Ufology

[kensei]

There are still plenty of ghosts, witches, demons etc. today just as in the past. UFOs appear to have been added to the mix (in large part, not entirely) as a response to the begining of the nuclear age.

I should add that I am not referring to a response by society to the nuclear age in the formation of a new mythology. I am referring to the response by extraterestrials to seeing nuclear explosions going off on our planet and deciding that they should probably start getting involved. They had been seen in a limited capacity in human history beforehand, but it was only after the bombs went off that they started showing up en masse.

[Scorpio]

Watched an interesting doc about " Mothman ": a bizarre humanoid/avian hybrid reported in West Virginia. Some commentators believed it was of possible extraterrestrial origin and its appearance supposedly prophetic. Despite the welter of cliche surrounding it ( flying saucers, cattle mutilations etc ), I was intrigued by this strange creature; it seems sentient but unnervingly strange in its motivation. Does anyone know any more about this mythical thing?.

[sdreid]

There was a movie and I think Unsolved Mysteries or something of the sort did a segment on it.

[kensei]

I'll go with calling it a "mythical thing" if we can agree that mythical is not necessarily synonimous with untrue, because the witnesses to the Mothman definitely saw something real. Exactly what it was is up for debate, and though real it is definitely a dominant figure in the local mythology of Point Pleasant, West Virginia where numerous sightings of it led up to the collapse of the Silver Bridge on Dec. 15, 1967 and the deaths of 46 people. As the sightings ceased after that, the Mothman came to be thought of as an omen of the coming disaster.

The movie "The Mothman Prophecies" starring Richard Geere as writer John Keel (inspired by Keel's factual book on the case) was highly fictionalized and not a great source of information. The book is much better. Taken as fiction it's not a bad film, though it doesn't really show the Mothman, which is surprising considering what modern special effects might have done with it.

"Mothman" was a name given the creature by the press which was not actually very descriptive beyond its being a winged flying thing, and the tv show "Batman" that was current at that time had an influence on the naming. It was a bizarre looking thing, significantly taller than a man, bipedal but with no arms, no apparent head but two large glowing red eyes about where the "shoulders" would be (no other visible facial features), and huge wings curving out from that shoulder area. It made squeaking sounds and could fly at such speed that it could keep up with a speeding car. There is no consensus on what exactly it was- E.T., demon, inter-dimensional being, some large bird species misidentified and exaggerated by hysterical witnesses, etc. etc. It is in the same category with creatures like the Jersey Devil or the Dover Demon, just flat-out bizarre things that pop up on occasion and make one wonder if little children might actually be correct in believing in monsters.

(Afterthought- an eerily similar creature was seen in Cornwall, England in 1976, at Mawnan on Falmouth Bay, with the somewhat more accurately descriptive name of the Owlman.)

[Scorpio]

Is the book still in print?.

[kensei]

Amazon.com has it listed at under ten dollars.

[Beowulf]

Speaking of UFO's and portals and things:

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/12/sedona_man_plans_on_jumping_of.php

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/12/sedona_vortex_jumper_peter_gersten_goes_home.php

[Scorpio]

I'll go with calling it a "mythical thing" if we can agree that mythical is not necessarily synonimous with untrue, because the witnesses to the Mothman definitely saw something real. Exactly what it was is up for debate, and though real it is definitely a dominant figure in the local mythology of Point Pleasant, West Virginia where numerous sightings of it led up to the collapse of the Silver Bridge on Dec. 15, 1967 and the deaths of 46 people. As the sightings ceased after that, the Mothman came to be thought of as an omen of the coming disaster.

The movie "The Mothman Prophecies" starring Richard Geere as writer John Keel (inspired by Keel's factual book on the case) was highly fictionalized and not a great source of information. The book is much better. Taken as fiction it's not a bad film, though it doesn't really show the Mothman, which is surprising considering what modern special effects might have done with it.

"Mothman" was a name given the creature by the press which was not actually very descriptive beyond its being a winged flying thing, and the tv show "Batman" that was current at that time had an influence on the naming. It was a bizarre looking thing, significantly taller than a man, bipedal but with no arms, no apparent head but two large glowing red eyes about where the "shoulders" would be (no other visible facial features), and huge wings curving out from that shoulder area. It made squeaking sounds and could fly at such speed that it could keep up with a speeding car. There is no consensus on what exactly it was- E.T., demon, inter-dimensional being, some large bird species misidentified and exaggerated by hysterical witnesses, etc. etc. It is in the same category with creatures like the Jersey Devil or the Dover Demon, just flat-out bizarre things that pop up on occasion and make one wonder if little children might actually be correct in believing in monsters.

(Afterthought- an eerily similar creature was seen in Cornwall, England in 1976, at Mawnan on Falmouth Bay, with the somewhat more accurately descriptive name of the Owlman.)

I dont believe that the Mothman is untrue either, but a generation has passed since the original sightings and human nature being what it is.....
Even with the original witnesses,tales change with retelling.