Over 100 people reported a winged humanoid 1.5 to 2.1 meters tall, with a wingspan of about 3 meters, no visible head, and a pair of large glowing red eyes on its chest. It flew with a humming sound like a generator and could disrupt television and radio signals. Two young couples fleeing by car at over 100 km/h were still followed by it. On 15 December 1967, the Silver Bridge collapsed, killing 46 people. Several witnesses claimed to have seen the red-eyed creature circling above the bridge before the disaster.
Account
Over 100 people reported a winged humanoid 1.5 to 2.1 meters tall, with a wingspan of about 3 meters, no visible head, and a pair of large glowing red eyes on its chest. It flew with a humming sound like a generator and could disrupt television and radio signals. Two young couples fleeing by car at over 100 km/h were still followed by it. On 15 December 1967, the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River collapsed, killing 46 people. Several witnesses claimed to have seen the red-eyed creature circling above the bridge before the disaster.
Debunked
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the Silver Bridge collapse was caused by a single fatigue crack in the eyebar of chain 330. The Mothman prophecy had no causal relation to the disaster. Most red-eye sightings have been attributed to barred owls, herons, or night-time misperception.
Sources
- Point Pleasant police and witness records, 1966-1967
- John Keel, The Mothman Prophecies (1975)
- NTSB Silver Bridge collapse report (1968)