The Silver Bridge Collapsed 50 Years Ago After a Series of Bizarre Mothman Sightings
After a series of bizarre Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant, the Silver Bridge collapsed into the icy waters of the Ohio River and took 46 lives with it.
“I had a terrible nightmare,” Ohio reporter Mary Hyre told journalist John Keel on November 19, 1967, just under a month before the tragedy struck. “There were a lot of people drowning in the river and Christmas packages were floating everywhere in the water. Its like something awful is going to happen.”
50 years ago a bizarre rash of strange occurrences and sightings of a creature that came to be known as the Mothman in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, culminated in the collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15th, 1967. The bridge took 46 lives with it as it plunged into the dark, icy waters of the Ohio River.
After that, the Mothman sightings stopped.
Was the mysterious entity there to warn the community of the impending tragedy, or was it the cause? Of course, no one has any idea what Mothman actually was. Some speculate that it may have been a large bird – a heron or sandhill crane that might have wandered out of its migration route. Since those types of birds were not native to the area, it’s easy to see how locals could mistake one for a flying man with a 10-foot wingspan, glowing eyes, and the ability to keep up with a moving vehicle, right?
Mothman in the Archives
Mothman by Herman James, from the Monsters in America cryptid art show
- Mothman Roadtrip: 6 Things to do in Point Pleasant
- Monsters in America cryptid art show
- Mothman of Point Pleasant Documentary
- Mothman photographed in Point Pleasant?
- Mothman’s Curse: A Children’s Book
Mothman Book Picks
If you want to learn more about the Mothman legend, as well as the strange events that gripped Point Pleasant before the disaster, here’s some recommended reading:
- The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel
- Mothman and Other Curious Encounters by Loren Coleman
- American Monsters by Linda S. Godfrey
Mothman…or a bird carrying snake?
Mothman may not be stirring up trouble in Point Pleasant these days, but that doesn’t mean he’s retired.
Chicago Mothman
While its not related to the Silver Bridge tragedy, an increasing number of encounters with a bat-like flying humanoid are being reported in the Chicago area. The most recent happened in October, when a couple was attacked in their car in Piotrowski Park. My friend Allison Jornlin of MilwaukeeGhosts.com has been investigating and sharing videos from the locations at youtube.com/mothman.
Is something bad going to happen in Chicago?
