, with vivid red eyes and wings...and very few other features. If you have actually read/listened to eyewitness accounts, you may have heard the explanation for this; the Mothman's eyes are so captivating that it is nearly impossible to remember any other details of his face. This reminds me strongly of the larger faerie that I encounter in the woods here, whose eyes have similar mesmerizing properties; I've also heard other stories of encounters with faeries with similar eyes.
The Mothman's eyes are also described as 'lit up, but not glowing' which also reminds me of the eyes of the particular faerie I've encountered; its eyes are opaque, but appear very bright, regardless of the light conditions.
The Mothman is also described as being very tall (6-7ft) which is about the size I estimate this faerie at, although it should be noted that my length estimation is shit and my height estimation only slightly better.
TERROR REACTION
Despite the Mothman never directly attacking anybody, all witnesses that encountered it described feeling incredibly frightened. One woman was 'pursued' by it as she left her car and walked to a friend's house, and panicked, and tripped and fell - on top of her baby, who she was carrying (the baby, iirc, is fine now); but once she was on the ground, despite knowing she had to get up off of the child, she was too paralyzed by fear to move. This pursuit/following also reminds me of my interaction with the tall faerie here, and specifically of the time it 'chased' me through the woods; in retrospect, it seems like it was following me, as I'm sure it could have caught me easily if it had wished, but it didn't make any threatening motion towards me. Similarly, despite the woman being frozen on the ground, the Mothman did not touch her.
CARS & WINDOWS
Most of the encounters with the Mothman were by people in their cars. He developed a reputation, in fact, for chasing cars - both in the air and on foot, sometimes behind the car, other times beside or erratically flying around it. I've discussed a few times the time that I observed a faerie running alongside our car, for reasons I still can't even take a stab at (perhaps it is related to the follow/pursuit behavior?)
There were also a few occasions on which he was described to stare into people's windows, a behavior I am VERY familiar with, uggghhhh.
ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE
I'm not sure this could really be considered anything at all, but I'll throw it out there. It's more of uh...a reverse tie-in? The electrical interference that the Mothman caused has been made well-known by the movie (The Mothman Prophecies) although in reality it only occurred in two of the sightings, comparatively few. It is, however, a phenomena associated with Mothman. There was an occasion on which I was attempting to call somebody from the phone while home alone during the day; I felt the creeping panic feeling that I generally associate with being watched by a faerie, and then the phone spat some garbled static, almost voice-sounding. I've never heard our phones do anything like it, before or since. In fact, I've never heard ANY phone make a noise like that, even the extremely broken one at work, for all the weird noises it does make.
Now that I've uh, made my case, if I in fact have, I'll discuss a few other things about the Mothman stories I find interesting.
CHEMICALS?
The Mothman is said to live (due to being seen there often) in the 'McClintic Wildlife Management Area', a government-owned piece of land that was once used for TNT manufacture and storage. It's still covered in the concrete 'igloos'/bunkers where they stored TNT and waste products. It was discovered that the chemicals from the TNT and waste products were in fact seeping out of the bunkers and into the ground, and had contaminated the surrounding area and water.
I wonder if this may have had some sort of effect on the Mothman. He displays, to me, what seems to be very forward and aggressive behavior. If his behavior were characteristic of most faeries, after all, I think we would be hearing about them more often. He also appeared to many people who don't seem to otherwise see faeries, and made a noise that was described as a sort of shriek or keen, not something I have ever heard of as associated with faeries. His feathers are also described as appearing dull and grey, which I think sounds rather unhealthy, although I am really unsure of that without seeing him myself - I know describing certain aspects of faeries I've seen makes them sound unhealthy, relative to humans or other animals, but when you see them, it is obvious that they aren't ill or dieing, that's just how they look.
Was he injured or sickened by the chemicals? Can faeries be...mutated by chemicals? I have no idea, but the idea makes me worry.
PTEROSAUR?
One of the theories about the Mothman is that he might be a pterosaur that survived to modern day. I don't have anything against the idea of surviving pterosaurs or other ancient creatures like dinosaurs; there are a lot of stories out there, and I'd like to believe they're true (especially pterosaurs I LOVE PTEROSAURS), although I don't have any strong opinions one way or the other. I am, however, of the strong opinion that the Mothman is NOT a pterosaur. The description sounds very different from a pterosaur, and emphasizes very different things than what modern pterosaur encounters emphasize - he is not described as having a long, serpentine neck, and the wings, although large, are described as feathered and NOT as dragging on the ground/being used to balance - although he IS described as lifting off into the air without flapping (as a pterosaur would, using updrafts or height - they were gliders). Pterosaurs are also often encountered early in the morning or late in the evening, but not in the dark; and their eyes are described as black and beady, not red and overwhelming. The Mothman is described as man-like, not beast-like.
Additionally, I feel that any normal animal that was this insistent and aggressive and made this much contact with people would have gotten shot, and a carcass produced; especially considering the well-armed men and police officers that pursued him.
I didn't discuss Indrid Cold and the Men in Black here, because, as fascinating as they are, I don't have a good handle on the Men in Black phenomena, nor have I read much about Indrid Cold. I've also left out the UFO's because they seem much more linked to the two aforementioned than to Mothman.
I also don't have much to say on the Silver Bridge; I have no particular standing on whether Mothman had anything to do with the Silver Bridge, whether it be predicting the failing of the bridge, or causing it. It is true that quite a few witnesses that encountered Mothman died in the bridge accident, but it should be remembered that quite a lot of people from the town in general, unfortunately, were on the bridge when it collapsed; I think it would have been more notable if NONE of those who saw him were on the bridge when it collapsed.