MOTHMAN FLUTTERINGS

No doubt uber-skeptic Joe Nickell will be on the program and tell us that the Flatwoods Monster was just an owl.

A ten minute “show” about Mothman. The paranormal or high strangeness things are mentioned here as well, not only UFOs but poltergeist activity, etc. and MIBS. Interesting comments from viewers in the comment section as well. Most importantly, and interestingly, there is mention of psy-ops, mind control as explantion for Mothman, something not discussed usually in shows like this.

Monster Quest recently aired its episode about Mothman. (Read my comments here.) But Animal Planet’s program Lost Tapes also had a Mothman episode, with some neat clips of original news items about the Mothman sightings in Pt. Pleasant.

Lost Tapes usual method is to mix pretty cheesy dramatizations with some original footage. Still, pretty interesting, and in some ways, a lot better (in a goofy way) than the MQ episode. Not that it’s a contest.

An article by paranormal researchers on the west coast about how producers of paranomral shows use researchers for their own agendas. A given, maybe, but something not often talked about. I felt the same way after talking to the producer from History Channel, and it’s good to hear this not so pretty side of things from someone else. In Paranormal Television: Cutting Room Floor Philosophy the recent Mothman episode aired on Monster Quest is discussed, and MQ’s treatment of witnesses, data and researchers.

I saw it; have been looking forward to this episode ever since a producer from the show contacted me several months ago in preparing for the program. I think I put her off; for I went into an esoteric direction (a la Andrew Colvin, who, I noticed, the show did not mention) and she nervously-laughingly said she didn’t want the government following her, dismissing anything to do with all that. I didn’t think much of the program, even though Nick Redfern was on, which was great. But overall, didn’t think much of it and Coleman makes a good point: where was the historical background? However, of all the things that annoyed me the most was the inclusion of uber-skeptic (“I’m not a scientist, I have an English Lit degree, but I play one on TV” Joe Nickell) who smirked non-stop while gleefully cutting out plywood Mothman figures to test the accuracy of witnesses. This man has an intriguing fixation with owls; for, after all, not only are owls the explanation for Mothman sightings, owls are the explanation for the Flatwoods creature, and the Kelly Hopkinsville entities, says Nickell.

Here’s Coleman’s review on his blog Cryptomundo.

Monster Quest does Mothman, tonight. Check local listings… more to come.

In the Appalachian Independant, from Nick Diamond: Remembering the Mothman.

Hat tip to The Anomalist for the link.

From the blog Strange Planet, a fascinating post about the author’s experiences involving mechanical voices, where he describes hearing at 3:00 a.m. (a time noted for being a kind of UFO/paranormal, magical time, as he notes) a very strange sound

Approximately two months ago, I awoke in the middle of the night, roughly within the magical 3am hour (That in itself is worthy of more study, as it always seems to be at that particular hour. But I won’t veer off course here). What I began to hear, was in fact, as best I can describe, the sound of a LARGE ‘mechanical and metallic’ bird(?) outside of my window. I was stunned by this sound, but not afraid. I didn’t even feel the urge to look, to be honest. I just paid attention to the sound itself. It was fascinating. For the better part of ten minutes, it would ’squawk’ several times, take a break for about 30 seconds, then resume the vocalization. I heard it that one night, and never again. If I were to match the scope and size of this ‘bird’ with the size of the sound, this thing would’ve been 8ft. tall. Better I not look after all.

He goes on to write about synchronicity; contacts with others experiencing similar things, and some of what he’s discovered via research, past experiences, and the movie The Fourth Kind.

What struck me as interesting was the immediate “mothy” vibe I got from reading this account. Even though there is no mention of Mothman or indication of any Mothman phenomena, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Mothman. There is the bird like imagery of this encounter of course, but I thought of the electronic voices Keel described in The Mothman Prophecies.

Ed Walters, author of The Gulf Breeze Sightings, described hearing weird electronic or metallic voices outside his bedroom windows at night in connection with his UFO experiences.

I was also reminded of Greg Taylor’s article Her Sweet Murmur, in DarkLore volume 1, which explores the rushing, roaring, bell clanging/chiming sounds many (including myself) experience during esoteric events. These episodes appear diverse and often unconnected from each other; UFOs, BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary) appearances, Mothman, Bigfoot or other crypto sightings, aliens, OOBEs, etc. but, Taylor asks, is there a common source from where these entities emerge? These strange sounds of clicking, clacking, singing, bells and the like are shared by fringe phenomena; possibly pointing to the idea they are related. UFOs, aliens, abductions, contactees, Bigfoot weirdness, BVM sightings, MIBS, fairies, maybe they are kaleidoscopic manifestations of the same thing.

As far as Mothman goes, Mothman wasn’t, or isn’t, an isolated and specific event. There’s a whole high strangeness context enveloping Mothman: UFOs, MIBS, telepathic messages, OOBEs, electronic voices, premonitions, heavy dreams laden with messages and communications, curses and legends, synchronicities and a thread of violence that trails Mothman. This is not to say Mothman itself is violent, or responsible for the aura of violence connected with the phenomena, but a response to it.

From 2002’s The Mothman Prophecies with Richard Gere, some of my favorite quotes:

“The nocturnal butterfly. In ancient cultures, the moth represents a form of the psyche, or the soul immortally trapped in the hellish death realms. Mothman. Well, that’s what the Ukrainian’s called him. Rough translation of course. There were a hundred sightings in Chernobyl when the nuclear pump went down. Galveston, nineteen sixty nine, just before the hurricane. They saw it. But seeing isn’t always believing.” ~ character of Alexander Leek, played by Alan Bates.

John Klein: I think we can assume that these entities are more advanced than us. Why don’t they just come right out and tell us what’s on their minds?
Alexander Leek: You’re more advanced than a cockroach, have you ever tried explaining yourself to one of them?

Alexander Leek: If there was a car crash ten blocks away, that window washer up there could probably see it. Now, that doesn’t mean he’s God, or even smarter than we are. But from where he’s sitting, he can see a little further down the road.

I was contacted not long ago by a producer from Monster Quest, who wanted to pick my brain about Mothman. It became clear that the producer and MQ were more interested in Mothman as a literal creature, along the lines of an owl (more on that in a moment) rather than the so-called “paranormal” or conspiracy, spiritual, high strangeness side.

When I mentioned that some think Mothman was just a giant owl, like uber-debunker skeptic Joe Nickell, who refers to himself as a “paranormal researcher” instead of the skeptic he is, she said she had been in contact with him. I gave her my opinion, that Mothman was no “owl” and that Nickell seems to favor owls; owls are his explanations for the Kelly Hopkinsville UFO entities, and the Flatwoods Monster.

I also mentioned some things about cross-over cases (as Nick Redfern calls them) in crypto research; Mothman (not an owl and all the strange things connected with that) Bigfoot (seen with UFOs, psychic communications, etc.) and so on. As to Mothman, I offered up the idea that the government seems to have been involved; their interest in school children and their statistically out of whack high intelligence, the fact that Charles Manson, when a child, lived in the area, and so on. The producer gave a nervous little laugh and said she “didn’t want to get abducted by the government or anything.”

It was clear the producer was more interested in Mothman as Big Bird; an owl, a crane, rather than the esoteric side, though I got the impression MQ would throw some of that in just for show. After all, like all shows on television, it’s entertainment.

The conversation was amiable; and who knows where this will lead. I gave her names of better people than I to speak to about this subject; Andrew Colvin, Nick Redfern, and others. (all of whom she said she’d been in contact with, or was planning to contact.) I just found the take on Mothman an interesting one, of course, the episode hasn’t aired (if it’s been made yet) so who can say.

In thinking about the episodes of MQ, they seem to shy away from the paranormal/supernatural or Fortean side. They do go there, but it seems they prefer to stay on the “it’s fantastic, but it isn’t weird” side of the fringe fence. Which is fine, I’m making an observation, not a criticism. (Although it would be nice to see more of the strange side.)