Murder, Mystery & Makeup - Creature That Terrorized West Virginia - The True Story of Mothman

hi friends how are you today

I hope you’re having a wonderful day so far

my name is Bailey Saarian and today is Monday

which means it’s Murder

Mystery and Makeup Monday Halloween

if you are new here

hi my name is Bailey Sarian

and on Mondays I sit down

and I talk about true crime

story that’s been heavy on my noggin

and I do my makeup at the same time

but this time

we’re gonna be talking about some Halloween stories

while I get ready for a Halloween party

that I was not invited to awesome

so I will stop rambling

and let’s get right into it

so the year is 1966

a small town situated on the Ohio River

is a place called Point Pleasant

West Virginia

This town called Point Pleasant in West Virginia

like I had just said

had a population of about 5 000 people

at this time

it seemed like everybody kind of knew each other

I mean a lot of the people were very close knit

so it was said

and many of the people of the community

you know they just really stuck to themselves

minded their own business

there wasn’t much crime going on

it just kind of existed

which is a good thing right

it’s called Point Pleasant

they have to live up to that

my eyebrow looks really bad

most of the people in the community

really stayed out of trouble

there was a low crime

simple simple place

point pleasant

I’ve always secretly wondered

what it’s like to grow up in a small town

where everybody seems to know each other

or like I don’t know

everyone knows each other’s business

like what’s that like

yeah spill the deets

I think in my mind

it would be fun

but at the same time

if you’re trying to be different

it’s probably not fun

but whatever

so in November of 1966

a man by the name of Roger Scarbury

was driving just

just a couple miles up from Point Pleasant

in the car with Roger was his wife Linda

their friend Steve Mary

and then their cousin Lonnie

so they were all pretty familiar with the area

and they were near the

Mcclintic Wildlife Management Area

and this was a nature preserve

that had housed the West Virginia Ordinance Works

which was like a hidden TNT factory from World War II

a hidden TNT factory

that’s right

now the locals

they refer to this area as just the TNT area

and it had been long

long abandoned

and the whole area was gated off

since this place was not far from Point Pleasant

and was pretty low profile

it was a popular hangout spot for the local youths

you know young adults would go there hang out

probably smoke

hail Satan whatever you do

as young adults

but people would just go out there and hang out

Roger and his passengers

they were going to the area

just to hang out

they’re bored

pretty much

so Roger pulls over the car

in front of the factory gate right away

he said that something just felt off

it felt weird

now Roger couldn’t go into great detail

about what felt weird

but if you’ve ever had that feeling

I’m sure you can understand

something just feels off

and you can’t really explain it

but Rogers there

with his friends

so it’s I mean

it’s whatevs

you know so

the gang gets out of the car

and they’re just like

hanging out

walking up towards the gate

and once they get up to the gated area

that’s when they notice

or they saw like

some red lights turn on

now this is weird

because it’s abandoned

so like what are these lights right

and they’re all wondering what this is

so they’re just like

looking at it right

and then they notice that the lights are moving

yeah that’s right

so they’re not staying still

they’re just like

moving around

so they’re just watching these red lights

and kind of standing still

not saying much

and then they notice that the

lights are actually moving towards them

and they’re getting bigger and bigger

and more clear

and that’s when they realized that

these were not red lights at all nene

these red lights seem to be a pair of glowing red eyes

but the worst of all

there was a large

dark figure

becoming more clear to them

well actually it wasn’t

because all they could tell

was that it was a large

dark figure

and then these red

glowing eyes

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whatever this thing was it stood nearly 7ft tall

and seemed to have large wings folded behind its back

Satan is that you

so without hesitation

the gang skedaddled right out of there

they hopped right into their car

and Roger just floored it

now according to

well everybody in the car

this creature this thing

whatever it was

it immediately took flight

and followed their car down the road

I mean Roger would later say that he was flooring it

I mean he pushed the car up to a hundred miles per hour

but whatever it was was keeping up with them

just flying

Roger said that

whenever he looked into the rear view mirror

all he could see was a shadow of a thing

and of course the glowing red eyes

so Roger said that he drove straight to the Mason

County Courthouse to report what they all had witnessed

now the thing that was following them

I mean it followed them all the way to the courthouse

but as soon as they parked

it just kept flying

and then it flew off

so whatever that thing was

it just flew off into the night

cause it’s like

you wanna tell the police or whoever

and be like look

it’s right there

it’s on the roof

but it just

it flew off

you get it I’m sure you do

okay now this was the first

but not last sighting of the creature

that would become known as the Mothman

all 5 of them go running into the courthouse

just yellin

all sorts of crazy

you know we saw something

it was flying red eyes

it was glowing

just like okay yeah okay

so naturally you’re thinking

well nobody’s going to believe them

who would believe any of that nonsense

you know well

actually there was a deputy who was working

his name was Deputy

deputy Millard Halstead

and he just had this deep feeling

that they were actually telling the truth

very unusual

now that’s a mystery

so in an interview

he would say that he had known these kids

he kept calling them kids and stuff

and I was like

but isn’t one of them married

so are these still kids

doesn’t matter

but he said that

he had known these kids all their lives

and that they’d never been in any trouble

and that they were just so terrified

and he had never seen them like that

that it just kind of gave him this feeling of like

maybe they’re not lying

why would they lie

now they would question each of the individuals

by themselves

in the room

and they all gave the exact same story

and this look of tear in their eyes

told the deputy

that something definitely had happened to them

Roger he ends up taking the deputy out to the spot

where they first spotted this creature

and they looked for any clues

or evidence

that this thing was actually

alive or existed

or he wasn’t lying

you know you know

unfortunately for Roger though

they really didn’t have any luck finding any evidence

smaller towns

people are talking

it wasn’t long until you know

word got out that there was this creature

this thing with red eyes

everyone had heard what happened

and where people in the community

were feeling all sorts of emotions

some were upset

some were unconvinced

others scared

you know just like a mix

a group of people decided

hey let’s all go down to the TNT area

and look for this thing

maybe it lives there

maybe again

there’s some kind of evidence or sign that it was there

to see if it’s true

but once again

they wouldn’t find anything

but at a nearby home

someone who wasn’t looking for the demonic creature

would come across him

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Now let’s get back to today’s story

that very same night

a young woman named Marcella Bennett

was visiting her friends

who lived very close to the TNT area

so Marcella was actually getting

ready to leave her friends home

when she walks out

she walks towards her parked car

just outside the house

with her baby in her arms

you know she’s kind of

like fidgeting

trying to find her car keys

trying to unlock the door

and the marcella looks over

and she sees a very large

gray looking

human like creature with giant wings

and red glowing eyes

what is this thing

marcella says that she just sees it

rising up from the ground

just steps in front of her

marcella said that she was so scared

that she dropped her infant daughter on the ground

and then fell on top of her

for minutes

Marcella said that she was just paralyzed with fear

and she couldn’t move

but she could see this creature

just looking at her with these red eyes

marcella said that the only thing

that she could really make out

were these red

glowing eyes

just looking at her

marcella would tell others

I mean later on

that she was aware of what was happening to her

but quite literally

she was unable to move her body

marcella said that time

felt as if it was moving in slow motion

and she didn’t know how long she was on the ground for

unable to move

but eventually

she was able to gain control of her body

she jumped up

she grabs her daughter

and then she runs the F

inside the house

of her friends

I don’t know what any of us would do in that situation

I’d probably pee my pants

then throw my baby at the creature and run

you know like scary

it’s probably why I shouldn’t have children anyways

so Marcella runs back into her friend’s house

with her baby

don’t worry

the baby’s got

marcella runs inside

and she tells her friends like

what just happened

and they’re all peeking outside the window

to figure out

like what it is

what she saw

so they rushed to call the police

because Marcella seems to be very

very distraught very upset

so whatever it was

must have been bad

now while on the phone with police

that’s when they hear a loud thumb

on their front porch

so everybody inside the house

just kind of looks over

like what was that right

and they’re looking over

and they see

just outside their front window

a dark figure

is looking inside

red glowing eyes

staring right at them

everyone in the house

tries to barricade themselves in the home

and wait until the police arrive

but by that time

whatever it was was gone

everybody’s talking about this creature

and that’s when it was given the name Mothman

because of its wings

it flies red eyes

I would have named it

like a bug or something

well I guess

moth is a bug

Bailey it’s an insect

okay so mothman

over the next following months

this mothman creature

seemed to terrorize the town

I mean nearly 100 people came forward

with eyewitness reports

between November 1966

and December 1967

now many eyewitnesses said

that they originally didn’t want to say anything

about this thing

because they feared that the people

would think that they were lying right

the community would think that they’re lying or worse

they would get labeled as crazy

you know like the others who spoke about

their experience

and you know

it’s the late sixties

being labeled crazy

is like the worst

thing possible crazy

I’m not crazy

I’m so excited I’m Jenny

but the bright side

with all these witnesses coming forward to police

a sketch artist was able to compile drawings

of what this creature

may look like

or may have looked like

those who saw this

thing claimed

that it was very large

it was gray

it was a humanoid type creature

with massive wings

it was thought to stand between 5 and 7ft tall

with a 10ft wingspan

its head was described as being oddly shaped

and sitting close

to its body

some people even described him as being headless

with only 2 eyes protruding

above his chest

and of course

every single witness

who came forward

mentioned its bright red

glowing eyes

which were said to be extremely large

and of course

every witness that came forward

mentioned its bright red

glowing eyes

which were said to be extremely large

now when most people saw

whatever this thing was

take off or fly

some of them noted

that it would

spread its wings

before ascending

but it never flapped throughout

like a bird would

so there are many people

who are suggesting well

maybe it was just a bird

get over it

just a bird

but these witnesses

they were not convinced

no bird would fly like that

that first night

when it was keeping up with roger’s car

they noticed

that it was capable of weaving

quickly in between the dense forest areas

and others said

that they witnessed it

rising straight up into the sky

like a helicopter

and was able to just

hover for like

a minute or so

mm mm nope I would be like

not today Satan

I’m really busy

something of my nightmares

or like Jeepers Creepers

right oh my God

is Jeepers Creepers

about Mothman

oh man that movie

ruined me as a teen

back to the story

so skeptics

they suggested that

this whole mothman garbage

could easily be explained

it was simply

a Sand Hill crane

which is a large bird

with red coloring

around its eyes

many people

are just not believing this

story right

many are thinking

it’s simply

a Sand Hill crane

calm your tits

it’s just a bird

but some of the people

who had actually witnessed

this mothman

some of them

were hunters and

or fishermen

and they pushed back

because they felt confident

in saying that

this was not a bird

they would not mistake

a bird for a 7ft

tall winged

bug person thing

with glowing

red eyes I hunt

I would know

is what they’re saying

there’s just no way

I’ve seen birds before

on November 2 1966

just 10 days before the

first mothman sighting

a man by the name of Woodrow

was driving home

to Mineral Wells

West Virginia

when he was cut off

by what he thought was a car

now it kind of caught him by surprise

because he didn’t see

any headlights

in his rear view mirror

or anything

you know and

he also didn’t see any cars

approaching

but whoever

cut him off

went around him

and started

going slower than him

which side note

don’t do that

don’t cut people off

and then go

like the speed limit

if you’re gonna cut me off

floor it okay

I can’t stand that

shit anyways

so which row

is like dude

what the hell

it’s forcing

him to break

and then eventually

it forces him

to pull over

on the side of the road

because this douchebag

is messing with him

he then steps

out of his car

and he’s like

looking and

when he’s looking

at this car

he realizes that

whatever this was

it wasn’t a car at all

Woodrow said that

it looked like

a large unit

or it looked

like a kerosene

lamp chimney

aka UFO I know

some of you

are rolling your eyes

right now just

go on this journey with me

okay go on this journey

so Woodrow said that a large figure

then came out of the craft

and it walked towards him

Woodrow said that whatever it was

it looked like it was human

and he believed that whatever it was

was trying to talk to him

like it wasn’t verbally saying anything

but Woodrow felt like it was speaking telepathically

through his mind

Woodrow felt that you know

maybe he’s just dreaming right

pinches himself

he’s not dreaming

and he’s certain of that

I’m gonna call an alien

this alien went back into its craft and took off

it was gone within seconds

just whoosh

now of course

when Wood Trail went home

nobody really believed him

and when he tried to explain it to others

about his night

Woodrow knew that he sounded crazy but I mean

he spoke his truth

and unfortunately he was considered crazy

now I’m only bringing up with joe’s story

because it would be more and more common in future

mothman sightings

to have UFO reports coming in

around the same time as the sightings of the mothman

so many would later believe that perhaps the 2

went hand in hand

and that maybe this creature was actually an alien

or they were connected in some way

so one of the main routes into Point Pleasant

was over a steel bridge

which joined the state of Ohio and West Virginia

many would take that bridge to and from work

but overall

it was just a well traveled route

is what I’m getting at

you get it December 15th 1967

the steel bridge collapsed tragically

killing 46 people

but get this

that very same evening

there were numerous

phone calls made to the local police

saying that there was a large figure with red eyes

red glowing eyes

that was seen hanging around the bridge

now this was concerning because

could Mothman be responsible for the bridge collapsing

so a lot of again

rumors are going around

and many are talking

many are thinking that

maybe the Mothman was responsible for this

and more and more people are getting scared

because you know

is this Mothman guy here to harm us

this whole bridge crashed

I mean it’s an awful sad tragedy

but also some people in the community

were believing that maybe just

maybe the mothman was actually there to warn people

of certain tragedies to come

and maybe the mothman wasn’t the bad guy

maybe they had it all wrong

it was like an angel trying to warn them

if that were true

though Mothman did a real bad job

warning people of this bridge collapsing

am I right as the years pass

reports of this Mothman creature have been made

around the world

all of those who had witnessed him

reported the same thing over and over and over again

red glowing eyes

large dark figure huge wings

some paranormal authors and cryptozoologists

believe that the mothman may have been an alien

some suggesting that maybe it was just as simple as

I don’t know

an unknown species

in the 1975 book

the Mothman Prophecies

author John Keel

claim that the Point Pleasant residents who witnessed

mothman also experienced visions happening

visions into the future

and they said that they were like

having random dreams

random thoughts

but of things happening

hear me out okay

some of the witnesses said that they saw

the silver bridge collapsing

before it actually happened

other witnesses

said that they saw unidentified flying objects

around the same time

that they witnessed the mothman

and others said that they had visits from men

dressed in all black

yeah threatening them

that if they spoke of their experiences to anyone

or kept digging around

for answers

something very terrible

may happen to them

or maybe even their families

which kept a lot of witnesses quiet

for years and years

for a good reason

out of fear

to this day

occasionally

you will hear stories

of people who have witnessed Mothman

many believing

they if there is more than one

are out there among us

watching us

waiting observing

but whether you believe in mothman or not

many would say

without a doubt

that Mothman is no urban legend

but a real life monster

and that my Friends

is a story of mothman

or the legend of Mothman

do you believe in the mothman or not

I mean why not

you know life is short

so it’s like sure

you got nothing to lose

anyways I just want to say a big thank you to you guys

for hanging out with me today

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day ahead

I’ll be seeing you guys later

make a choices

thank you so much bye

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