Help! The MOTHMAN's Out There... Quiz

Answer: West Virginia

The Mothman was first sighted from November 15, 1966 to December 15, 1967, in the state of West Virginia, a mountainous state in the Appalachian region of the United States. There are two mountain ranges in West Virginia, the Allegheny and the Blue Ridge, both of which are a part of the Appalachian Mountain range.

Answer: a group of gravediggers

On November 12, five men digging a grave saw a figure fly over them. A few days, later, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette sighted the Mothman between the hours of 11:30 and midnight. They said it definitely wasn't a "flying saucer".

They saw it three times, since each time they drove away, they would get to the center of town and then turn around and go back and look for the creature. It seemed that the Mothman followed them, gliding, every time they left, but would leave them when they reached the lights of the town, so they felt he was averse to light.

Incidentally, they also said they hadn't been drinking.

Answer: 10 feet

Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette described the Mothman as a "flying man with ten foot wings". They also said it was about six to seven feet tall and of a light grey color. They were adamant it was a winged man, and not like a monster as might have been depicted in the movies.

Answer: like bicycle reflectors

Newell Partidge, a contractor in the area, told the sheriff that when he pointed his flashlight at the creature while it was in a field, its eyes glowed "like bicycle reflectors". His television set had been buzzing recently and his dog had disappeared, both of which he blamed on the Mothman.

Answer: heron

Sheriff Johnson believed that there was an extremely big heron that the people were seeing. He called it a "shitepoke", another term for heron.

Answer: Sandhill Crane

Dr. Robert L. Smith, of West Virginia University, said that the American Sandhill Crane is almost as tall as a man and has a seven foot wingspan. He also added that it has reddish coloring around the eyes. Dr. Smith felt the Sandhill Crane had perhaps wandered away from its usual migration route.

Answer: bridge collapse

On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge, an eye-bar chain suspension bridge spanning the Ohio River, collapsed during rush hour traffic, killing 46 people, two of whom were never found. The analysis was that the bridge was carrying far more of a load than it had been designed for when it was built in 1928.

It also indicated that, like a lot of our bridges, it was ill maintained. The Mothman seemed to disappear after that. Thus, people thought that the two events were related.

Answer: John Keel

In the book, John Keel wrote that residents had premonitions of the collapse of the bridge, unidentified flying object sightings, visits from strange men in black clothes, and other unexplained phenomena. There was a military storage site in the area. A 2002 movie, starring Richard Gere, was based on Mr. Keel's book. Real sorry I missed that one...

Answer: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

The game was published in 2005 by Konami and is one in a series. Mothman was also in "Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin". I hope all of the video players on FT have, or will, play the game.

Answer: Point Pleasant

The Mothman Festival was first held in 2002. In 2003, a 12-foot tall metal statue of Mothman was erected. The festival is held in September. It has information regarding the Mothman, vendors, hayrides around the area, and other things to see and do. There is even a Mothman Museum to amble through. I'm sure we'll all try to attend at some point.