Mothman: The Winged Omen?

• 1967 - Silver Point Bridge Collapse in West Virginia

  • The sightings that started it all. Mothman was officially witnessed by gravediggers in Clendenin on November 15, 1966; 395 days before the bridge collapse. Two days later, a driving couple reported seeing Mothman in Point Pleasant. This was the infamous event where the couple sped away at over 100 mph and Mothman effortlessly kept up flying behind the vehicle. Sightings continued in the coming days and newer reports continue to the present.

• 1975 - Binghamton, New York

  • There have been reports of a sighting of Mothman in Binghamton, however I was unable to locate any exact info. Maybe someone else can have better luck.

• 1978 - Mine Collapse in Freiburg, Germany

  • Early one morning, on a regular day, workers started towards the entrance of the mine. They were greeted by what appeared to be a man in a long dark coat, maybe a hat, who was boldly blocking the entrance. Initially the men backed away, until more workers arrived and they tried again. The “man” opened the “coat” to reveal huge wings that spread upwards and out. Some reports also state the creature made a threatening high pitched noise, dubbing it the Freiburg Shrieker. The workers backed away, scared, and did not attempt to approach again. They decided to try and busy themselves with tasks outside the mine, and after roughly an hour passed they were startled by a loud explosion coming from the mine and witnessed its collapse. Several dozen workers would have perished had they been in that mine working.

• 1986 - Nuclear Disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine

  • Coined The Blackbird of Chernobyl, sightings of what was described much like Mothman occurred before the famous meltdown by workers. Some state the sightings continued after as well, with the Blackbird being spotted by rescue workers helping in the aftermath. It is strongly believed, however, that this story is retroactively created. Inspired by the Mothman popularity, it’s possible this is a more modern take, not a genuine account of the event at the time. Sadly, as we know, any theorized warnings were not heeded.

• 2001 - Fall of the Twin Towers, The World Trade Center in New York City

  • The whole world remembers the day, when hijacked Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower. Less than 20 minutes later, hijacked Flight 175 struck the South Tower. In the days leading up to the attack, multiple people claimed to have witnessed a Mothman-like creature in the skies. Reports vary on whether these sightings were stated as happening before or after the attacks, but one thing is for sure, Mothman has been established as a powerful portent in the mine of the public.

• 2007 - I-35 Collapse in Minneapolis, MN

  • An ongoing construction project caused the rush hour traffic on the I-35 bridge over the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis to be extra heavy and slow going on August 1, 2007. Without warning, the bridge collapsed. 111 vehicles were taken down with the bridge, resulting in 13 deaths and 145 injured. After the disaster, people came forward claiming to have seen a Mothman-like creature up to a month before the collapse. However, like The Blackbird of Chernobyl, there is speculation that this is a mis-remembering due to the similarities to the Silver Bridge collapse.

• 2009 - Swine Flu Outbreak in La Junta, Mexico

  • Similar to the above events, reports came in of sightings of a Mothman-like creature around the area of the swine flu outbreak months to a year before it happened. The appearances are near to impossible to verify but those who’ve seen and believe, stand by their word.

• 2011-2017 - O’Hare Airport in Chicago, IL

  • In 2011, pilots and air traffic controllers started reporting seeing a large strange dark “bird” around the O’Hare airport. One can only say “Mothman-like creature” so many times, right? With these claims coming from such esteemed persons, more people came forward with sightings all over the Chicago area. There has been prominent reference to a specific video at the airport, however it seems to have been pulled as I cannot locate it. If someone does, please contact us so we can link it. Sightings continue to be reported, however the largest bulk of them seem to be from 2011-2017 and most often around the airport. I hope someone there is taking heed.