Mothman and the Thunderbird

The purpose of this report is to draw attention to similarities between a circa 1600 Indian Thunderbird artifact, and the descriptions of an anomalous and frightening figure seen repeatedly in 1967, dubbed "The Mothman."

The Mothman is one of the strangest and most terrifying of anomalous creatures ever to be recorded in America. Between November 12, 1966 and December 15, 1967, it terrorized citizens in the Point Pleasant area of West Virginia. It was said to have been encountered by at least 100 people over the course of that year.



According to author John A. Keel (The Mothman Prophecies, 1975) who was on hand investigating the reports during the time of the sightings, the creature was reported to be roughly man-shaped, either grey or brown, and between five and seven feet tall. Its body was wider than a man's. It did not appear to have a head, but rather its "eyes" were set on the upper chest. These "eyes" were very large, and alternately described as glowing red lights, or a reflected red like a bicycle reflector. (Glowing red eyes are the surest sign of a paranormal entity.) When it walked it shuffled on what appeared to be human-like legs, but no feet were ever observed. Rather than arms it had bat-like wings which it did not flap. It was always seen to glide. The non-flapping of the wings, even in ascent, is particularly disturbing. Indeed, it was reported to regularly ascend straight up like a helicopter - and again be it noted, without any wing-action. (In regards to the wings, John Keel determined that a man the size and heft of the Mothman would require 24 foot wings to be able to glide.) It was fast in flight, able to pace cars going over 100 miles an hour. In flight it emitted a humming sound and often emitted a "mouse-like squeaking." Occasionally it was heard to also emit a screeching sound something like a woman screaming. (This "woman screaming" sound is common among anomalous creatures, particularly the Bigfoot creatures.) No one who saw it was indifferent to the creature - it struck terror into the hearts of all its viewers.

On June 15, 2002 I was visiting the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard Massachusetts. While in the Indian Museum, I noticed an artifact that bore a startling resemblance to Mothman descriptions. This artifact is ten inches tall and made of copper sheet. It was recovered in Amoskeag Falls, Manchester, New Hampshire, and was probably fashioned from a copper kettle acquired through trade with Europeans during the early Contact Period, circa 1550-1630 A.D. It is attributed to the Pennacook Indians and labeled "Thunderbird."



The main difference between the Mothman descriptions and the Thunderbird artifact is that the artifact is crafted with a head, while the Mothman is typically described as having no head. The general body shape - other then the head discrepancy - is identical. The most striking similarity is the "eye" placement. The Thunderbird artifact has two holes placed on the upper chest, same as Mothman descriptions. Presently, these "eyes" on the Thunderbird artifact are being used as string holes to lace the figure to a museum stand. I inquired of the Museum Staff if the holes were meant as "eyes", or were lacing holes. They did not know, but gave their opinion that as "eyes", they were very compelling. I also asked if the holes were part of the original creation or were added later as lacing holes, but the staff was unable to provide information on this.



A New England Koasek Abenaki who is familiar with both this item and with Thunderbird lore states that, "the two holes bored into the copper at the 'chest' would have had a braintan lace knotted through them to suspend the ornament/talisman from the wearer's neck." He goes on to state that, "We have our own theories as to the significance...."

Comparison:

Loren Coleman, in his recent book Mothman & Other Curious Encounters, created a composite sketch of the Mothman based on the various reports and eyewitness testimony. A written composite of the Mothman was first published in 1970 in The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings by John Keel - and an artists rendering of a sketch drawn by Roger Scarberry who saw the the creature on November 15, 1966 first appeared in Janet and Colin Bord's 1981 book Alien Animals.



The Loren Coleman sketch is below left. To the right is a scan of the Thunderbird artifact from the book The New England Indians by C. Keith Wilbur. It may also be found in The Western Abenaki by Colin Calloway.





Assessment:

There is a startling visual resemblance between the Mothman descriptions and the Thunderbird artifact. The single difference is the head - the Thunderbird has one, Mothman doesn't. If the holes in the Thunderbird figure were intended as eyes, the identical placement of the eyes is a significant feature. With the exception of the head, the Thunderbird is a figure that exactly reproduces the Mothman descriptions.

A correspondent has this to say about the head-discrepancy: "I feel compelled to tell you that I found an important misconception in your evaluation of the Pennacook figure. The shape in the Native America figure is not a "head", but a stylized flame as shown by it's shape. This has been placed there to anthropomorphize the figure but does not show a solid head. This in my eyes makes the figures identical."

(While on the subject of heads, it is interesting to note that in 1952 in Flatwoods West Virginia a towering entity with glowing eyes and a "head shaped like an ace of spades" was seen by multiple witnesses. The "ace of spades" shape is a good description of the head on the Pennacook Thunderbird artifact.)

A second resemblance is its perceived disposition: the citizens of Point Pleasant felt terrorized by the Mothman - the Thunderbird was a figure of dread and fear in the culture of the Pennacook craftsman who created the copper figure.



There is more correspondence between the artifact and composite sketch than between physical descriptions of the Mothman and traditional descriptions of the Thunderbird. The traditional descriptions of the Thunderbird tend to represent a gigantic bird, while the Mothman is described as a winged man-like figure.



However, in either case, both had glowing red eyes - a telling clue - and flew, and were beings of dread. From behind, a large walking Thunderbird bird would resemble a Mothman being. The oddly raised shoulders of the Mothman would correspond to the hunched up wings of a shuffling bird. Both are recorded as shuffling. It is also significant that Thunderbird lore states that giant raptors when walking could be mistaken at night for a human.



Interestingly, both the Mothman and Thunderbird are recorded as flying without flapping their wings. The Mothman is always recorded this way, the Thunderbird only occasionally. However, the occasions it is sighted in "paranormal" non-flapping flight, are also the occasions it is observed to have glowing red eyes.

Conclusions:

The Pennacook Abenaki Thunderbird artifact has been labeled a "Bad8gi" Thunder Being by the modern Koasek Abenaki. The "Mothman" sketch is a composite of over 100 witness accounts from 1966. Both items are visually similar, and significant portions of their lore - the paranormal portions - overlap. One assumes there is a connection, a commonalty. But are they the same being?

The initial question may not be whether there is a strange "Mothman" creature that troubled folks in West Virginia, or whether there really is or was a Thunderbird being that the Pennacook of New Hampshire and other Algonquin speaking tribes of New England feared - the point is that both cultures have legend of it, and images of this creature (in this case composite sketch and copper artifact) - with the exception of the head motif in this instance - are identical.



Secondly, it would appear that this is a case of significant correspondence between anomalous-appearing beings, rather than sightings of a real yet unknown species (such as a large bird). The constants between the Mothman and Thunderbird are in the paranormal aspects. If they are the same creature, they are a paranormal one.



Thirdly, in regards to the Thunderbird, there appears to be two situations happening simultaneously: a paranormal red-eyed anomalous entity, and the possibility of a large unknown raptor akin to the Teratornis Merriami. This does not apply to the Mothman or his kin - the Mothman has always proved himself to be paranormal.



If there are indeed strange paranormal beings in the world, perhaps they are definable by types - much in the way the reports of lake monsters and Bigfoot are recognizable "types." If so, whatever produces these phenomena appears to be consistent in its types. I find it curious that two cultures separated by 400 years, 750 miles, and dissimilar cultures have recorded a particular "type" in almost exact detail.



I would say that there are grounds for suggesting that the good folks at Point Pleasant in 1966 and the fine Abenaki Pennacook of sixteenth century New Hampshire were reporting images of the same being - whatever that being may really be.

Copyright 2002 & 2003 by Daniel V. Boudillion

For full article, visit here: Mothman

Written Sketch of Mothman by John Keel

Compiled by more than 100 eyewitness accounts





Height: Between five and seven feet tall. Usually described as "taller than a good-sized man."



Breadth: Broad at the top with a slight taper downwards. Always described as "very broad, much broader than a man."



Covering: Witnesses have been unable to determine if it is clothed or covered in skin. Generally described as being grey, though some thought it was brown, One witness thought it was covered with grey fur. Daylight sightings by others do not substantiate this.



Head: Seen from the back it appears to have no head. Few witnesses reported seeing any face at all.



Eyes: Self-luminous, bright red, approximately two to three inches in diameter, set wide apart. Witnesses say the eyes are set in near the top of the shoulders.



Legs: Man-like. No witness has ever been able to describe the feet.



Arms: None. No witness has ever reported seeing arms.



Wings: Folded against the back when not in use. Wingspread, everyone agrees, is about ten feet. Bat-like. Do not flap in flight.



Carriage: Animal walks erect like a man. Does not stoop like a bear or ape. Moves its legs in shuffling manner. Some said it "waddled."



Sound: Loud squeaks, like a mouse. One witness said it sounded "like a squeaky fan belt." Two witnesses testified they heard a mechanical humming sound as the creature flew overhead.



Speed: It is said to have kept pace with automobiles moving seventy to one hundred mph. Few birds can achieve this in level flight. Pilot witnesses estimated it was traveling at least seventy mph in level flight without flapping its wings.


Mothman's European Relatives:

The Mothman and his kin seem to get around. The following are reports of winged "human-shaped" entity sightings.



Sweden, 1946: During the "ghost rocket" episode, the Swedes were also reporting huge winged creatures without heads.



Kent England 1963: Four teenagers saw a black figure shuffle towards them, "It was the size of a human ... but it didn't seem to have any head ... there were huge wings on it back - like bat wings." (Mervyn Hutchinson)



Mawnan Cornwall, 1976: Two 14 year old girls and a 12 year old saw a hissing "owl man" accompanied by a hissing noise. Sally Chapman: "It was like a big owl with pointed ears, as big as a man. The eyes were red and glowing ... its feet were like pincers." Barbara Perry: "It was horrible, a nasty owl-face with big ears and big red eyes. It was covered with grey feathers. The claws in its feet were black. It flew straight up...." (See June Mellings sketch below.)



Note the headlessness in the Swedish and English accounts, and the glowing red eyes, grey feathers, and ability to fly straight up on the Cornwall accounts. All are reported attributes of the American Mothman. The grey feathers, the shuffle-walk, and the red eyes are shared by both the Mothman and the Thunderbird.

June Melling's sketch of Cornish Owl Man:




Cornish Owl Man - Melling Sketch

Note: the eyes and head set down in the shoulders creates the

same "headless red-eyed" silhouette as the Mothman.


Artists rendering of Roger Scarberry's 1966 Mothman sketch:


Mothman - Scarberry Sketch

This being really caught my attention while I was watching an episode of Paranormal State today on my computer. An interesting theory posed by PRS is that Mothman may not be terrorizing people but trying to get their attention to warn them of impending danger. It was noted that all of the people on the silver bridge that collapsed at Point Pleasant, West Virginia had seen the mothman. Sightings dwindled dramatically after the bridge collapsed killing 46 of the 59 people using it day during peak hour traffic.

Although there are reports of mothman carrying people off never to be seen again, there is no evidence they were killed. Where are the bodies? If this is a paranormal creature, it could be transporting people to safety in another dimension or place here on earth and erasing their memories (just postulation - no proof of this). Most amazing of all, the bridge that collapsed and the army ammunition bunkers were built on Native American Indian land...the bridge in particular was built after a memorial statue to an Indian Chief killed by white men, who went by the name of Cornstalk was bulldozed. Cornstalk's remaining relatives placed a curse on the town for 200 years. Sacred Indian land was destroyed to make way for Secret army bunkers where top secret experiments were carried out. These experiments involved toxic chemicals and this has been put forward as a possible explanation for how mothman came into being...but then there is the comparison with the thunderbird and sightings of something very similar in other countries. I don't think we have uncovered the truth here yet. Mothman/Thunderbird would appear to be similar and a type of species of entity with multidimensional qualities. If, as PRS suggests he/she is an alien entity trying to warn people of danger, I can think of one covert group in particular who would be keen to spread disinformation and shut this group of entities down. What if that same group orchestrated the Silver Bridge collapse to implicate the Mothman and kill two birds with one stone literally?

Just my thoughts...the more I look, the more I see the links. There are evil creatures in this world, but most of them are flesh and blood, not paranormal.

I've heard of this 'mothman' in stories when I was little and honestly I have never been so terrified in my life. It gives me the creeps to the absolute max (regardless of whether it is fact or fantasy) ... even today. Perhaps it is an entity that has been conjured up? It reminds me of a few of the mythological creatures spoken of in Aboriginal dreamtime stories.

It is too bizarre ... yes, even coming from me, the Sirian space cadet.

And maybe that is what whoever conjured or brought this creature to life intended. But lately I am seeing a deeper undercurrent that connects so many things and that undercurrent is designed to cause fear so that people are more easily controlled...when we fear something our instinct is to run...but what if we are running from the wrong monsters right into the waiting claws of an even bigger more dangerous monster?

Taken from this site: http://www.boudillion.com/Moth/mothman.html
The main difference between the Mothman descriptions and the Thunderbird artifact is that the artifact is crafted with a head, while the Mothman is typically described as having no head. The general body shape - other then the head discrepancy - is identical. The most striking similarity is the "eye" placement. The Thunderbird artifaThe main difference between the Mothman descriptions and the Thunderbird artifact is that the artifact is crafted with a head, while the Mothman is typically described as having no head. The general body shape - other then the head discrepancy - is identical. The most striking similarity is the "eye" placement. The Thunderbird artifact has two holes placed on the upper chest, same as Mothman descriptions. Presently, these "eyes" on the Thunderbird artifact are being used as string holes to lace the figure to a museum stand. I inquired of the Museum Staff if the holes were meant as "eyes", or were lacing holes. They did not know, but gave their opinion that as "eyes", they were very compelling. I also asked if the holes were part of the original creation or were added later as lacing holes, but the staff was unable to provide information on this.



A New England Koasek Abenaki who is familiar with both this item and with Thunderbird lore states that, "the two holes bored into the copper at the 'chest' would have had a braintan lace knotted through them to suspend the ornament/talisman from the wearer's neck." He goes on to state that, "We have our own theories as to the significance...."

Tried to find what that indian's theory was, but so far, nothing.

I think this must be the Indian reference ... a bird-man creature that features in mythology called "the garuda". Perhaps?

I'm sure I read somewhere once someone had speculated before that the mothman was this creature ... although it being mythical, he was basically alluring to the fact it is an urban legend. However, I don't think it is the same thing as the creature referenced as the 'thunderbird' .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda

http://www.khandro.net/mysterious_garuda.htm

Moonie might know some specifics ...

It is a very strange and fascinating incident. Cool images, by the way. Wonder what that thing really is/was.