Point Pleasant still benefits from legend of Mothman

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. -- A quick stroll up Main Street is enough to learn who this river town's most famous resident is:~ The town's Mothman Museum convincingly bills itself as the world's only such institution

His name is on signs, in shop windows and restaurants, and there's even a museum devoted to him.

And the sculpture in the middle of town prominently depicts his enormous wings and glowing red eyes.

More than 40 years after the first reported sighting of the mysterious creature later dubbed "Mothman," residents here have embraced his legend, helping to turn the town into a destination for people in search of an offbeat tourism experience.

But while there's no local consensus on the veracity of the stories, most agree that Mothman is good for business.

Anita Newman of Village Pizza held a Mothman pizza recently in Point Pleasant, W.Va. (JEFF GENTNER ~ Associated Press)

"It's helped the town, it's actually helped with business recruitment," said Ruth Finley, who owns the 106-year-old Lowe Hotel on Main Street along with her husband. "People come because of Mothman and they stay at the hotel, they go to the restaurants."

Every September, Point Pleasant hosts the weekend-long Mothman Festival, which draws about 2,000 people a year to this town of roughly 4,500 at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio rivers.

Walking along Main Street, conventioneers can have their picture taken near the statue, drink a "Mothman Frappachino" (advertised in a local cafe window) and drop into the Mothman Museum, which convincingly bills itself as the world's only such institution.

Fiction and nonfiction

Inside, they can look over everything from handwritten eyewitness accounts of Mothman sightings to voluminous newspaper clippings to props from the 2002 Richard Gere film "The Mothman Prophecies," which helped boost interest in the creature and Point Pleasant.

Jeremy Pitchford, an employee at the 2-year-old museum, said it's a valuable repository for a side of Point Pleasant that few were willing to even discuss until recently.

"This has been something that's been kind of suppressed, in a way," he said. "A lot of people never knew that Point Pleasant had anything like its own folklore."

The first sighting was reported on Nov. 15, 1966, by a group of people in an area of town known as TNT, the site of a former World War II munitions plant. Others later came forward to say they had seen a gray creature about 7 feet tall with bright red eyes and wings like a bird.

The sightings ended abruptly on Dec. 15, 1967, the day of the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which linked Point Pleasant to Ohio. Forty-six people were killed, and ever since people have speculated on whether the sightings were connected to the tragedy.

During the Mothman convention, tourists drive out to TNT hoping to catch a glimpse of the creature, but usually have to settle for a more prosaic version: the Mothman pizza made at Village Pizza.

A genuinely unique creation, the $10 pie depicts the fearsome creature with eyes made of red and green peppers dotted by an olive pupil, mushroom wings and a pepperoni body. It's such a classic that Bill Ward knew he had to leave it on the menu when he bought the restaurant four years ago.

"We sell a lot of them when the convention's in town," he said.

Even when it's not convention time, the town has its share of Mothman visitors, including film crews. Recently, a crew shooting an episode for the new A&E series "Paranormal State" was in town, and the Lowe Hotel has hosted crews from as far away as Japan and Australia.

But some chafe at the notion that Point Pleasant is best-known for reputed visits from a winged creature with glowing eyes. In fact, the town is rich in real American history, from the Revolutionary War to the era when steamboat traffic crowded the Ohio and Kanawha rivers.

"With all the history we have here, what do people come here for? That darn Mothman," said Jack Fowler, executive director of the Point Pleasant River Museum.

River museum

A few blocks down Main Street from the Mothman statue, the river museum includes historical exhibits and archives on everything from the steamboat trade to the 1967 Silver Bridge disaster. With plans to expand and add an aquarium in partnership with Marshall University, Mothman is distinctly out of place here.

Out of place, but not entirely absent: the river museum sells copies of a book about Mothman.

"I always said there would never be anything about Mothman in this museum," sighed Fowler. "But when the convention's happening, so many people come in here and ask about it."

Although he's not keen on Mothman, Fowler has made his peace with the creature's local backers. The river museum and the Mothman Museum have a reciprocal relationship, directing curious visitors to each other's exhibits. It's a way to let tourists see all sides of Point Pleasant, Fowler and Pitchford say.

"The great thing is, it brings in people from all over," Finley said. "They may come here for Mothman, but once they're here it's our responsibility to show them why they should come back."

If you go

• GETTING THERE: Point Pleasant, W.Va., sits along the Ohio River, about two hours south of Columbus, Ohio, and roughly 50 miles from both Charleston and Huntington.
• MOTHMAN MUSEUM: 411 Main St.; www.mothmanmuseum.com/. Open daily noon-6 p.m. Adults, $3; children 9 and under, $1. Private group tours can be arranged two weeks in advance for other times.
• POINT PLEASANT RIVER MUSEUM: 28 Main St.; www.pprivermuseum.com/ or 304-674-0144. Open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Sundays, 1-5 p.m. Closed Mondays. Adults, $4; children, $1.
• THE LOWE HOTEL: 401 Main St.; 304-675-2260. Rooms start at $68 per night.