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Mothman

Nothing helps the tourism industry of a small river city like a monster.

Or so it seems in usually quiet Point Pleasant, W.Va., a bit less than three hours east of Cincinnati. It has a population of roughly 5,000, and its downtown is nestled comfortably, quietly behind an Ohio River floodwall painted with attractive murals.

But on Saturday, Sept. 20, its Main Street will explode with the bizarre activities of the eighth annual Mothman Festival, which, along with the Mothman Museum, has made the city the focus of monster-based tourism. Both are promoted by Jeff Wamsley, a good-humored local resident with a love for pop culture and the supernatural.

The mythic Mothman of West Virginia is supposedly a humanoid creature with huge wings and piercing red eyes, capable of standing and flying. It was first seen by two young couples on Nov. 15, 1966, in a ruggedly mysterious outlying area called TNT, where it chased their car to the edge of the city. Other sightings followed, and Mothman became like the Pacific Northwest’s Sasquatch – only mothier.

During World War II, the TNT Area was a classified, 8,000-acre area used for the manufacture of dynamite. It contained some 100 camouflaged concrete igloos for storage. There were two power plants, and the first Mothman sighting was made near the now-demolished North Plant. Today, a portion of the area is a wildlife preserve, but it still contains three hidden and abandoned – and very dark! – igloos that can be entered by tourists. The other igloos are still out there, but sealed and reportedly leased to private concerns.

The Mothman Museum, which stays open all year although hours vary by season, runs bus/walking tours of the area throughout the summer and also during the festival, often with Wamsley as guide. Before a recent one, he made guests sign a disclaimer. “It states if we get chased by a creature, we don’t get sued,” he says, joking.

The free festival has become the city’s biggest event, drawing an estimated 4,500 people last year. Visitors this year will be able to tour the museum, have their pictures taken by a 12-foot (life-size?) Mothman statue, hear eyewitness accounts of Mothman encounters, buy a “Mothman frappuccino” at local souvenir shop the Point, watch the premiere of a new Mothman movie called “Dark Wings” at the historic State Theater, admire Miss Mothman contestants, hear the Mothman Band and other musical acts, and take TNT Area tours. (Bus tours cost $19.95 and were supposed to be booked and paid for by Saturday; call 304-812-5211 noon-5 p.m. daily for any late vacancies.)

“Of all the history we’ve got, it’s that darn old Mothman that brings in the business,” says Carolin Harris, whose Harris Steakhouse has its best days during the festival. “People want to see what they don’t know. So we say Point Pleasant has history and mystery.”

That history includes the Tu-Endie-Wei Point Pleasant Battle Monument State Park, with its 84-foot granite obelisk and memorials marking what locals call the first battle of the American Revolution.

Source: news.cincy

There’s even a scientific-sounding name for it: cryptozoology, the study of hidden or unknown animals. Obsessive fans of legendary monsters travel the world over to hunt down their legendary quarry. The most famous U.S. cryptid is Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, and in Scotland it’s the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie.

Cryp fans know that besides these top two, there are many more whose lairs have become tourist draws. In the U.S. alone, you might have heard legends of the Mothman (West Virginia), Thunderbird (Lawndale, Illinois), Chessie (Lake Champlain) and the Jersey Devil (Pine Barrens of New Jersey), while roasting marshmallows around the campfire.

Obviously the U.S. hasn’t cornered the cryptid market. If you grew up in Scotland, you would’ve listened wide-eyed to tales of Nessie, who lurks in the deep dark waters of the famous Loch Ness.

Africa boasts a bunch—the walrus-like Dingonek, the Gambo, and the Adjule. In Java, you would have heard about the massive, flying Ahool, found in the deepest rainforests. England lays claim to the phantom wildcat, the Beast of Bodmin Moor, and the carnivorous Black Shuck, said to roam the craggy coastlines of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex.

Given such a wide variety of cryptids, it’s no wonder that at some point, monsters grew from an interest into an obsession, and finally, into a career for Loren Coleman, author of 30 books and an adviser to TV’s “In Search Of” series. He’s even opened a museum on the subject, the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine. This by-appointment-only showplace features artifacts, toys and artists renderings from around the world.

Coleman has traveled far and wide looking for mysterious creatures, covering every state in the union and much of the world. His favorite spot so far: Not surprisingly, Loch Ness. “It reminded me of the first time I saw Fenway [Park]. It was so green and so beautiful,” he reminisces. “I got up every morning to go looking for the Loch Ness Monster.”

“They have the haar—the fog that goes across the loch; it was amazing,” Coleman continues. “Like a fairy tale.” Besides the atmosphere, Coleman also found it a relief to be immersed in a like-minded population. “Just to have people not laugh at you for being into monsters. . . .” he half laughs. “It certainly has changed the economy there. It changes the economy of a lot of places where the creatures are found.”

Not everyone is as obsessed. Scottish filmmaker John McFarlane remains skeptical about the Loch Ness monster, his country’s most famous resident. Though she was first reportedly spotted back in the sixth century A.D., he says that growing up, it certainly was a topic of conversation. “When I was a kid, my grandfather told me it is quite feasible that there is a creature that lives in the loch … that’s maybe from the dinosaur period,” he says. “There was speculation that there might be a link from the loch’s bottom out to the open sea.”

Fact or fiction? Go and see for yourself, but watch out for large, hairy (or scaly) animals.

Source: msnbc

If you ask the average zoologist what makes mysterious creatures like Bigfoot or El Chupacabra so impossible today when once scientifically-dismissed species like the Mountain Gorilla or Giant Squid are now common enough concepts, they’ll probably say, “The difference is the gorilla and the squid are real, and Bigfoot isn’t.”

The scientific dismissal isn’t keeping Animal Planet from releasing a new DVD featuring stories of cryptozoological oddities.

Announced this week and set for release this fall (October 6), Lost Tapes operates under the thesis that, while thousands of new species are discovered and classified each year, there are some creatures that science still refuses to recognize.

Lost Tapes offers dramatic reenacts of reported encounters with The Monster of Monterey, Cave Demons, the Megaconda and the Mothman.

A lot of this is outright bollocks, and Animal Planet could be accused of repacking a horror/sci-fi show as an animal documentary here. But, there’s a “ghost story around the campfire” charm about shows like this that an intrigued audience could enjoy a chill or two. People need a good scare now and then, even if it comes from a non-existent Thunderbird or Hell Hound.

Source: tvsquad