Hunting Mothman in Point Pleasant West Virginia

Few local stories or legends have garnered more attention and fame than that of our favorite local Point Pleasant cryptid Mothman. With sightings all over the country and beyond what started as a local chance encounter with this creature back in the sixties has captured the imaginations of thousands of tourists who come to the area hoping to catch a glimpse of the illusive Mothman.

If you're not familiar with the Point Pleasant area it was once the home of the West Virginia Ordinance Works which was a massive 8,323 acre US Army operated ordinance production facility that supported the nations efforts in World War II. Shortly after the war ended it was shuttered and broken up. The ground here became the most polluted site in West Virginia and one of the top ten most polluted sites in the country which gives rise to the theory that Mothman was a mutation caused by chemical pollution or even possibly an escaped top secret government experiment. It was in this abandoned area in 1966 that the first Mothman sighting took place.

The legend of Mothman might have never really gained an audience if not for the fact that strange "men in black" figures started showing up leading locals to believe that a government coverup was taking place. For a few years Mothman sighting played out in Point Pleasant with the most notorious one taking place on the Silver Bridge just before it collapsed making the Mothman forever known as a harbinger of doom. In 2016 grainy images were taken that appeared to show a two legged flying creature in the sky over Point Pleasant once more. Sightings haven't been limited to just the Point Pleasant area with reports of sightings in Chicago starting in 2011, peaking in 2017, and continuing in to early 2022 around Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

The citizens of Point Pleasant have embraced the legend welcoming tourists to the Mothman Festival, Mothman Museum, and serving Mothman droppings, coffee, and Pizza. Everywhere you look in town you'll find a rich history commemorated by the many monuments at Tu-Endie-Wei State Park, the statues at the river walk, and the historic downtown buildings. The area is a great place to visit and if you haven't been there do yourself a favor and go enjoy the view of the bridges and rivers, the legend of Mothman, and a stroll in the park.

I've personally taken two trips along with my buddy Tim Mick in search of the lore and legend behind Mothman. I've explored the areas he was first sighted at and spent time exploring what was once the TNT Factory tramping thru the swamp and wooded areas uncovering crumbling lost buildings, bunkers, and other industrial structures. While the entire area feels a bit eerie and there's no shortage of interesting things to see in the wildlife area that contains many of the bunkers and buildings I've never stumbled upon Mothman in my search or found a shred of evidence one way or the other. The legend persists, the sightings continue, and the Mothman may still be out there somewhere.