10 True Stories Behind Famous Horror Movies
4. The Mothman Prophecies
This story occurs in the humble town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966 and 1967. On 15th November 1966, two young couples were driving just outside of town near an old World War II munitions factory. They claim to have spotted some sort of creature, which they described as a “flying man with ten foot wings”.
The creature was spotted multiple times over the next few days by various residents of the town, including two volunteer firemen who described the now infamous glowing red eyes of the creature. This all seemed to reach a head in 1967 with the tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge, which resulted in the deaths of 46 people. The story was popularised by author John A. Keel in his book “The Mothman Prophecies” which linked the creature to things like mysterious Men in Black and precognition.
The creature has seemingly resurfaced several time in the ensuing years since the 2002 movie took the story to a mainstream audience, though no hard evidence of the Mothman has ever been found. The town of Point Pleasant ultimately embraced their legacy though - erecting a large metallic statue of the creature and holding an annual Mothman Festival!