- Q: Was "The Mothman Prophecies" movie from Sony Pictures based on true events like the credits claim?
- A: Yes and no! As you will find on this website, this is no "Blair Witch" story, although the facts in the movie fall short of revealing the entire truth of what actually happened in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It was, after all, a Hollywood movie.
- Q: Was the movie filmed in Point Pleasant, WV?
- A: No. About 95% of the movie was shot in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. The reasons the producers gave for this is that the production crew was based in Pittsburgh, near Kittanning. This cut production costs immensely.
Q: Are the people of Point Pleasant, WV upset about the movie being filmed somewhere other than Point Pleasant itself?
- A: That's about a 50/50 split. Half feel it would have brought some money to the city, half are glad they didn't have to go through the nightmare of the city being practically "shut down" while the movie would have been in production. As for the residents of Kittanning, some said the money helped the city, by some said the "blocked-off-streets" were a nightmare.
- Q: What were the main aspects of the Mothman phenomena?
- A: The Mothman sightings themselves, the Men in Black (MIB) experiences, and UFO sightings.
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- The Mothman was sighted in Point Pleasant, WV and surrounding areas by well over 100 people. Dates of the sightings ranged beginning November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. (Some eyewitnesses maintain they have seen the creature in the time period after those dates.)
The descriptions of the creature have fallen into 3 major categories, as follows:
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- 1) "The Creature" Most eyewitnesses described the creature as having the torso of a muscular human, a mixture of gray/green/brown in color and approximately 7 feet tall; the wings being leathery, like that of a bat, with “possible” sporadic feathers, and approximately 10-12 feet when spread. The eyes in 99% of the sightings are described as being bright-red and hypnotizing. The eyes are also described as being reflective of light, but glowing and “much” more intensive than a normal animal. When in the presence of the creature, eyewitness describe a “helpless” or “hypnotizing” feeling, such as not being able to run, walk, or in some cases even move. The gaze of the eyes is also described to be the deciding factor of not being able to describe the facial features. When eyewitnesses describe the hypnotization, they describe it as being drawn in by the eyes, and everything else becoming a blur of vision.
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- 2) "The Humanoid" The next frequent description is having the torso of a muscular human approximately 6-7 feet tall, with flesh the color of a Caucasian human, including sporadic traces of dark body hair; the wings being feathered, ashen-white in color, and again approximately 10-12 feet when spread. The eyes and “hypnotization” are described the same as above.
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- 3) "The Bird" The last, yet still frequent, description is that of a dark-colored bird. The bird-related descriptions are generally the same. Dark-brown or dark-gray feathers, its head always tucked close to where its shoulders are considered to be, with the same wingspan as described above, or a little less. The red eyes are only associated with a handful of these bird descriptions, and very few are described as “bright” or “hypnotizing.”
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- Keep in mind that there are other descriptions, as well, but far too diverse to list here. The descriptions listed above are far and away the most frequent.
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- The Men in Black (MIB)
The MIB experiences were the most important facts missed by the movie The Mothman Prophecies. However, the lack of people willing to talk about their experiences was certainly a deciding factor in minimal information obtainable by the Sony Pictures research department.
The MIB were thought to be one of two things by the majority of the people who experienced them in the Point Pleasant, WV area. Some thought them to be a sort of alien life form from another planet or astral plane and some thought them to be from the government, the U.S. government and/or from another country.
The phrase most coined by the MIB was, "You didn't see anything. Do you understand?" The phrase is as generic as it is old, but it has been described by many in the area. There was never an expression on their faces when they spoke the phrase, before or after.
One young woman was the victim of an attempted abduction by two of these men as she check her mail at the end of her driveway. She returned running to her house, clothing tattered and torn, and hid, terrified.
The most usual explanation of the MIB in the area at the time was that they were sent to discourage anyone from reporting what they had seen to the local newspapers.
The MIB was also thought to have had a direct link with the Mothman in some form and used its presence to divert peoples' attention away from what they may be doing at the time in a separate location. The connections begin to fit together.
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- The UFO Sightings
Hundreds of UFO sightings were reported during the time period of the Mothman sightings. Some locals actually report making an evening of UFO hunting! Some residents of the area would drive to known "hotspots" of UFO activities, bring a cooler, and sit on the hood of their cars waiting for the nightly show.
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