Is Rockford's Mothman from Unsolved Mysteries real? Mystery debunked

Unsolved Mysteries is a mystery documentary series first aired on January 20, 1987. The series has over this period gone through several production houses and currently, the release of the new seasons and episodes is handled by Netflix. The new volume of the series was recently released on Netflix on July 31, 2024.

Each episode is based on the true instances of crime and paranormal activities that occurred in different parts of the world. The last episode of the series looks into the unsolved and known mystery of Mothman from the late 1960s.

As per the 1966 reports published in the Point Pleasant Register, the Mothman is a real humanoid creature that people of West Virginia and Chicago saw multiple times in the 1960s. Unsolved Mysteries delves deeper into the details of the existence of the creature and the instances that occurred back then.

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What is the story behind “The Mothman Revisited” in Unsolved Mysteries

The fifth episode of Unsolved Mysteries Volume 4 looks into the scary stories of a creature called Mothman who has scared the people for more than five decades. The episode explores the timeline of his appearance and how it has affected the witnesses over this time. It connects the different stories about Mothman from across the world and tries to solve the mystery behind it.

The story of Mothman started in 1966 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The first time Mothman was spotted was by two young couples who saw a creature with red eyes and wings near an old factory used to make weapons for World War 2. Soon some other people also reported the same things around the same time.

After the Silver Bridge fell in December 1967, it was reported that Mothman did not appear anymore after the incident. Many people believe that he was a sign of bad things to come.

Tobias Wayland, who is a paranormal investigator and is featured in the fifth episode of Unsolved Mysteries mentioned the details of the creature in the episode as said

“In the world of the paranormal, Bigfoot and UFOs are the most commonly talked about and researched. Close behind, you have winged humanoids — part human, part avian beings — which have been witnessed for centuries.”

Unsolved Mysteries showed the explanation of the creature by the witnesses who say that it is a huge creature with a human-like body and wings like a bat that is 12 to 15 feet wide. It has bright red eyes and he looks wet and shiny. Mothman reportedly had a very loud and high-pitched voice.

The belief that Mothman is a sign of bad luck and disasters occurred got stronger by the instances where people saw its presence near events like the Fukushima and Chornobyl accidents.

The show also addresses the recent sightings of Mothman in different areas of Chicago. Lon Strickler, who is a colleague of Wayland, recorded a total of 161 sightings of Mothman in Chicago.

There are also some instances when the workers saw Mothman at Chicago O’Hare airport. However, these workers are reluctant to talk about these instances because of the fear of getting mocked and losing their jobs.

In 2016, WCHS-TV published a photo of Mothman taken by an anonymous man while driving on Route 2 in Mason County. However, the photo was debunked by saying it was "a bird, perhaps an owl, carrying a frog or snake away" by Science writer Sharon A. Hill.

Wayland and Strickler's research to find out about the Mothman and solve the long-running mystery includes the contribution of the witnesses to open up about their experiences.

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Fans of mystery documentaries can watch Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix.