Point Pleasant, West Virginia: The Story of the Mothman

The Mothman – Mason County, Point Pleasant, WV

Original artwork created exclusively for True Hauntings of America

Nestled along the Ohio River in the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, lurks one of America’s most infamous legends: the Mothman. Part cryptid, part omen, and wholly mysterious, this winged figure has haunted imaginations since the mid-1960s.

The First Sightings

On November 15, 1966, two couples—Roger and Linda Scarberry, and Steve and Mary Mallette—were driving near the abandoned TNT area when they encountered a towering, winged creature with glowing red eyes and a wide, powerful wingspan. The figure took flight and, by their account, followed their car at terrifying speeds until they reached town, shaken and breathless.

Days later, contractor Newell Partridge reported bizarre television interference and the eerie reflection of red eyes shining back from the darkness outside his home. His German shepherd, Bandit, bolted into the night after the intruder—and was never seen again. Word of the “Mothman” spread, and similar reports multiplied across the region.

The TNT Area and Its Shadows

Through the following year, witnesses described a winged figure gliding above tree lines, perching on rooftops, or staring from the roadside with hypnotic, ember-red eyes. Most encounters clustered around the abandoned World War II munitions site—the so-called TNT area—a maze of overgrown woods, concrete igloos, and forgotten service roads. Whether a lair or a lure, the place seemed stitched with dread, and locals learned to give its shadows a wide berth.

The Silver Bridge Tragedy

On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge linking Point Pleasant to Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed during rush hour. Dozens of vehicles plunged into the icy Ohio River and forty-six lives were lost. In the aftermath, townspeople could not forget the months of sightings that led up to the disaster. Many came to believe the Mothman was a bleak harbinger—an omen that appeared before catastrophe. After the collapse, reports of the creature in Point Pleasant largely ceased.

Paranormal Theories and High Strangeness

Investigators, journalists, and folklorists arrived and uncovered not just Mothman accounts but also stories of strange lights in the sky, unnerving visitors in dark suits, and cryptic warnings. The legend blurred categories—ghost story, cryptid, and UFO lore—until it became a tapestry of “high strangeness,” one that refuses to be neatly explained.

The Legacy Lives On

Today, Point Pleasant embraces its place in American folklore. A steel Mothman statue stands watch downtown; a dedicated museum preserves eyewitness reports and artifacts; and each September, the town hosts the Mothman Festival, welcoming thousands of believers, skeptics, and the simply curious.

Mothman Museum & Research Center

400 Main Street, Point Pleasant, WV 25550
(304) 812-5211

Mothman Statue (Downtown Point Pleasant)

Main Street, Point Pleasant, WV 25550 (adjacent to the museum plaza)

TNT Area (Clifton F. McClintic Wildlife Management Area)

General Location: About 5 miles north of downtown Point Pleasant

Do not trespass. Respect private property, fences, and posted warnings. Parts of the TNT area include restricted zones and potential hazards from its wartime past. Stay on public roads, marked paths, and areas explicitly open to visitors. When in doubt, turn back.

The Haunted Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum – Lewis County, Weston, WV

Photograph ©Aaron Zajac

Address:
71 Asylum Drive
Weston, WV 26452
(304) 269-5070
Website

Officially unlocking its doors in 1864, the Kirkbride hospital known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum began admitting patients as early as 1861. Over the span of more than one-hundred and thirty years, this imposing institution engaged in crude, torturous, and inhumane "medical" procedures on those deemed "mentally ill."

Admission criteria were perplexing, ranging from Tuberculosis to "Brain Fever," Laziness, Superstitious Beliefs, Masturbation, Menstrual Derangement, Menopause, Seduction, or even the curious case of "Being Kicked in the Head by a Horse." The asylum's initial patient, an unfortunate housewife, bore the diagnosis of "Domestic Trouble."

Starting with a modest 250 patients in the 1800s, the asylum expanded over the years. By its closure in 1994, the monstrous 240,000 square-foot structure could accommodate up to 2,400 patients. From its Gothic-Tudor inception, the facility became synonymous with nightmares, hosting procedures like "Ice Pick" lobotomies, primitive electroshock therapy, hydrotherapy, and rampant violence among the patients—a perfect recipe for transforming it into one of America's most haunted sites.

The haunting tales abound: full-bodied apparitions, reports of being touched or having shirt tails and pant legs tugged by unseen hands, agonizing screams emanating from empty rooms and corridors, footsteps, knocking, banging, and objects mysteriously moving. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum stands as a ghost hunter's dream.

Today, the asylum welcomes all who seek to experience the paranormal within its walls, offering tours day and night.

The Haunting of the West Virginia State Penitentiary

WV State Penitentiary –Marshall County, Moundsville, West Virginia

Photograph ©Tim Kiser, Wiki User: Malepheasant

Commencing its construction in 1866, the West Virginia State Penitentiary owes its existence to the division of West Virginia from Virginia during the Civil War era. The inaugural structure, the North Wagon Gate building, saw completion in 1876, thanks to the labor of one hundred and fifty inmates. Upon opening its doors, the imposing prison enclosed around two hundred and fifty inmates within its formidable five-foot thick walls.

The penitentiary stands as a daunting Gothic-style structure, adorned with castle-like turrets and towering 24-foot high walls. Its eerie ambiance is unmistakable, even without the spectral company that reportedly haunts its corridors.

The prison's planning was as impressive as its architecture. Inmates, as part of their rehabilitation, constructed the prison itself. The facility's self-sufficiency was enhanced by in-house shops, including a brickyard, bakery, and carpentry shop, providing inmates opportunities to earn their keep.

In 1929, a significant expansion project doubled the prison's size, a venture completed in 1959. Until then, severe overcrowding prevailed, with prisoners triple-bunked in 5 X 7 cells.

The prison's grim history includes numerous executions, deaths from illnesses, overcapacity issues, and riots. Executions began in 1899, with eighty-five men hanged from the gallows. The electric chair claimed nine more lives from 1951 to 1959. In 1959, the death penalty was abolished, but the residual effects lingered, contributing to reported paranormal activities.

Visitors have recounted being touched, shoved, or spoken to by unseen entities. Others have sensed an intangible presence or the disconcerting feeling of being watched. Three prominent spirits are frequently reported: an unnamed former maintenance man, Robert (a deceased inmate), and Arvil Adkins, a man who experienced an ill-fated hanging twice.

The maintenance man met a tragic end when cornered and fatally stabbed by inmates in a restroom. Witnesses claim to see his full-bodied apparition, seemingly oblivious to the living—a possible residual haunting.

Robert, a former inmate, is believed to have suffered abuse at the hands of guards, leading to his death. His angry spirit reportedly unsettles visitors within the prison walls.

The haunting tale of Arvil Adkins involves a failed hanging attempt, resulting in a severe head injury. Guards made a chilling decision to re-hang him, ultimately causing his death. Witnesses claim to see his restless spirit wandering the gallows.

In 1995, the prison closed its doors to inmates. Today, guided tours are offered from March through November, providing visitors with a potential firsthand encounter with the lingering apparitions of the West Virginia State Penitentiary. The mere sight of the prison carries an aura of dread, especially for those familiar with firsthand accounts from former inmates.

Address:
818 Jefferson Avenue
Moundsville, WV 26041
(304) 845-6200
Website