Chip Coffey on Mothman and a Strange Pull

(cross posted at my blog Orange Orb Tarot)

A few years ago, television's Paranormal State aired a Mothman episode. Medium Chip Coffey was a part of that investigation. One moment in that episode I found very interesting; just before Coffey uttered his comments on what he thought Mothman was, I felt a weird electrical feeling. I also knew what Coffey was going to say; that Mothman was an intelligence, a true and non-human presence.

The other night Coffey was on Coast to Coast, and when asked what he thought was his strangest paranormal experience, he said it during the Paranormal State Mothman episode. That he felt Mothman was "superior." Not negative, or evil, just "superior." Very interesting word to describe this entity.

Which suggests to me that, one, Mothman is not human. Nor a barn owl. (The popular debunk theory to explain away Mothman.) Quite obviously an "other" and paranormal, or more accurately, supernatural entity.

I myself have never seen Mothman or been to Pt. Pleasant. But like so many unexplained and mysterious things, I have not only a fascination, but sometimes, as the case with Mothman, some type of pull, something that calls and tugs between me and it. A sort of anomalous mediumship or communication.

Related links:
Host of Paranormal State Ryan Buell on the Mothman episode, and his odd experience involving a tape recorder. 

Vintage Winged Woman

hidden experience: audio conversation with Andy Colvin (with a focus on John Keel)

Mothy author Andy Colvin is interviewed by Mike Clelland of hidden experience. I haven't listened to it yet but am looking forward to it of course! The interview was done a year ago:

hidden experience: audio conversation with Andy Colvin (with a focus on John Keel): This interview was recorded over a year ago. I am embarrassed to say that it just sat on my computer until today. Right after we recorded it, some life stuff came up, and I lost track of it.

This conversation was to promote the book Flying Saucer to the Center of Your Mind, a collection of magazine articles and lectures by, John Keel, the man many consider to be not only the 20th Century’s premiere Fortean investigator. ~ Mike Clelland, hidden experience

but no matter. Still promises to be interesting as all get out.

Mothy Goat

Taken just outside Point Pleasant, West Virginia, this photograph of a rare Mothy Goat.

Allright, so not really. Awfully cute, isn't it?

Source: Art People
https://www.facebook.com/artpeople1

Image

I don't have a source for this image; no artist name or link, etc. If any readers know where this came from I'd appreciate it if you let me know. It's a great image -- very disturbing, in an interestingly cool way. (Also on my UFO Mary blog, for obvious reasons.)

Redfern on Colvin's 2 New Mothy Books

From Nick Redfern: Nick Redfern's World of Whatever...: Mothman: Two New Books:

"Andy Colvin, who has already written and published no less than six books on Mothman, now has another two to add to the list!!

They are Beyond the Prophecies of Mothman and Inside the Prophecies of Mothman."

Two books I need to get right away!

Looking for Mothman: Planet Weird Visits Point Pleasant | The Daily Grail

Greg and Dana Newkirk, of Who Forted?, were fortunate enough to visit Pt. Pleasant, Mothy territory. The Daily Grail reports:

Looking for Mothman: Planet Weird Visits Point Pleasant | The Daily Grail: Alien stalker, inter-dimensional cryptid, herald of Doom, Tibetan Garuda or just a big-ass owl. Everybody has their pet theory about the true nature of the Mothman; but the only thing that's certain, is that 46 years after the collapse of the Silver Bridge in December of 1967, the mystery immortalized by John Keel and Gray Barker remains as captivating as ever. (Daily Grail)

Dan Kennedy, host of The Moth - Boing Boing

From Boing Boing -- The Moth. Of which I have been unfamiliar but of course, now I must explore!

Dan Kennedy, host of The Moth - Boing Boing: Over its 17 year existence, The Moth has shaped the age-old art of storytelling into something uniquely its own, a style as instantly recognizable as any music style or movie genre. And like a great song or movie, there’s something in a perfectly executed Moth story that leaves the listener feeling as though they could never imitate such a perfect feat. And, if the organization’s show runners are to be believed, just about anyone with a story, and the willingness to be coached by a pro, can do precisely that.

From The Abnormal Realm: Batsquatch

A little item on the possible existence of Batsquatch from The Abnormal Realm: Batsquatch.



Related link: my 2009 article I wrote for my Trickster's Realm column at Tim Binnall's site: Sacrificial Lambs Unto the Demon: Batsquatch in Oregon.

Vintage U.F.O.: Saucer People Trading Cards: Men in Black, #23

Posted at my blog Vintage U.F.O.:

Vintage U.F.O.: Saucer People Trading Cards: Men in Black, #23

"Saucer People" Trading Cards: Mothman

Many years ago I bought this deck of flying saucer trading cards, put out by Kitchen Sink Press, artist Barry Crane, 1992. Set of 36 full color cards, with illustrations of UFO researchers, abductees, famous flying saucer events, and even uber skepti-bunny Phillip Klass! Info of each case, person, etc on the back of each card.

Here's Mothy!

An American Mothman in London: Bat Beast and Owlman - Who Forted? Magazine

From Who Forted?, musings from Ken Summers on the Cornwall "Mothman" etc.:

An American Mothman in London: Bat Beast and Owlman - Who Forted? Magazine: The summer of 1976 has gone down in British history as one of the hottest on record. But it’s not just the searing temperatures that mark it as a memorable one; that year, there were many strange sightings of UFOs and other unexplained incidents which bewildered and terrified many people. But just before the heatwave got underway, an especially peculiar sight transfixed residents in the finger of land jutting out on the southwestern side of England. ~ (Who Forted?)

Mothman in the kitchen

I'm in the kitchen, trying to fix my lunch. Jim is hopping around after a moth with his bug racket zapper thing. Driving me crazy. But he's so intent on getting this moth. He gets the step stool, he stands at the ready, he watches and listens, like Zatoichi, the blind samurai:

Me: "Christ darling, calm down. You're like Batman over here 

."Jim: "I'm not Batman, I'm Mothman!"

Cracked me up.

Inside the Eerie TNT Storage Bunkers of West Virginia | Raw File | WIRED

These photographs of the TNT bunkers in West Virginia are truly eerie: Inside the Eerie TNT Storage Bunkers of West Virginia | Raw File | WIRED (thanks to The Daily Grail for link.)

Forteania: The Case of Indrid Cold

Tony Morrill at Forteania writes about the mysterious Indrid Cold, a strange figure indeed within the Mothman story:

Forteania: The Case of Indrid Cold: One of my favorites is the case of Indrid Cold. While in Point Pleasant, West Virginia digging up information on the various strange occurrences which followed in the wake of the Mothman sighting, Keel meet and interviewed a man named Woodrow Derenberger. Keel tells “Woody’s” story in his famous book, The Mothman Prophecies:

visit Forteania for rest of story. It's a great blog all around by the way. Hat tip to The Anomalist for link.

The Orange Orb: Yahoo email loop

The Orange Orb: Yahoo email loop

Wee Winged One Found in Ireland

Remains of Pixie Specimen Discovered in Ireland. Says one expert:

“It is yet unclear what kind of creature we are dealing with for now, but it is certainly unique” explains Sheamus O’Leary, a biologist at the University of Dublin and member of the research team studying the remains. (World News Daily Report)

Oh I'm not suggesting this is fake, not with a name like Sheamus O'Leary, and not so close to St. Patrick's Day, and not the fact that a simple Google search for Sheamus O'Leary, biologist University of Dublin reveals nothing or that World News Daily Report is an entity that, according to their Facebook page  "... is an independant media organisation dedicated to covering news and events from around the world without corporate filter or political agenda" and contains items one would find in Weekly World News, The Onion or Currant, etc. 

Bird watcher Captures Sound of Mothman - Cryptozoology News

The previous post, also from Cryptozoology News, tells a tale of a Mothman like creature in an attic. In that article is a link to a story from February of an Oregon man who saw, and recorded, Mothman's voice. Excerpt from article:

Bird watcher Captures Sound of Mothman - Cryptozoology News: “He was going ape. Never seen my dog like this before and I was glad that I had brought him with me. We begin walking towards the tree, then we stop for a second…and that’s when it happened.”
Seconds later, a long, deformed humanoid reportedly fell from the tree and levitated in front of the astonished couple. Then an awful scream.

Good story.

Mothman Sighting in Colorado - Cryptozoology News

Recent "mothman" sighting, in a Colorado attic. Hmm…

Mothman Sighting in Colorado - Cryptozoology News: The two men agreed the creature was about 7-feet long, thin and with smooth dark skin.

By Philip Bitnar CC BY 2.0
“Well I mean it was crouched down, but we estimated it was about 7-ft long. I saw some sort of arms and hands, both very long, and the hands had tons of fingers and claws. Reminded me of that movie with the Mothman…” the younger man said. “When my dad pointed the light on its face, it started moving its mouth, which was tiny, with little teeth like a piranha, and ran away. I noticed the eyes were completely dark and had no pupil or nothing. Pitch black, maybe because the light was hurting it.”

Mothy Synchronicity: Return of the Mothman

    

      Nick Redfern alerts us to a new work of fiction by Ted Browning, with promises of a review to come.  A bit of synchronicity, since I just posted about a dream I had last night (see previous post)  that involved me looking at books, and searching for the title Song of the Mothman. Then I go over to my Facebook page, and find Nick's post!

Cryptomundo Return of the Mothman: “Ted Browning moves back to his rural hometown of Logan, West Virginia, after learning his grandmother is dying of cancer. When he hears talk of Mothman sightings from miners at Bear Creek Coal Company he simply doesn’t believe it-until a series of events puts him in direct confrontation with the evil winged creature. Ted is forced to face his inner demons in order to protect the very loved ones he’s kept at a distance for twenty years…and to let go of a tragic past that is drawing him like a moth to the flame.”

Song of the Mothman

     Full moon, retrograde Mercury, who knows the reason for last night's Mothy dream.  Very intense dream time last night on many levels, one involving a psychic "mind post card" and my mother, but that's for another post on another blog. 
     Back to Mothman; dreamt I was looking through books, children's books, mainly. Came across a series: covers were white with purple dots. Charming and for very young kids, maybe grades K - 2. After I look through all the books, and see that there are no more, I ask: "But what about the Song of the Mothman?" I was disappointed because I was hoping we'd get to that one, however, as I knew, and was told, that particular title was rare and no one had seen one in a long time. Still, I remained optimistic and insisted we look again. Looking through the batch of books, once again, then again, and finally, there it is: a white cover, purple dots, and Song of the Mothman.

From Bigfoot Evidence: "Creepy, Strange Bird found in Venezuela: Mothman?"

Image from Bigfoot Evidence and Shuker Nature, source unknown

     Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, the saying goes, and so I do occasionally check out Bigfoot Evidence, despite their snarky and gratuitous postings of animals that have nothing to do with Bigfoot, and everything to do with the thrills those with blood lust achieve when looking at images of animals eating other other animals, or that have died tortuous deaths, or the gleeful glow of hunters posing with their kill.  Anyway, on to Mothman. Not. This is certainly a very odd looking bird, and yes, it does really exist:Bigfoot Evidence: Creepy, Strange Bird found in Venezuela: Mothman? However, to consider that this bird is the explanation for Mothman is stupid. Of course, I suspect we all know that and as the saying goes, often attributed to P.T. Barnum, there is no such thing as bad publicity. As long as you follow the link, there you go.
     Here's more on this bird from the excellent Shuker Nature blog. Interesting background on this bird and related types, including a link to the bird's call. 

"Strange Creature Seen All Around the World..."

So says the title on You Tube and elsewhere for this clip. Thanks to Mr. UFO on YouTube and Fortean Queen Skylaire Alfvegren for this. No, thanks for asking, I don't think it's an actual creature:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kQV6rutKNWU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Mothman Mystery Solved! So Not.

Soldier of Fortune magazine, February 2014

I apologize for the lousy quality of the image; using a different computer. But you get the idea. This is the one, and only, page in the big reveal: Mothman mystery solved by Soldier of Fortune magazine. Which, for those of you, such as myself, who are Fortean-Conspiracy minded, is a very interesting magazine indeed, regardless of any Mothy info.

The "article" by Harold Hutchinson is  a mere one page. Not even that, for roughly 1/4 of the page is taken up with graphics and the title "UFO Mystery Solved: "Mothmen" Were Actually Green Berets.
So right away, the complex topic of UFOs is combined with Mothman, and we're off. Yes, UFOs were seen in Pt. Pleasant along with Mothman, but the intent here is to just put all the weirdness into one category and be done with it.

Of course, not all the weirdness that was, and is, the aura of Pt. Pleasant is mentioned.

John A. Keel's book Mothman Prophecies is mentioned, but not the author:
"In 1975, the book The Mothman Prophecies was released, with actor Richard Gere and actress Debra Messing starring in a shady 2002 film of the same name."

"Shady?" And is it necessary to use "actress" -- it's 2014, usually nowadays we just use actor to describe those who act. But anyhoo, we all know Gere and Messing are actors, actresses.

The article has revealed the truth: Mothman wasn't Mothman, but parachuting  Green Berets, painted in luminous paint, which naturally glowed in the dark.  Reason for the paint, according to the article: "...to keep track of personnel." Seems obvious that night parachuting soldiers painted in luminous paint would be seen, yet this surprised the military:
"What the Green Berets making those jumps hadn't figured on was the fact that people on the ground could see it was well."

Hutchison references the lust filled humans of Pt. Pleasant inferring that their judgement was clouded, not only by the glow in the dark parachuting soldiers, but hormones. In the fist paragraph, witnesses are described as "...preparing for an intimate moment" when "their plans were interrupted" by Mothman, er, glowing soldiers. Later, they are referred to as "...the amorous couple..."

"Hysteria continued..." while the military kept quiet on their top secret maneuvers in Pt. Pleasant. The reason for the glow in the dark parachuting soldiers: HALO, which was being tested during the Vietnam War, more specifically, invasion into Laos.

Well, not since the crash test dummies as the Army been so blatant in their explanations for mysterious phenomena.

It goes without saying that this little puff piece of would be debunkery ignores the history of high strangeness in Pt. Pleasant, including a military presence that, I and other researchers suspect of manipulating the very real paranormal and anomalous phenomena that has been a part of that locale for decades, if not centuries.

I am mildly curious what the uber skepti-trolls have to say about this, for example, over at the James Randi forum, but I'll save that for another day.

Soldier of Fortune: Mothman Sightings Were Merely Green Berets

As The Anomalist commented, "This is huge." I haven't read the article yet, but it does seem like the usual Trickster stuff that Fortean events are made of. Makes some sense -- luminous outfits, etc.-- military presence in the area overall, covert actitivies in the area concerning government, industry, and weapons. On the other hand, well, you know.

Soldier of Fortune: Mothman Sightings Were Merely Green Berets: The February 2014 issue Soldier of Fortune contains an article entitled “UFO Mystery Solved: “Mothmen” Were Actually Green Berets.”

Author Harold Hutchison writes that Special operations forces near Point Pleasant, West Virginia, were testing high-altitude, low-opening (HALO) parachuting for use in Vietnam. According to Hutchinson, the jumpers used luminous paint to be seen during the tests.

The obvious: what is the motivation of bringing this to light now, what was really going on, etc. As I have always suspected (and I'm not the only one) that area has had a strong covert military presence for a long time, and who knows what the hell they were doing.