The Red Eyes Over Point Pleasant

June 11, 2025

You ever hear of the Mothman?

If you have, your immediate thought is probably of the statue, the shiny metal one in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Wings outstretched. Muscles flexed. A little absurd. But that’s just the postcard version. The truth is a lot stranger.

It all started in 1966.

Two young couples—Roger and Linda Scarberry, Steve and Mary Mallette—were driving near an abandoned munitions plant just outside town, a place everyone called the TNT Area. Government land left to rot after World War II, with concrete igloos half-sunk into the hills and trees growing wild where trucks used to haul gunpowder.

They said they saw something standing in the road. Tall and humanoid with wings folded behind its back. And the eyes … were big and glowing red. Not like headlights, though. Actually, not like anything they’d seen before. When they tried to drive away, the creature took off straight into the air and followed them, keeping pace as they hit over 100 miles an hour. When they got back to town, they were hysterical, saying it had a ten-foot wingspan and didn’t flap once as it flew.

That should’ve been the end of it. Just a weird story out of a weird place. But it wasn’t.

The sightings piled up … a gravedigger saw it perched in a tree. A teenage boy said it chased him through a field. Dogs went missing and cattle turned up mutilated. Appliances shorted out. Phones rang with no one there. People said they felt like they were being watched, like something was standing just beyond the tree line.

And then there were the visitors.

Men in black suits started showing up in town. One woman claimed they showed up on her porch and warned her not to speak about what she’d seen. Her TV and phone cut out after that. She swore they weren’t human.

Some folks say it all ties back to a curse. In 1777, Chief Cornstalk, the leader of the Shawnee, was murdered by American soldiers in Point Pleasant after coming to negotiate peace. With his dying breath, Chief Cornstalk supposedly cursed the land for 200 years. Floods, fires, explosions, strange accidents … they’ve all happened in and around the town ever since. They say that Mothman might be the final part of that curse.

Then came December 15, 1967.

The Silver Bridge collapsed during rush hour traffic, killing 46 people. Eyewitnesses said they saw something perched on top of the bridge days before it fell, but after that? The Mothman vanished. No sightings. Just grief.

But here’s the part that keeps people up at night: he came back.

Not in Point Pleasant, exactly. But before disasters … Chernobyl, 9/11, Fukushima. People described seeing the same figure with wings and eyes. Sometimes he appears in dreams, sometimes on rooftops, sometimes he’s caught in the corner of a photo. Always just before, always just watching.

So, what is he?

A cryptid? Or maybe a mutant bird born from chemical waste and old bombs? Could it even be an alien scout? A supernatural guardian trying to warn us? Nobody knows, but maybe that’s the point.

Today, the town of Point Pleasant honors the legend every September with the Mothman Festival. It’s got it all—costume contests, vendor booths, guided tours of the TNT Area. You can buy Mothman coffee, Mothman fudge, and even get your picture taken with the statue. It’s fun. But if you talk to the old-timers, the ones who were around in ’66, their smiles don’t quite reach their eyes.

They know what happened. And they know something’s still out there.

Wanna see it for yourself?

If you’re the type who likes your legends a little closer to home, you can actually find the old TNT bunkers—if you know where to look. There aren’t any official signs, no welcome center, no “Mothman was here” plaque. Just overgrown paths, rustling leaves, and the occasional whisper of wings if you’re out there late enough.

Head north out of Point Pleasant on Route 62 and hang a right onto Potters Creek Road (it’s also marked as Route 11). When the pavement gives out, stay right—it turns into a long, straight gravel stretch that feels more like a logging road than anything official. Take a hard right onto Park Forest 801, and drive about three-quarters of a mile. Look for a small pull-off or one of the footpaths heading off to the right. From there, it’s a short hike north into the woods. You’ll start seeing the bunkers—half-hidden, moss-covered, some wide open, others sealed tight—like something left behind on purpose.

Just keep in mind: not all of it’s public land. So go easy, be respectful, and maybe don’t wander too far off trail. The locals don’t like trespassers. And who knows what else might be watching …

While you’re in the area, swing down to the Mothman Museum in downtown Point Pleasant. It’s just six miles south and packed with eyewitness accounts, old newspaper clippings, and enough memorabilia to fill a dozen nightmares. It makes for a great photo, just… don’t turn your back on it for too long.

And if you happen to be there in September, that’s when the town really comes alive. The Mothman Festival draws people from all over—true believers, skeptics, and everyone in between. Costumes, food, tours through the TNT Area.  It’s weird, it’s wonderful, and it just might change your mind about what’s out there.