On November 17, 1966, the Huntington Herald-Dispatch published the headline, “Bird, Plane Or Batman? Mason Countians Hunt ‘Moth Man’”. This adds credence to the theory Mothman got its name because the Adam West Batman series was quite popular during the time of the sightings. Though the comic book villain Killer Moth did not appear in the series, he was in an eight-minute unaired “pilot” for Season Three in 1967, which debuted Yvonne Craig as Batgirl.
John A. Keel
Journalist and UFOlogist John A. Keel wrote The Mothman Prophecies in 1975. It collected his research on the Point Pleasant sightings while also connecting them to a larger pattern of phenomena such as UFOs, reports of flying men, Men in Black (MiBs), Native American Thunderbirds, the birdlike Garuda of Buddhist and Hindu lore, and even ghosts. Keel posited theories of “ultraterrestrials,” or beings not from outer space, but from a reality slightly out of alignment with our own, whose presence aligned with ancient folklore.
The NYC-based author, who died in 2009, was often on the ground in Point Pleasant beginning in 1966 — calling it his second home for a time — and maintained frequent contact with eyewitnesses. In The Mothman Prophecies, the author is adapted into Gere’s John Klein, but Keel’s UFOlogy researcher side is represented by the character Leek (Keel spelled backwards), played by Alan Bates.
It should be noted that Gray Barker published The Silver Bridge, a book about the Mothman, in 1970, five years prior to Keel. Barker also notably introduced the concept of MiBs to the mainstream in his 1956 book They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers, though Keel is attributed as coining the term. Barker’s credibility remains dubious due to his involvement in hoaxes.
Indrid Cold
In November 1966, about 51 miles from Point Pleasant, Woodrow Derenberger was driving home one night when he saw an unusual craft land ahead of him. He described it as “an old-fashioned kerosene lamp chimney, flaring at both ends, narrowing down to a small neck and then enlarging in a great bulge in the center,” and from within a man emerged through a hatch that had “slightly elongated” eyes, with slicked back dark brown hair, and deeply tanned skin. He wore reflective blue clothing and had an expression of a wide grin.
Communicating telepathically, the figure introduced himself as Indrid Cold, and said “we mean you no harm.” Derenberger said he visited with Cold and others like him subsequent times, and learned they were from the planet Lanulos. The man even said he visited the planet.
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