A newspaper reporter subsequently dubbed the creature as"The Mothman" and the appellation stuck.
In the case of the Mothman, the local sheriff believed the first witnesses.
Numerous sightings were reported over the following year, but they suddenly came to a halt just before a tragic event that may or may not have been connected to Mothman.
Others believe that sightings of such mythological creatures as bigfoot, mothman and the chupacabra are directly linked to sighting of UFOs.
Residents alsoclaimed they saw the Mothman flying overthe town's SilverBridge.
Sandhill cranes have a cry similar to the shriek reportedin the Mothman sightings.
Since the sightings stopped after the bridge collapse, and one sighting was over the bridge just before the collapse, some paranormal investigators theorize that the mothman was actually some type of psychic projection.
Subsequent witnesses who claimed to have seen the Mothman were also deemed credible.
The last sighting of the mothman occurred on January 11, 1967, and the Mothman was never seen again in the area.
The legend of the nowfamousMothman began in a small town in West Virginia.
The Mothman legend follows a folkloric pattern of strange creatures presaging catastrophe.
The townspeople could have been receiving psychic visions of the bridge collapse or some kind of warning or messenger in the form of the Mothman.
Whatever you believe, the Mothman is another fascinating, legendary creature.
Whenever bizarre sightings of creatureslike the Mothman occur, the first thing investigators evaluate is the credibility of the eyewitnesses.