The Mothman of Point Pleasant: Curse, Prophecies, and Bridge Collapse
Chief Cornstalk and the Curse of Point Pleasant
Years have passed, and many unanswered questions remain. Does anyone really know who the Mothman was? Is it all just myth, or is there more to this confusing mystery? Maybe we’ll never know, but there is one interesting theory: the story of Chief Cornstalk.
Chief Cornstalk was an Indigenous chief who lived in the Point Pleasant area in the 1700s. One day, the chief decided to make peace. However, the soldiers imprisoned him. While Chief Cornstalk was in prison, Indigenous people killed a white man somewhere near the fort. Chief Cornstalk didn’t have anything to do with the murder, but shocked and angry soldiers entered the prison and killed him. As he was dying, the chief put a 200-year curse on Point Pleasant.
Chief Cornstalk died in 1777, and for two hundred years, it seemed like Point Pleasant really was cursed. Tragedy after tragedy hit the area until 1978, the year that the curse ended. Some of the tragedies were fires, explosions, and terrible accidents. So when the Mothman appeared and the Silver Bridge collapsed, some terrified people believed it was part of the curse. Was the Mothman part of the curse? Did it cause the collapse, or did it come to warn people about it? One thing is certain: the fascinating legend of Chief Cornstalk and the Mothman mystery will live on for generations.
Related Terms
- Drought: Sequia
- Earthquake: Terremoto
- Hurricane: Huracan
- Tsunami
- Volcanic eruption: Erupcion Volcanic
- Deforestation: Deforestacion
- Flashing lights: Luces Fluorescentes
- Bridge collapse: Derrumbamiento del Puente
- Bizarre occurrence: Suceso Extraño
- UFO sighting: Avistamiento de Ovnis
- Disappearances: Desapariciones
- Recurring nightmare: Pesadillas Recurrentes
- Weird noise: Ruido Extraño
- Strange creature: Criatura Extraña
- Investigate: Investigar
- Drown: Ahogar
- Examine: Examinar
- Experience: Experimentar
- Rescue: Rescatar
- Kill: Matar
The Mothman Prophecies
In November 1966, a series of strange events began in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, USA. It started with two couples who were out for a drive. The couples stopped their car near an old TNT factory. A woman who was in the car saw two strange red lights near the factory. The couples decided to investigate, with terrifying results. The lights that they were looking at were actually the red eyes of an enormous creature with wings.
More than a hundred other people reported seeing this strange creature. They called it the Mothman. People also reported other bizarre occurrences in the Point Pleasant area. Weird messages came out of radios, animals disappeared, and people saw flashing lights in the sky.
In December 1966, reporter John Keel went to Point Pleasant and interviewed people about the Mothman. Some of the people that Keel talked to had fears about the future. They were sure that something bad was going to happen. One woman had recurring nightmares about people drowning in the Ohio River. During his year of research, Keel also started receiving strange phone calls predicting disaster. One prediction gave a date: 15th December 1967.
Then it happened. On 15th December, the bridge that connected Point Pleasant to Ohio collapsed. Altogether, 31 vehicles went into the Ohio River, and 46 people died. Many of these people were on their way home from Christmas shopping. The rescue workers who saw the floating presents said it was heartbreaking.