31 Mothman of Point Pleasant

Deviatus - A personal look into the paranormal

On December 15, 1967, with less than two weeks before Christmas, residents of the towns of Gallipolis, Ohio and Point Pleasant, West Virginia flock to shopping centers after work to finish their Christmas shopping. Traffic jams ensue as a result, and people sit in their cars attempting to cross the aging Silver Bridge, which connects the two towns traversing the Ohio River. The bridge collapses, sending vehicles and their occupants into the ice-cold water, ultimately resulting in 46 fatalities.

The bridge, which was built in 1928, was not designed to support the weight of the high number of vehicles that were on it. The investigation into the cause of the collapse indicated that a defect of a single link in the bridge where there was a small crack was responsible. The increased amount of stress from the weight of higher than usual traffic caused the link to break, causing residual stress on the rest of the bridge. It was said that the original crack was no more than 0.1 inches deep when it went critical, and could have easily been missed by a bridge inspector.

In the months and weeks preceding this disaster, sightings of a humanoid figure with wings, often flying and chasing cars riddled the news. Reports were of a 7-8 foot tall creature with glowing red eyes came forth with multiple witnesses. Additional high strangeness ensued with reports of UFOs and aliens, as well as other cryptid and supernatural encounters. All of which was happening preceding this horrific event. Looking back, many believe to this day that the people of Point Pleasant had been visited by this creature, who we’ve come to know as the Mothman, as a warning, and others believe the disaster occurred as part of a Native American curse that was placed on the land.

Today’s guest is filmmaker, Seth Breedlove. You might recognize some of his work like the Beast of Whitehall and the Minerva Monster. But he’s here today to talk about his latest film, which I’ve already watched several times, the Mothman of Point Pleasant. Seth’s documentary takes a deep dive into the Mothman sightings from eye witness accounts among the residents of Point Pleasant, focusing on the many sightings and strange events in the 13 months that preceded the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967.

You can now sport Deviatus Merchandise! Visit the shop now…for shirts, hoodies, hats and more! New designs coming soon!

Deviatus is a bi-weekly show - episodes typically get published every other Monday.

Have a story you’d like to share on the show, or do you have a guest you would like to nominate to appear? Please go here to submit your entry or via email, [e-mail]. If you’d rather leave your story via voice mail, call [phone]…

Important items mentioned in this episode:

• Small Town Monsters Website
• Mothman of Point Pleasant on Amazon
• Mothman of Point Pleasant on Vimeo
• Purchase the Mothman of Point Pleasant on DVD
• Small Town Monsters on Facebook

Follow Deviatus:

• Facebook: Deviatus Page
• Twitter: @deviatuspod
• Instagram: @deviatus

Subscribe to Deviatus in iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, Overcast and most ALL other podcatchers. If you enjoy the show, please take a moment to rate and review, as it helps others with similar interests find the show.

Intro music for Deviatus: Creepy Night by Melody Labs. Other background music used in this episode: Decay by Kevin McLeod at incomptech.com