Point Pleasant, West Virginia: A Cryptid Traveler's Guide to Mothman Country
In November 1966, two couples driving near an abandoned munitions plant outside Point Pleasant, West Virginia, reported being chased by something with ten-foot wings and glowing red eyes. Over the next thirteen months, dozens more sightings followed — and then, on December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed into the Ohio River, killing 46 people. The winged thing was never seen again. But Point Pleasant never forgot it.
Today this small river town of 4,000 people is the undisputed capital of Mothman country, drawing thousands of cryptid travelers every year. If you're planning the pilgrimage, here's how to do it right.
The Sightings: What Happened in 1966–67
The first widely reported encounter came on November 15, 1966, when Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette told police they'd been pursued along Route 62 by a man-sized creature with wings and red eyes that shone in their headlights. Local newspapers picked it up, more witnesses came forward — including reports from the TNT area, the overgrown remains of the West Virginia Ordnance Works, a World War II munitions site north of town — and the legend grew through 1967. Author John Keel chronicled the flap in The Mothman Prophecies (1975), later adapted into the 2002 film, cementing the creature in American folklore.
Skeptics have proposed everything from sandhill cranes to misidentified owls. Point Pleasant doesn't seem to mind either way.
What to See
The Mothman Statue. Start at the corner of 4th and Main, where a twelve-foot stainless steel Mothman — all wings, talons, and red-eyed menace — has loomed since 2003. It's the most photographed cryptid monument in America, and rubbing its mirrored surface for luck is tradition. Go early on a weekday morning if you want it to yourself.
The Mothman Museum. Right behind the statue on Main Street, the museum holds newspaper clippings from the original 1966–67 flap, witness sketches, props from the film, and an archive that takes a couple of hours to do properly. This is the deep cut — the gift shop alone is worth the trip.
The TNT Area. The McClintic Wildlife Management Area, north of town on Route 62, covers the old munitions site where many sightings clustered. It's now woods, wetlands, and crumbling concrete igloos where explosives were once stored. Eerie in daylight, genuinely unsettling after dark — which is exactly why people go. Bring bug spray and don't trespass past the posted areas.
The Silver Bridge Memorial. At the riverfront, a memorial marks the December 1967 collapse. Whatever you believe about the connection, it's a somber and worthwhile stop.
The Mothman Festival
If you can time it, visit during the annual Mothman Festival, held each September in downtown Point Pleasant. What started as a small gathering now draws thousands — guest speakers, vendor rows, costume contests, hayrides out to the TNT area after dark. It's the single best weekend of the year to be a cryptid traveler, and the town goes all in.
Take a Piece of It Home
A pilgrimage deserves a souvenir. Our Point Pleasant travel patch and travel sticker are designed for exactly this trip — sew the patch onto your jacket at the festival, or stick the decal on the cooler for the drive home. Prefer something for the wall? The Point Pleasant travel poster brings Mothman country to your living room. For the full lineup, browse the travel patches, travel stickers, and travel posters — and start planning the next stop: Roswell is calling.
Have you made the trip? Tag us — we collect traveler photos like some people collect postcards.
This post is part of our Cryptid Travel Guides series, covering the legendary destinations behind our travel patch collection. Explore all the destinations.