Mothman Statue

Mothman statue Michelle Cassidy/Atlas Obscura

Made popular by the book The Mothman Prophesies and the movie of the same name, the legend of West Virginia’s mothman has become so well known that this urban cryptid legend even has his own massive statue.

According to legend, the mothman is a large mysterious monster who has been seen at various times soaring through the skies in the region of a former World War II munitions site, just north of Point Pleasant. Beginning in 1966, multiple sources started claiming to see the humanoid beast with a huge 10-foot wingspan flying in the West Virginia skies. Legend holds that the creature has huge red eyes and the face of an insect. The mothman’s origins have been attributed to everything from aliens to military experiments to the plain old supernatural.

No matter what the mythic creature’s true nature is, the 12-foot tall polished steel statue in downtown Point Pleasant, pretty much assures that that the legend of the mothman will continue to stick in the cultural conscience, which in turn almost guarantees that “sightings” of the creature will continue for generations to come.

Know Before You Go

Make this an AO twofer by going to the Mothman Museum, literally at the corner, all of 30 steps away from the statue. Make the visit a three-fer with a visit six miles north up Route 62 to the TNT Area, the site of the first reported Mothman sightings.