Case file · Non-fiction & research literature
Keel, 'The Mothman Prophecies'
John Keel's account of the 1966 to 1967 Mothman sightings, UFO reports and strange phone calls around Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
1975 CE · 38.84, -82.14 · status: account
The account
For: Keel spent time in the area interviewing witnesses, and the sightings were reported in local newspapers by multiple people; the book ties them to the Silver Bridge collapse of December 1967. Its blend of journalism and high strangeness made it a classic and the basis of a 2002 film.
The sceptical view
Against: Keel interwove his own experiences and interpretations with reportage, and the 'prophecy' link to the bridge collapse is hindsight; the creature has been explained as a large owl or heron.
Connections in the atlas
- Mothman
- Gray Barker's 'The Silver Bridge'
- John Keel
- ? What was the Mothman, and did it foretell the Silver Bridge collapse?
- The Mothman Prophecies
- The 'TNT area', Point Pleasant
- Mothman