Bio
It is believed that 2 couples first saw Mothman on the night of November 15th, 1966. Roger and Linda Scarberry, as well as Steve and Mary Mallette had both told police they saw a large creature whose eyes glowed red standing on the side of the road near the "TNT area". This was the site of a previous World War 2 munitions plant. Linda described the creature as a "slender, muscular man" that was about 7 feet tall with wings. She was unable to see any features on the creature's face due to the "hypnotic effect" of its eyes. At this point, the couple was distressed so they drove away quickly. They claim the creature flew after the car while it was screeching at them. The creature is said to have followed them all the way to the city limits.
Over the course of the next few days, various others reported similar sightings. This came after local reportings of the previous incident in newspapers, so not all claims may be valid. The Mason County Sheriff George Johnson said he believed the sightings were that of an unusually large heron. He called it a "shitepoke". A contractor, Newell Partridge said he had shined a flashlight at the creature in a field and its eyes glowed "like bicycle reflectors". He also claimed the creature was responsible for the disappearance of his German Shepherd, as well as the buzzing noises that eminated from his television.
Wildlife biologist Robert L. Smith at West Virginia University had told reporters that the descriptions of the creature fit very closely to the sandhill crane. This bird is almost as tall as a man, it has a 7 foot wingspan, and it has circles of red coloring around its eyes. He believed the crane had wandered out of its migration route and was never before seen in the region by locals, causing them to believe it to be a mysterious creature.
