This is a chronological listing of documented sightings and events with names, locations and dates. This page is useful for giving context to Mothman stories and keeping track of content on The Mothman Wiki.
Sightings are bullet pointed, events are in brackets and Mothman sightings are in bold.
<1966 Hindsight:
Sightings and events that occurred before the original Mothman reports in 1966.
[ The Number 13 ]
[ The Devil's Tea Tables In West Virginia ]
[ Grave Creek Mound, 250 - 150 BC ]
[ Chief Cornstalk, born in 1720 ]
[ Fort Randolph, built in 1776 ]
[ The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, opened 1864 ]
[ Charles Fort, born August 6th 1874 ]
- The Missing Thunderbird Photo, 1890
- (Crimean Crow) Five Russian Soilders, Crimean Battlefield, March 14th mid1850's
[ The West Virginia State Penitentiary, opened 1876 ]
- (Flying Machines) W.H. Smith, New York, September 18th 1877
- (Flying Machines) C.A. Youngman and Ben Flexner, Kentucky Louisville, July 29th 1880
- (Flying Machines) New York, September 12th 1880
- (Thunderbird) Deputy Nihiser and Peter Swadley, West Virginia, February 1895
- (Flying Machines) Mayor Wells, Mount Vernon, Illinois, April 16th 1897
1900's / The 20th Century Begins:
[ The Historic Lowe Hotel In Point Pleasant WV, Built In 1901 ]
[ Ivan Terence Sanderson, born January 30th 1911 ]
[ Gray Barker, born May 2nd 1925 ]
[ Frank Frazetta, born February 9th 1928 ]
[ John Keel, born March 25th 1930 ]
[ The TNT Area, opened in 1942 ]
[ Joe Nickell, born December 1st 1944 ]
[ Jerome Clark, born November 27th 1946 ]
[ Cryptozoology, term coined by Ivan Sanderson in the 1940's ]
[ Loren Coleman, born July 12th 1947 ]
[ "Flying Saucers" becomes a social phenomenon, 1947 ]
- (Flying Machines) Bernice Zaikowski, Chehalis Washington, January 6th 1948
- (Flying Machines) Viola Johnson and James Pittman, Washington, April 9th 1948
- (Flying Machines) Resident, Butte Oregon, September 16th 1948
[ FATE Magazine, started in 1948 ]
1952 Flatwoods Monster Reports Begin In WV:
- (Flatwoods Monster) Woodrow Eagle, below Gassaway on the Elk River near Sugar Creek WV, Sept 12th 1952
- (Flatwoods Monster) Edward May, Fred May, Kathleen May, Neil Nunley, Ronnie Shaver and Eugene Lemon, Flatwoods WV, September 12th 1952
- (Flatwoods Monster) George and Edith Snitowsky, road between Gassaway and Frametown WV, September 12th 1952
- (Flatwoods Monster) A Birch River resident, circling the Flatwoods Area, September 12th or 13th 1952
- (Flatwoods Monster) Unknown, James Knob WV, September 12th or 13th 1952
- (Flatwoods Monster) Woman and her mother, eleven miles away from Flatwoods WV, Sept 12th or 13th 1952
- (Flatwoods Monster) Director of the local Board of Education, Flatwoods WV, 6:30 a.m. on Sept 13th 1952
[ The term UFO is coined, 1953 ]
[ Men In Black enter UFO'lore via Albert Bender's story, 1953 ]
[ Jadoo by John Keel, released 1957 ]
-
1960 Reports of Apple Devils Begin In WV:
- (Apple Devils) W. C "Doc" Priestly, near Marlington WV, Summer 1960
- (Apple Devils) A Group of Campers, northern end of the Monongahela Forest WV, Summer 1960
- (Apple Devils) Orchard workers, Pocahontas County WV, Summer 1960
- (Apple Devils) Charles Stover, Hickery Flats WV, December 30th 1960
-
- (Mothman) Woman, Point Plesant WV, 1961
- (Red Eyed Monster / MOTHMAN?) Shirley Hensley, Huntington, West Virginia, 1961-64
- (Grafton Monster) Robert Cockrell, Riverside Drive WV, June 16th 1965
- (Mothman) Woman, Ohio River, 1965
[ Wave of UFO reports in Michigan, March 1966 ]
[ Ohio police claim to have chased UFO, April 16th 1966 ]
1966 - 1967 Mothman Reports, Point Pleasant WV:
Starting roughly in 1966, people in the state of West Virginia and other surrounding areas reported seeing a flying winged humanoid creature with red eyes that the newspapers dubbed "Mothman". Most of the reports came from the town of Point Pleasant, the big story that caught media attention and started the legend was the Scarberry and Mallette sighting that took place on November 15th 1966. Most of the other previous sightings were reported after this event. The Influx of reports was ended by the collapse of The Silver Bridge on December 15th 1967. It was thirteen month period of strangeness.
[ Village Pizza (Formerly Tiny's Diner) ]
[ Roger Scarberry's 1957 Chevy ]
January 1st - October 31st 1966:
[ John Keel begins investigating UFOs, 1966 ]
[ Unidentified Flying Objects Seen In West Virginia 1966 ]
- (Mothman) Woman, Ohio Valley, Summer 1966
- (Mothman) Mrs. Ikart And several adults, Scott Mississippi, September 1st 1966
November 1st - 14th 1966:
- (Mothman) National Guardsmen, Point Pleasant WV, November 1st 1966
- (Indrid Cold) Woodrow Derenberger, Parkersburg WV, November 2nd 1966
[ The Woodrow Derenberger Interview, November 3rd 1966 ]
- (Mothman) Kenneth Duncan, Clendenin WV, November 12th 1966
- (Mothman) Merle Partridge, Salem WV, November 14th 1966
November 15th 1966:
[ Original Mothman Police Reports, Written November 15th - 18th 1966 ]
November 16th 1966:
[ "Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something" Newspaper, released November 16th 1966 ]
[ "Winged, Red-Eyed 'Thing' Chases Point Couples Across Countryside" Newspaper, released Nov 16th 1966 ]
November 17th 1966:
[ "Four Pt. Pleasant Car Occupants See 'Bird-Like Creature'" Newspaper, released November 17th 1966 ]
[ "Owl? Goose? Prank: Or Take Your Choice" Newspaper, released November 17th 1966 ]
[ "Mason Countians Hunt 'Moth Man'" Newspaper, released November 17th 1966 ]
[ "City Getting 'The Bird,' Want It Or Not" Newspaper, released November 17th 1966 ]
November 18th 1966:
[ "Monster No Joke For Those Who Saw It" Newspaper, released November 18th 1966 ]
[ "Couples Say They Saw 6-Ft. 100-mph ‘Bird'" Newspaper, released November 18th 1966 ]
[ "Mason County has 'Flying' Mystery" Newspaper, released November 18th 1966 ]
[ "'Flying Man' Seen Here, Man Claims" Newspaper, released November 18th 1966 ]
[ "Eight People Say They Saw 'Creature'" Newspaper, released November 18th 1966 ]
[ "'Birdman' Could Be FHS Balloon" Newspaper, released November 18th 1966 ]
[ "Could the 'Moth Man' Be Balloon?" Newspaper, released November 18th 1966 ]
[ "Red Eyed 'Winged Monster' Sighted in W. Virginia" Newspaper, released November 18th 1966 ]
November 19th 1966:
[ "Wild Story Produced in Wildlife Preserve" Newspaper, released November 1966 ] ?
[ "Night Rider In Sky Afraid of Lights" Newspaper, released November 1966 ] ?
[ 'Red-Eyed Creature' Reported in W. Va. Newspaper, released November 19th 1966 ]
[ "Four More Claim Seeing Big Red-Eyed Bird" Newspaper, released November 1966 ] ?
[ "That Mothman: Would You Believe A Sandhill Crane?" Newspaper, released November 19th 1966 ]
[ Our ‘Bird’ Has Law On Its Side" Newspaper released November 19th 1966 ]
November 20th 1966:
- (Mothman) Couple, Point Ferry Branch, November 20th 1966
- (Mothman) Howard Miller, Dixie Nicholas County, November 20th 1966
- (Mothman) Six teenagers, Campbell's Creek WV, November 20th 1966
- (Mothman) Brenda Jones and four others, Campbell's Creek WV, November 20th 1966
November 21st - 25th 1966:
[ "Mason Bird Monster Presumed Gone Now" Newspaper, released November 22nd 1966 ]
[ "Oh, That 'Bird!' It Was Seen Again" Newspaper, released November 25th 1966 ]
November 26th - 27th 1966:
- (Mothman) Ruth Foster, St. Albans WV, November 26th 1966
- (Mothman) Marvin Shock and Ewing Tilton, Cat Creek Ohio November 26th 1966
- (Mothman) Woman and thirteen year old, Charleston WV, November 26th - 27th 1966
- (Mothman) Shelia Cain and her younger sister, St. Albans WV, November 27th 1966
- (Mothman) Connie Carpenter, Mason County WV, November 27th 1966
November 28th - 30th 1966:
[ "Haunting Creature Seen Twice" Newspaper, released November 1966 ]
- (Mothman) Bob Bosworth and Alan Coates, TNT Area North Power Plant WV, November 1966
- (Mothman) Faye Dewitt-Leport with her siblings, Point Pleasant WV, November 1966
- (Men In Black) Faye Dewitt-Leport and her brother, TNT Area, November 1966
- (Mothman) Lawrence Gray, Jefferson Avenue Pt Pleasant WV, Fall 1966
December 1st - 6th 1966:
[ "Strange plane turns out to be 'bird'" Newspaper, December 5th 1966 ]
- (Mothman) Mailman, Maysville Kentucky, December 6th 1966
- (Mothman) Two adults, TNT Area Pt Pleasant WV, December 6th 1966
December 8th 1966:
[ John Keel first arrives in Point Pleasant West Virginia, Wednesday Dec 7th 1966 - Dec 8th 1966 ]
- (Mothman) Four women, Ohio Athens-Hocking County, December 7th 1966
- (Mothman) Around five people, The TNT Area, December 7th 1966
December 9th - 30th 1966:
[ "Giant Owl Killed On Area Farm" Newspaper, December 22nd 1966 ]
[ "Not Mason Mothman, Is It An Owl?" Newspaper, December 22nd 1966 ]
January - February 1967:
[ "Mystery Bird Seen Flying Over Avenue" Newspaper, January 1967 ]
[ Where The Waters Mingle by Mary Hyre January 22nd 1967 ]
[ Where The Waters Mingle by Mary Hyre January 29th 1967 ]
- (Men In Black) Mary Hyre, Newspaper Office WV, January 1967
- (Men In Black) Connie Carpenter, Mason County WV, February 22nd 1967
March - April 1967:
[ John Keel stays in Point Pleasant, Late March 1967 - April 6th 1967 ]
[ March 1967 Mary Hyre's Letters To John Keel ]
[ Where The Waters Mingle by Mary Hyre March 5th 1967 ]
[ "Point Pleasant Area Sightings Continue" Newspaper, March 20th 1967 ]
[ April 1967 Mary Hyre's Letters To John Keel ]
[ Where The Waters Mingle by Mary Hyre April 2nd 1967 ]
[ Where The Waters Mingle by Mary Hyre April 9th 1967 ]
[ Where The Waters Mingle by Mary Hyre April 30th 1967 ]
May - July 1967:
[ May 1967 Mary Hyre's Letters To John Keel ]
(Men In Black) Mary Hyre, Streets of Pt Pleasant WV, May 5th 1967
(Men In Black / Phantom Photographer) Mary Hyre, Her home, May 8th 1967
(Men In Black / Phantom Photographer) John Keel, 42nd and 3rd Avenue NY, Spring 1967
[ 25 Years At The Messenger Brought Laughs, Tears by Mary Hyre. May 8th 1967 ]
[ June 1967 Mary Hyre's Letters To John Keel ]
[ July 1967 Mary Hyre's Letters To John Keel ]
August - December 1967
[ August - December 1967 Mary Hyre's Letters To John Keel ]
[ John Keel visits Point Pleasant again November 1967 ]
[ Where The Waters Mingle by Mary Hyre November 16th 1967 ]
[ The Silver Bridge Collapse, December 15th 1967 ]
(Men In Black) Mary Hyre, Newspaper Office WV, December 22nd 1967
[ Known Animal Explanations for Mothman]
[ John Keel's Point Pleasant Notebook ]
1968 - 1974:
After the events in Point Pleasant and press reports but before John Keel released his Mothman Prophecies book.
- (Winged Humanoid) Soviet patrolmen, Amur River in the Primorskiy Kray Region, 1968
- (Winged Humanoid) Unidentified hunter, Northern Siberia, 1968
- (Flying Machines) Businesssman, Arlington Virginia, Winter 1968-69
- (Winged Woman of Vietnam) Earl Morrison, Da Nang Vietnam, August 1969
[ Harris Steakhouse AKA The Mothman Diner, 1969 ]
[ Strange Creatures From Time And Space by John Keel, released 1970 ]
[ Operation Trojan Horse by John Keel, released 1970 ]
[ "Point Correspondent Mary Hyre Dies at 54" Newspaper, February 17th 1970 ]
[ Our Haunted Planet by John Keel, released 1971 ]
- (White Thing) Seven year old boy, The TNT Area WV, July 1973
- (Mothman) Virginia M. Miller, Elma New York, October 1974
1975 - 2001:
Sightings and events taking place after the release of John Keel's Mothman Prophecies book but before the movie adaptation and more mainstream popularity.
[ The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel, released 1975 ]
[ The Eighth Tower by John Keel, released 1975 ]
[ 1976 Owlman Reports Begin In Cornwall, England ]
- (Owlman) June and Vicky Melling, Mawnan Cornwall England, April 17th 1976
- (Owlman) Sally Chapman and Barbara Perry, Mawnan Cornwall England, July 3rd 1976
[ WV Farm Museum, started in 1976 ]
- (Dover Demon) Bill Bartlett, Dover Massachusetts, April 21st 1977
- (Dover Demon) John Baxtor, Miller Hill Road Massachusetts, April 21st 1977
- (Dover Demon) Abby Brabham, Springdale Avenue Massachusetts, April 22nd 1977
- (Owlman) Mawnan Cornwall England, June and August 1978
- (Giant Bird) Edward Cook, Wyoming County WV, August 1978
- (Freiburg Shrieker) Miners, Freiburg Germany, September 1978
[ David Letterman Interviews John Keel, July 28th 1980 ]
[ Disneyland of the Gods by John Keel, released 1988 ]
[ The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel is reprinted, 1991 ]
[ John Keel's March 1991 FATE Article ]
[ The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, closed 1994 ]
[ The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings (revised version of Strange Creatures from Time and Space) by John Keel, released 1994 ]
- (White Thing) Former Navy seaman, Forrest WV, 1994
- (White Thing) Two Children, Boone County WV, 1994
[ The West Virginia State Penitentiary, closed 1995 ]
[ Men In Black Movie, Released 1997 ]
[ The X-Files: "Detour" episode, aired November 23rd 1997 ]
[ "Mason County 'Mothman' has his resurrection on TV" Newspaper, released Nov/Dec 1997 ]
- (White Thing) Two Campers, Boone County WV, 1999
- (Winged Humanoid) Two Pensioners, Moscow Russia, 1999
[ The Mothmanlives Website, 2000 ]
- (Mothman) Steven Moran, New York, September 11th 2001
- (Flying Machine) Man, Bristol Connecticut, November 4th 2001
- (Red Eyeshine) Linda, Slip Hill WV, 2001
[ Men in Black: The Animated Series, 2001 ]
[ Point Pleasant Interview With Actor Will Patton, 2001 ]
2002> Publicity:
After Mothman achieved mainstream influence.
[ "Reporter's night went by without Mothman sighting" Newspaper, released January 1st 2002 ]
[ Mothman and other curious encounters by Loren Coleman, released January 1st 2002 ]
[ The Mothman Prophecies Movie, released January 25th 2002 ]
[ Mothman Prophecies by John Keel is reprinted, 2002 ]
[ The "Search For The Mothman" Documentary, released January 2002 ]
[ "Memories of Mothman" Newspaper, released February 14th 2002 ]
[ Mothman on Unsolved Mysteries TV show, aired July 29th 2002 ]
[ Mothman Festival, started 2002 ]
[ 1st Annual Mothman Festival, November 16th 2002 ]
- (Winged Humanoid) Man, Tbilisi Georgia, 2002
[ Bob Roach's MothMan Statue, 2003 ]
[ False Mothman Photos - 2003 and 2008 ]
[ The River Museum, May 1st 2003 ]
[ 2nd Annual Mothman Festival, September 13th 2003 ]
[ Mothman Death List, August 2004 ]
[ 3rd Annual Mothman Festival, September 18th and 19th 2004 ]
[ The Mothman Museum, opened 2005 ]
[ Mothman...Behind The Red Eyes by Jeff Wamsley, released on April 1st 2005 ]
[ 4th Annual Mothman Festival, September 16th and 17th 2005 ]
[ 5th Annual Mothman Festival, September 16th and 17th 2006 ]
- (Manbat / Winged Humanoid) Awohali, Wisconsin, September 2006
- (Flying Chupacabra) J.C Property Owner, an de Azucar Chile, April 7th 2007
- (Flying Chupacabra) A.R Farmhand, Pan de Azucar Chile, April 7th 2007
- (Flying Chupacabra) Local residents Pan de Azucar Chile, April 2007
- (Mothman) Woman, Stewartville Minnesota, June 27th 2007
[ 'John Keel On Mothman' September 2007 FATE Article ]
[ 6th Annual Mothman Festival, September 15th and 16th 2007 ]
[ "'Mothman' still a frighteningly big draw for tourists" Newspaper, released January 19th 2008 ]
[ Return to Point Pleasant Comic Book, released September 1st 2008 ]
[ 7th Annual Mothman Festival, September 20th and 21st 2008 ]
[ 8th Annual Mothman Festival, September 19th and 20th 2009 ]
[ MonsterQuest's Mothman Episode, aired February 10th 2010 ]
[ Mothman 2010 Syfy Movie, April 24th 2010 ]
[ 9th Annual Mothman Festival, September 18th and 19th 2010 ]
- (Flying Chupacabra) Other residents, southwestern Puerto Rico, 2010
- (Flying Chupacabra) Valdo, Guanica Sugar Mill, 2010
- (Mothman) Student, Point Pleasant WV, 2010
[ The "Eyes of The Mothman" Documentary, released February 22nd 2011 ]
2011 Chicago Phantom Reports:
[10th Annual Mothman Festival, September 17th and 18th 2011]
- (Chicago Phantom) Six students, Chicago, 2011
- (Chicago Phantom) Young couple, Chicago, October 14th 2011
-
[ Lost Grooves Comic Book, released 2012 ]
[ 11th Annual Mothman Festival, September 15th and 16th 2012 ]
[ Mothman Toons Comic Book, released 2013 ]
[ 12th Annual Mothman Festival, September 21st and 22nd 2013 ]
[ Dale Morton's MothMan Costume, started February 2014 and finished May 2014 ]
[ Fish Fisher - The Mothman of Point Pleasant, released May 5th 2014 ]
[ Navy Poster Museum, opened September 2014 ]
[ 13th Annual Mothman Festival, September 20th and 21st 2014 ]
[ Mothman Comic Book, released 2015 ]
[ Art of Point Pleasant Comic Book, released 2015 ]
[ Iron Spell - The Night of the Mothman, released August 24th, 2015 ]
[ 14th Annual Mothman Festival, September 19th and 20th 2015 ]
2015 Singapore Winged Humanoid Reports:
- (Winged Humanoid) Mildred Wan, Singapore, August 28th 2015
- (Winged Humanoid) Alice Yimdale, Singapore, August 30th 2015
- (Winged Humanoid) Fergus Waffles, Singapore, August 31st 2015
- (Winged Humanoid) Lea Foo, Kuala Lumpu Malaysia, September 1st 2015
- (Winged Humanoid) Fergus Thomas, Singapore, September 19th 2015
-
[ The Mothman Wiki, started February 10th 2016 ]
[ Brian Zeller - Mothman, What You Gonna' Do Now?, video released on June 18th 2016 ]
[ The Mothman Wiki has over 100 articles, July 18th 2016
[ Filming begins for The Mothman of Point Pleasant Documentary, September 15th 2016 ]
[ 15th Annual Mothman Festival, September 17th and 18th 2016 ]
[ Brian Zeller - Silver Bridge Has Fallen Down, video released on September 27th 2016 ]
[ 50th Anniversary of the November 15th 1966 Mothman Sighting ]
[ Mothman Painted Pillar, 2016 ]
[ Filming wraps on The Mothman of Point Pleasant, February 2017 ]
2017 Chicago Phantom Reports Begin:
- (Chicago Phantom) Unnamed Witness, Oz Park Chicago, April 7th 2017
- (Chicago Phantom) Boaters, Lake Michigan Chicago, April 15th 2017
- (Chicago Phantom) Witnesses, Chicago, April 15th 2017
- (Chicago Phantom Witness, Chicago International Produce Market, April 15th 2017
[ Pre-release screening of The Mothman of Point Pleasant Documentary at The Lowe Hotel, May 27th 2017 ]
[ The Mothman of Point Pleasant Documentary, released June 2nd 2017 ]
-
[ The Mothman of Point Pleasant Documentary Screening at The WV State Theater, September 15th 2017 ]
[ 16th Annual Mothman Festival, September 16th and 17th 2017 ]
[ The Mothman Wiki has over 200 articles, November 9th 2017 ]
[ Mothman: Evil Incarnate by Loren Coleman, Released December 6th 2017 ]
[ Mothman Dynasty by Lon Strickler, Released December 12th 2017 ]
[ 50th Anniversary of the Silver Bridge Collapse ]
Unknown Date:
I cannot find the date of these sightings and events
- (Large Crow) Abe and Mildred Patterson, Fayetteville WV, August
- (Bluefield's Gargoyle) Robert S, Bluefield WV
- (Giant Bird) Elias Midkoff, Lincoln County WV
[ Rosemary Ellen Guiley, born ? ]
[ John and Tim Frick, born ? ]
[ Sherri Brake, born ? ]