May 24, 2025 • 44 mins
In Part 2 of our Chillworthy deep dive, the mystery of the Mothman takes a devastating turn. Just over a year after the first sightings in Point Pleasant, tragedy struck: the Silver Bridge collapsed during rush hour, killing 46 people. Was this the moment Mothman came to warn us about—or something it caused?
We dig into the eerie timeline leading up to the disaster, the government’s strange silence, and the unsettling aftermath that left a town forever changed. From Men in Black to Cold War conspiracies and interdimensional theories, the story only gets darker.
The legend may have started in West Virginia—but it didn’t end there.
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Find us on socials:
Instagram: @chillworthypodcast
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DISCLAIMER The content presented on Chillworthy, including all episodes, transcripts, social media posts, and associated materials, is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The podcast does not offer legal, medical, psychological, or professional advice of any kind. While the hosts—Brent and Talia—make a good faith effort to ensure that the information shared is based on publicly available sources and is as accurate as possible at the time of recording, Chillworthy does not guarantee the completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any statements made. Listeners should be aware that cases may involve ongoing legal proceedings or developments that evolve over time. The hosts are not licensed attorneys, journalists, law enforcement professionals, or forensic experts. Opinions expressed in the podcast reflect the personal views of the hosts and do not represent factual determinations or official findings. All individuals named or discussed are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Any resemblance to real individuals or entities, outside of those explicitly named, is purely coincidental. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by any legal authority, news outlet, or investigative body. By listening to Chillworthy, you acknowledge and accept these terms and agree not to hold the hosts or producers liable for any inaccuracies, misstatements, or interpretations derived from the content.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/chillworthy--6229613/support.
We dig into the eerie timeline leading up to the disaster, the government’s strange silence, and the unsettling aftermath that left a town forever changed. From Men in Black to Cold War conspiracies and interdimensional theories, the story only gets darker.
The legend may have started in West Virginia—but it didn’t end there.
Click here to see all listening options and links
Find us on socials:
Instagram: @chillworthypodcast
Bluesky: @chillworthypodcast
Skylight: @chillworthypodcast
Youtube: @chillworthypodcast
Click here to leave a donation to support the podcast
DISCLAIMER The content presented on Chillworthy, including all episodes, transcripts, social media posts, and associated materials, is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The podcast does not offer legal, medical, psychological, or professional advice of any kind. While the hosts—Brent and Talia—make a good faith effort to ensure that the information shared is based on publicly available sources and is as accurate as possible at the time of recording, Chillworthy does not guarantee the completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any statements made. Listeners should be aware that cases may involve ongoing legal proceedings or developments that evolve over time. The hosts are not licensed attorneys, journalists, law enforcement professionals, or forensic experts. Opinions expressed in the podcast reflect the personal views of the hosts and do not represent factual determinations or official findings. All individuals named or discussed are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Any resemblance to real individuals or entities, outside of those explicitly named, is purely coincidental. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by any legal authority, news outlet, or investigative body. By listening to Chillworthy, you acknowledge and accept these terms and agree not to hold the hosts or producers liable for any inaccuracies, misstatements, or interpretations derived from the content.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/chillworthy--6229613/support.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
You're listening to Chillworthy.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
A podcast. We're two best friends discuss mysteries, murders, and
anything in between for your enjoyment.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So if you're ready to hear some chilling and unsettling cases,
you're in the right place, happy listening. Hello, everybody, Welcome
back to another episode slash, part two of the episode
we're doing on moth Man with Brent and Talia. Obviously
here we are.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Hi everybody.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay, so we are doing a two parter, but we
weren't doing a back to back. So you have some
books or a book to talk about wonderful.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah, I knew you'd be thrilled that they're underful. I'm
still listening to the audio book, the one. I'm almost done.
It's good, it's fine, you know, definitely surprised by some stuff.
I guessed some stuff which I don't like, as you know. Again,
(01:09):
like I said last time, I don't know if I'm
going to do this anytime soon. Again.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
No, you don't need to commit to anything.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Exactly, but I'm happy I did it. I missed listening
to music in the car because this is like all
I do now, because I'm terrified it's going to expire,
like the book is going to be returned and I'm
not going to have it finished, so you know, I'm
obsessively listening to it, but you know, what are you
gonna do? And I'm still reading the others I had mentioned,
(01:38):
but I did just finish Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger.
I think that was the one that I started like
last week, like right before we met or something. And
it was fine. It was fine. It was I was
just gonna get app Yeah. It was about I don't
(02:03):
want to give too much away, but basically a missing
person situation, you know, adventurous. It was about the Native
American culture. Very that was like my favorite part of it.
It wasn't sure, was very nature heavy and like that
was glorious, may.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I say, but it was a little.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Not I was gonna say that it fell flat for me.
Maybe that's too harsh, but just it was fine.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
All right, well wonderful, right, So you did ask off Air.
I don't have fish facts, but there is a baby
fish in the tank, so I mean that's nice, absolutely,
and one singular little babyfish about the size of a
grain of rice.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yes. When Brent told me about it, and then you know,
I came over looking for it, even though you said
how small it was, was still absolutely in my head
looking for a bigger fish. And then when you saw
it and pointed it out, I mean I could barely
even see it. But yeah, it was tricky for me,
but so adorable, so so so tiny.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
So hopefully he stays smart and stays safe and stays chill.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Well played, man. And these shrimp in here, which now,
of course I can't see any but it is insane
to me how active. I also said to you better there.
They're gorgeous. And I said to you before we started,
when I saw one catapulting in the air, I keep saying,
air in the wall. Look at it. Look at what
it's doing. Now, just it's just it flounces all over
(03:44):
the place. It flies around that water like Superman.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
That's what they call swimming.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I just didn't know shrimp did that. It's different than
Look at him.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Look at him, Look at him.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
He is soaring, I think is the word I would use.
He sores through the water. Look how fast he freaking is.
Oh my god, I saw it up close, his little
back feet. And there's about I don't know ten of them.
They were going a mile a minute just now as
he was soaring.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
All right, everybody, So.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I'm most fascinating.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yes. The other thing I wanted to say, and related
to everything we've just mentioned, is I, by accident came
across this like YouTube video and it was like I
was so drawn in. I watched the whole thing and
it was like an hour long. I'm saying, but it
was about the most isolated town in America, not counting Alaska,
(04:40):
Like there's obviously some very isolated places there, but in
the lower forty eight states. Do you know what state
it falls into?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well, what immediately came to mind is this town that
I heard of a while ago. I want to say
it's in Pennsylvania. No, possibly Virginia or West Virginia. No, okay,
and it I want there's some issue going on with it,
So basically it's deserted and nope, but I don't know
if that's the same asiety.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
About the burning city.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yes, gaseous issue going on. I was the coal fires, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
So this is in Nevada. Oh and it's a place
called Jarbadge.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Like garbage, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yes, yeah, And so this town is in any single
direction it is one hundred miles from anywhere else, any
other town, so it's roughly two and a half hours
to get to any other town. The population, So what
(05:47):
this video was was just a person that that was like,
I'm going to visit the most isolated town, right, Well,
how many people live there? Fifteen?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
I was going to guess fifty. I think that was
probably like not correct and there were way more.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
No, fifteen people?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Is it his whole family?
Speaker 1 (06:06):
No? No, But the reason why it's considered a town
is because they have their own post office. So even
though there's hardly anybody who lives there, yeah, because they
have their own federally recognized post office with a maleman, like,
it counts as a town. So that's why it's, you know,
(06:28):
America's whatever most isolated town. And I watched about three
different YouTube videos on people visiting this place and like
absolutely adorable. Uh, in terms of the people like it
doesn't it's not the prettiest looking town by any means.
It is an old like they found gold there, so
(06:49):
it used to be a very hopping town. And I
think the last, the last official stagecoach robbery that ever
happened took place in jar Wow.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Do they have dogs there?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
I don't know. I didn't.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Do they have a bookstore?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
No, but they have a general store. Oh, they have
one gas station.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Speaking of general stores, yeah, you I don't think did
watch this? You did? Or did not watch Doctor Quinn Medicine?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Not really?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Oh my god, I loved that show.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
They had.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
General story is I've tucked about it.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Before you have?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Can you imagine back to jarbage? Can you imagine that
freaking mail route? I mean, you would be done before
freaking lunch.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I have a feeling they don't go anywhere. I think
they come pick it up at the post office. It's
like one road. It's just one road, one main little
road with all these little houses.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
What do they do with packages?
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I don't know, But I did know. I didn't know.
I did see that one of the people doing the videos,
they on their tune half hour trek out there. They
did pass a UPS and a FedEx truck. So FedEx
and UPS deliver. I'm sure Amazon does as well, right,
But anyway, the point was it was just I don't know.
I was probably trying to find something creepy and then
(08:13):
this video just happened to pop up, and it's not
at all creepy, like I said, it's just I mean,
it's a rundown little place for sure, but it's very adorable.
And there's like a man who has a glass.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Blowing thing business.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yes, and during the summer they have a little bit
more business and that's when people come out to the
outdoor in spelled inn.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And it's like the motel and we have some tourism.
Oh mean yes, but I don't think very much. And
I was going back and forth on like do I
talk about this place, like do they want people? But
all the videos they were interviewing, like the guy who
runs the bar and the motel, and you know, they
all said that like yes, everybody is welcome, you know,
(09:02):
like come on down type of thing. So it was
just a very cute little thing to just anybody who's
interested to just research how adorable this place is and
watch some of the videos because the people there seem
very very sweet all fifteen. So yeah, but thank you, well,
(09:26):
you're welcome. I didn't hear they had any local legends,
but actually that's not true. Jarbridge is the name means
something I think in Native American that does talk about
some devil or something but I don't have that information.
So but anyway, speaking of local legends, will jump back
(09:51):
in to the Mothman. So where we last left off,
I think we were talking about out just like the
museum that point Pleasant had and how they were embracing
(10:12):
the mothman energy, if you will. So anyway, what I
wanted to do in this half of it was go
into a little bit more in depth of like what
could this have possibly been if it wasn't a legitimate mothman.
Let's just let the siren go by first, shall we?
(10:33):
We shall, all right? So the first one we talked
about already, which was this concept that people were saying
that this could be a misidentified bird, which I think
is pretty freaking far fetched.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Thinking of like what we talked about in the last episode,
knowing what a crane size is, a blue hair and size.
I don't think those are the waters we were in here.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
No, I don't think so either. So, you know, like
I had said, the first thing was people were saying, oh,
a sand hill crane, this large crane. It stands about
as tall as a man, It has a wingspan of
seven feet, and they do have reddish patches around their eyes.
But They're not common in West Virginia by any means,
and people admit that it's a pretty big stretch to
(11:24):
think that somebody who's out at night would not be
able to tell the difference between a life sized mothman
and a and a bird. And I don't think there.
I don't even think they're nocturnal.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
To be I told you the blue hair, oh, the cranes. Yes, yeah,
I don't know. I didn't think that about blue herons.
And then when that whole experience happened and I started
doing a deep dive on them, it's said that they
fly during daylight hours and evening hours in the dark,
which I just wouldn't have guessed that. So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Well, I don't know whether, but we're not. Then, of course,
the other thing is, well, what if it was some
kind of owl, like a barn owl or a barred owl,
which are so freaking cute.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Are they that big?
Speaker 1 (12:12):
No? They obviously have reflective eyeshine that can glow red
and orange and light. They can fly silently, and they
might a spear might a spear, and they might appear
spooky sometimes, But come on, I think this is bullshit.
I think all of that is bullshit. So there's this guy,
Joe Nickel, and he is a paranormal debunker, and he
(12:37):
has argued that a large owl, perhaps a barn owl,
could explain the sightings. But I just think that's a
bunch of bullshit, malurky right now. Back then, during nineteen
sixty six, a farmer actually did shoot and kill a
(12:59):
giant snowy owl.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
That's illegal.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Well, he thought it was a mothman, so he did
this thinking that he captured and killed the moth man
and it was sadly a snowy owl instead. What year
was nineteen sixty six? Oh my gosh, so very sad.
But and then we can't forget the hair in theory
(13:23):
where that sheriff thought it was a shit poke or
shitty poke or whatever, so poke a shitty pokey whatever
whatever that is. But anyway, I don't think that that's true.
So whatever. The next theory is that this was mass
(13:45):
hysteria that was happening. So another explanation that doesn't involve
a creature at all, but more the human psyche. In
the late nineteen sixties, you know, they were a pretty
tense time. The Cold War was happening, Vietnam Forrest Gump, absolutely,
(14:06):
and some people were thinking that the initial sighting whatever
that was, say it was a bird or whatever, started
to spark some sort of mass hysteria because once the
first story hit the news, people's imaginations might have gone
into overdrive, and then people could have been like little pranksters,
and you know, they're putting non costumes, which would have
been pretty bad at that farmer had seen one of
(14:28):
them in a costume instead of that snowy owl.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
But douneze, you know, do you believe excuse me, that
that could be what this was? What the I don't
know what are other examples of masters?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Well, I'm glad you asked, because I looked that up.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So there were two of them. I didn't obviously, I mean,
I just looked up the first two that popped up
for me. But so one of them was the Dancing
Plague of fifteen eighteen. So I guess what happened here
was in July of fifteen eight eighteen, there was a
woman she stepped out onto the streets in what was
(15:05):
then the Holy Roman Empire. She began to dance, and
she just danced erratically and silently for hours, and then
she just kept going and days passed and she was
still dancing, and it seemed like she was unable to stop.
But that wasn't even the wild part, because the wild
(15:26):
part was Within a week, dozens of other townspeople joined her,
and some accounts of this claimed that the number rose
to over four hundred people, and they danced in the
summer heat. They danced day and night. There was no
music or it wasn't a party or anything. They just compulsively,
unstoppably danced. Many of them ended up collapsing from exhaustion,
(15:50):
and some had reportedly died from heart attacks or strokes.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
How can they go to the bath?
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I don't know. Doctors were baffled, and they they I
guess back at the time they thought this was something
called hot blood. So they actually encouraged them to dance
more to get rid of this affliction and strug I guess.
(16:20):
So they hired musicians and they put these musicians. They
put these musicians in like dance halls and they would
just have them play. So I guess the musicians weren't affected.
But sadly it did not help, and this plague, as
(16:45):
they called it, lasted about a month before it burned
itself out, and there's never been any further explanation on
why all these people started dancing. So that's one example
of mass hysteria. And the other one, which sounds a
little nicer to me, was the laughter epidemic of nineteen
(17:06):
sixty two, so a lot closer to this time. So
in January of nineteen sixty two, a village near Lake Victoria,
which is now Tanzania, a bizarre phenomenon broke out at
a boarding school for girls. So three students who suddenly
(17:26):
they just started laughing uncontrollably, which seemed harmless at first,
but then it started to spread to the other kids,
and within a matter of days, ninety five of the
one hundred and fifty nine girls had been affected. And
they were literally just laughing to the point of crying, trembling,
and even having trouble breathing. I guess it doesn't sound
(17:48):
as nice as I thought.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
No, and that kind of laughter makes me think like maniacal,
scary people laughing and inappropriate stuff. I feel like a
scary This actually reminds me.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Just let me finish it. It's like one more little
sentence here they laughed for some of them laughed for
up to sixteen days.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Were they going to the bathroom.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
I couldn't say that there were no physical illnesses, but
the emotional and behavior behavioral symptoms were intense enough that
the school literally had to shut down and the girls
ended up going home. And then the condition spread to
the other villages that apparently affected over one thousand people
in total, mostly school aged children and young women. It
(18:40):
disrupted a total of fourteen schools, some which closed down
for weeks, and I guess, interestingly enough, adults were rarely affected,
which is part of what tiped researchers off that it
might be psychosomatic rather than something real like viral or environmental.
That it was no adults, barely any adults.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
This the fact that it was a school what did
you call it? A boarding school? And I don't even
know if this was a boarding school, but I think
it was a private school because I think I remember
the girls being in uniforms. The other Catholic show that
we've watched on Netflix, Evil, They reminds me of that
episode that song yes yes, and it was like the
(19:27):
Christmas jingle from like a very catchy may I say,
hell yeah yes. But that's what it reminded me of.
And they were like putting pencils or something in their eyes.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Weren't they their eyes? Their ears?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I was so close anyway, I guess that would make
worse sense. Huh. Oh, my gosh, I want to watch that,
you know, I know finished it.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
I didn't either, you did it? No? Why? Just I
lost interest? And it was a scary ass show. Some
of those things were freaking scary. The girl, sorry, the
girl in the video game game.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, the freaking blue man.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
The demon in the beginning, yeah, he was sup. Then else, I.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Was proud of myself handling that.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
So anyway, the other next thing. So of course, now
some people were saying, was it a supernatural entity or curse?
Sounds like a reasonable assumption, right, So you know, they
were thinking, like this is legit, and it was like
a demonic entity, especially with those red eyes, or like
was it a ghostly apparition something like that. So there
(20:49):
is a local legend that I guess is tied to
the Mothman, and it's talking about an old Indian curse
on the land. So Point Blast was the site of
a violent frontier battle in seventeen seventy four the Battle
of Point Pleasant sounds right on the murky easy, and
(21:10):
folklore claims that the Shawnee chief Cornstock cursed the town
as he lay dying. Some creative folks wondered if Mothman
might have been the embodiment of that curse, although it
took him a while to show up. If that was
the case.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
True, like, what would have triggered it?
Speaker 1 (21:28):
I wonder, right, an avenging phantom sent to haunt the
descendants of these settlers. So there you go. Of course,
there's no evidence of this obviously. And then of course
others were like, well, maybe it's a guardian spirit or
as we talked about before, like an omen bearing spirit,
like a benche right, right, And then we have something
(21:54):
that once again might have been far fetched before, but
now it's old news, which was an alien So could
Mothman have been some type of alien being just kind
of taking a bebop around our world seeing what there
is to see?
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Didn't hurt anyone except band.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
It, right, So obviously UFO enthusiasts are very into this
concept because you know, during the Mothman sightings and stuff,
there were also sightings of weird lights in the sky
over Point Pleasant, and even encounters with odd individuals like
I told you were these men in black would like
show up. One of the people they showed up to
(22:32):
was that Mary Higher woman and they basically said like, hey,
not get off, like, don't say anything else, zip as.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Ursula would say.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
So you know, there's that concept like maybe little Mothman
was a little alien scout, a boy scout, just out
looking around seeing what's going on here?
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Do you think he was?
Speaker 1 (22:58):
And I don't, you don't, I don't what do you think?
I have no idea? Well you don't think it's that
You're right, but I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
It's fair, fair, it's fair.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
I've got one more thing to say on the potentials
and then I'll dare, I say, I'll let you tell
me what you think is happening here. And then the
last one is like was this some kind of hoax
or a government experiment got wrong? Basically, so this one's
(23:29):
kind of more like conspiracy theory. But people were saying
was this some type of secret government project? Because remember
that TNT area where Mothman was often seen. That area
had been abandoned. It had been long abandoned by nineteen
sixty six, but during World War Two it was used
to manufacture and store explosives, hence the name. And some people, oh,
(23:55):
some people were theorizing that maybe there was some type
of toxic waste or chemical byproducts in that zone that
could have mutated some type of animal from a normal
looking animal into something a little less normal looking. So
and then of course they were talking about also the
possibility of a military experiment, like people were testing out
(24:17):
like flying suits or you know, something else like futuristic technology,
and it was like a soldier in a jet pack
or something. I mean, who the hell knows. But speaking
of that, tell you, what do you think is going
on here? Pray tell.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I think I could wrap my head around the alien
scout theory, but I think it was probably some sort
of supernatural being. I don't know what to make of
the fact that it didn't hurt anyone again except Bandit,
(24:56):
which we don't even know that Bandit was hurt. Sort
of back to the alien yeah theory. If Bandit wasn't hurt,
like Bandit's body was never found, like he just was gone,
so it makes me wonder if he was taken, say,
if it wasn't alien. Back to the ship.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, to get a pup cup, right, you know, no,
I would never want to think about what I mean.
But maybe they're nicer to animals than we are. For
all we know. I can only hope, right, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Like gentle experimentation whatever.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
But oh wait, wait, I'm so sorry. There's actually two
other theories that I forgot about.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Don't be sorry, all right.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
So the first one is not so much about him,
but just about the area. Some people said that this
was what people call a window area, which is where
reality gets thin quote unquote. So some Mothman researchers started
noticing that the Point Pleasant sightings weren't happening in isolation because,
(26:07):
like I said, there were talks of weird lights in
the sky. People were getting weird telephone calls, uh, their
TVs were going all staticky. People claim to have these
really like intense dreams and stuff. So they floated that
maybe Point Pleasant at that time was experiencing something called
a window area, which is basically a thin spot in
(26:29):
the fabric of reality, so a place where all sorts
of strange phenomena can slip through. Now I have no
idea about this, but I know the other place, which
I abso freaking literally will be doing an episode on
at some point is Skinwalker Ranch And I know I've
talked to you about that before and I can't wait
(26:52):
talk about that again. That's a big topic that will
be absolutely a two or three.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Well a goodie that should be like a nice summertime
when you do I decided, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
And the last one, which actually this has sort of
a connection to a case we've done before, the idea
that this Mothman is a tulpa, which is, you know,
it's like an idea that gains momentum and becomes a
literal life force of its own, like the suicide Forest, no,
(27:29):
like the slender Man. Oh god, so where there's like
so many people who believe in this thing that the
belief in thing makes the thing real instead of the
thing being real first and then people believing it's like
the opposite. So people were saying that, you know, whatever
that original thing was that somebody saw if people were
(27:50):
so obsessed with this, and they you know, because it
was a big thing for quite a while and people
were like manifesting this all the time, like where's the Mothman,
Where's the mothman? You know, right, maybe he was born
of this belief in him.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
That is another theory I think could be reasonable. Fine,
I mean I think he's real, but if he were
to not be, I could.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You think he's real? But if he were to not be,
I think it could be real because people thought he was.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Well, No, if people think he's real and he's not,
I don't think that makes him real. I get you know.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I don't think you understand what a tulpa is. I do.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
It's like saying fuzzball World is a place. It's not.
But then enough people start going on and on and
on and about it, it becomes this believed to be
true place and it's not.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
I think you almost have it. But the point is
it is then a place.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Oh then no, I wasn't fully there.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Yeah, so that's what I'm saying, Like so many people
believed in Mothmaan that it made it brought him into existence, oh,
instead of him being in existence and then people being
like holy shit, it's the reverse.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Okay, then no, I don't believe in this theory.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Fine, So anyway, those are the theories. But here is
a little a little story I found. It's a very
short story, but theory. So This was just from like
an anonymous person online. It said it was just a
regular summer evening. My son and I had pulled off
to the side of a narrow wooded road in Mertztown,
(29:43):
eastern Pennsylvania. Nothing unusual, just trees, stillness, the kind of
quiet that feels heavy. We were sitting in the car,
the windows were cracked, chatting about nothing, when the air
suddenly felt dot dot dot off. I got the chills, chillworthy,
(30:08):
and then it came. At first, it was just a
shadow moving across the tree tops. Then it glided, glided,
not flew, right up the road toward us. Slow, smooth, silent.
This thing was massive, a wing span easily stretching twenty
(30:30):
five to thirty feet.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
That's no freaking crane.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
As it passed over the hood of my car, its
wing actually blocked out the light. My son and I
both instinctively ducked. We didn't even think, we just moved.
It had a human sized, rounded head, no beak, no feathers,
just slick black bat like skin ooh ooh, stretched over
(31:01):
huge wings, A long narrow tail maybe four or five feet,
trailed behind it like something straight out of a nightmare.
A dragon or a demon. I've seen a lot in
my life. Not much shakes me, but this this thing
(31:22):
chilled me to my core. It glided only ten feet
off the ground, completely silent. After about fifty maybe seventy
five feet, it gave one enormous flap of its wings
and it just kept going, disappearing into the woods like
it had somewhere to be. And it didn't make a sound,
(31:45):
it didn't lose altitude, it didn't even care that we
were there watching it, and then it was gone. I'll
never forget those forty five seconds, neither will my son.
I swear to you that thing is real, and if
I ever get the chance to see it again, I
did definitely try to catch it. Yeah, what the hell
is she or he talking about? End of story? But
(32:09):
what a story, And.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
It didn't hurt anybody, And.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
I think I told that story pretty nice. You're hunched
over like the hunchback of Notre Dame.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
You should be a book theare reader.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I was sucked in, So as we do wrap up here, Yeah,
I tried to find a list of things, which I
did an unofficial Mothman safety rules to follow to stay
safe from said creature. Yes, you got it number one.
(32:44):
Dim the lights. Now, that would not be good for
your house. For those of you who don't know, which
is everyone tell you. Recently moved into a beautiful new
home and I went to see it for the first
time a few months ago, and I think I should
have put on sunscreen when I walked in there, because
(33:08):
the amount of undiluted bright, bright white. Everybody, we're not
talking soft you know that soft incandescent. We're talking bright
white led.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
The reading cook light is dimmable, and so are the
kitchen lights.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
The light was so bright in that living room that
when I was sitting on the couch looking at her,
she was she could have been mothman. She was nothing
but a silhouette in front of the light.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
So, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Any Way, so mothman would like your house. It says
he's attracted to bright lights, headlights, porch lamps, even jewelry. Ueah,
wait a.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Minute, wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
He does not, No, a moth likes lights. He does
not want to dim.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Why would you dim your Maybe you are mothman? Why
would you dim your light? Why is this the guy?
This is as if he's dangerous. To avoid him.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
They're saying, if you don't want to come across mothman.
Don't keep your lights on to bright in the house.
It attracts him, is what they're saying.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Meanwhile, these sightings were in the middle of the night.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Dark headlights though car headlights. Next, if you'll let me, if.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
You'll allow me, I will, I surely will.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Next, avoid sweet sense. Some believe that mothman follows sugary
smells like a bat. So to be safe, skip that
floral perfume a bat or bird, and don't take fruity
snacks when venturing into the Is that what it says? Yes?
(35:03):
Number three, there's eight of them. By the way, make
yourself appear larger how well, like with a bear. Some believe,
oh I'm sorry. Eyewitnesses suggests that mothman is less likely
to approach larger figures. Wearing bulky clothing or standing tall
might deter unwanted attention.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Number four. Stay vigilant on bridges. Given moths Man's association
with the Silver Bridge collapse in nineteen sixty seven, some
view sightings near bridges as ominous. Exercise caution and be
alert when crossing. Now, I don't know what kind of
caution you could have, but I guess not wearing sense
(35:48):
fruity fruity pibbles by another siren happening.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
I think he got a bad rap for that bridge thing.
I think it was purely coincidental. Unless he's the word
that I can ever think of, that he is a
bad omen. He's an omen of some carbinger of doom. Yeah,
but I thought you used a different word. Maybe not,
unless that's true. I don't know what he has to
(36:14):
do with that bridge, and I think it's terrible that
he's associated with it.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Number five, trust your instincts. Many who have encountered Mothman
have reported an overwhelming sense of dread. So if you
feel like that and you want to leave that area,
then you should probably do it.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Do so right now. I'm so sorry. Refresh my memory.
He has been seen in other states than West Virginia.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Well, yeah, that story I told took place in Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that was a stewary that you read.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Yeah, as I just said that story I told, this
one's very very uh what's the word, very very obvious?
I think avoid the TNT area at night. Well yeah,
if that's where he lives, sure, I don't even think
I need to explain that. Just don't go there. Number seven,
(37:07):
I think a bunch of people would be okay with this.
Don't engage. If you spot a large wigged figure with
glowing red eyes, don't go over to investigate it.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Stay back, Just.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Remove yourself from the area. And last, and this is
my personal favorite, respect the unknown, whether Mothman is a harbinger,
a guardian, or something else, entirely approach the legend with
respect and caution the legend.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
I think that's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Oh thank you, well you did you? No, I didn't,
but I.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
Think that's very sound advice. And yeah, leave him alone,
live and let live man.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
I agree, as long as he's not hurting anybody, right.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
He's not messing with anyone. But band it, Oh, oh
my god, what if that's like bandits.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Spirit through marmalade.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
Almost another dog that was insane timing.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Very insane, except she does that twenty five times a day.
So look at the end of the day, here the
Mothman remains. And then during icon of American folklore, endless fascination.
So what began as a few little spooky sightings in
a small Appalachian town has morphed into a worldwide known phenomenon.
(38:39):
At this point, Like I said, thousands of people come
to Point Pleasant to go to the festival and just
celebrate the what would we say, the curiosity and the
fascination of this cryptid.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Is following.
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yeah, so that's all I have from Offman. But I
mean something I really knew nothing about. I would say,
I'm glad we looked into it.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Heck, yeah, I knew nothing, not a shred of info.
And I'm very intrigued about it. I I said, I
think I'm a believer.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
You said what you said I did.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
That's that.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
And in part one you said, for some unknown reason
which I still don't even know if you'll be able
to explain it while you're here in real time, but
you would go to the TNT area during the day,
But you don't want to be there with a group
of people. You only want to be there you and
(39:46):
quote unquote some kind of guide. You told me, What
does that mean? Explain yourself quickly?
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Well I can't do that quickly. True, So I don't
words have never been spoken. Want a big group there.
I don't want to be distracted by anything. You know,
there's always nonsense that goes on with groups. I don't
like that. So I would like to go on like
a guided tour private where I am told this may
(40:17):
have happened over here. If this happens here, look over here, please, okay,
I shall And it's nice and intimate and quaint. No distractions,
no interruptions by this group that could be there, no, no,
and yeah, but I would not go at night. I
would be damn curious to go at night because I
(40:38):
feel like if there was any chance.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
It would be at night most likely.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
Yeah, right, but I would like to get my eyes
on the area.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
All right, Well, I think it would be fun to
go either time. But you would go a group. Yeah,
I'm not into that whole one on one like like
when you hear about, you know, people going on ghost
towards Ngetty Like, I don't. I'm not really interested in
that either. But when they go with a group, I'm
a little less turned off. Safety in numbers, right, like
(41:09):
maybe the ghost will pick somebody else to what's it called?
I was going to say, za habit?
Speaker 2 (41:17):
So anyway, have you ever looked up the YouTube videos
of people going out to the Gettysburg battlefields at night?
I don't know if you're like not supposed to go
in certain areas, or if it's a free for all
you can do whatever you want at night and they
just go do whatever. I don't know what the deal is,
but I mean, I certainly don't have an eye for
(41:40):
what's fake and what's real when it comes to ghost videos.
But these people go out there and record, and I
guess I don't know if they have lighting set up
or if it's from their headlines or what. But you
can see things I haven't.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
But I'm shocked you're watching these videos.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
It was years ago, years ago.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Gotcha, Well maybe you should see what's going on now.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Well I don't know.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
Oh well, so there we have it, everybody. Thank you
all for tuning back in for part two of our
Mothman series, and by series, I mean two episodes, and uh,
just for future reference, I did look into the flat
Woods Monster, which was the same the guy who wrote
(42:29):
the Mothman book wrote the flat Woods Monster book, so
I did. I'm doing some research on that for a
future a future endeavor.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
So all right, on that note, everybody, stay safe and
stay chill, and we'll see you next time.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
Bye, everybody, you've just listened to Chilworthy.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
Thank you for joining us on this latest episode. While
we strive to keep our discussions engaging and lighthearted, we
also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the real
lives and events that are at the heart of these stories.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
We try to approach each topic with a sense of
curiosity and respect fully aware of the impact these events
have had on the individuals and their loved ones. Our
goal is to honor their memories by keeping their stories
alive and shedding light on the mysteries that surround them.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to subscribe, rate,
and leave a review, and don't forget to join us
on the next episode of Chilworthy.
You're listening to Chillworthy.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
A podcast. We're two best friends discuss mysteries, murders, and
anything in between for your enjoyment.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So if you're ready to hear some chilling and unsettling cases,
you're in the right place, happy listening. Hello, everybody, Welcome
back to another episode slash, part two of the episode
we're doing on moth Man with Brent and Talia. Obviously
here we are.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Hi everybody.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay, so we are doing a two parter, but we
weren't doing a back to back. So you have some
books or a book to talk about wonderful.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah, I knew you'd be thrilled that they're underful. I'm
still listening to the audio book, the one. I'm almost done.
It's good, it's fine, you know, definitely surprised by some stuff.
I guessed some stuff which I don't like, as you know. Again,
(01:09):
like I said last time, I don't know if I'm
going to do this anytime soon. Again.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
No, you don't need to commit to anything.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Exactly, but I'm happy I did it. I missed listening
to music in the car because this is like all
I do now, because I'm terrified it's going to expire,
like the book is going to be returned and I'm
not going to have it finished, so you know, I'm
obsessively listening to it, but you know, what are you
gonna do? And I'm still reading the others I had mentioned,
(01:38):
but I did just finish Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger.
I think that was the one that I started like
last week, like right before we met or something. And
it was fine. It was fine. It was I was
just gonna get app Yeah. It was about I don't
(02:03):
want to give too much away, but basically a missing
person situation, you know, adventurous. It was about the Native
American culture. Very that was like my favorite part of it.
It wasn't sure, was very nature heavy and like that
was glorious, may.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
I say, but it was a little.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Not I was gonna say that it fell flat for me.
Maybe that's too harsh, but just it was fine.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
All right, well wonderful, right, So you did ask off Air.
I don't have fish facts, but there is a baby
fish in the tank, so I mean that's nice, absolutely,
and one singular little babyfish about the size of a
grain of rice.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yes. When Brent told me about it, and then you know,
I came over looking for it, even though you said
how small it was, was still absolutely in my head
looking for a bigger fish. And then when you saw
it and pointed it out, I mean I could barely
even see it. But yeah, it was tricky for me,
but so adorable, so so so tiny.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
So hopefully he stays smart and stays safe and stays chill.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Well played, man. And these shrimp in here, which now,
of course I can't see any but it is insane
to me how active. I also said to you better there.
They're gorgeous. And I said to you before we started,
when I saw one catapulting in the air, I keep saying,
air in the wall. Look at it. Look at what
it's doing. Now, just it's just it flounces all over
(03:44):
the place. It flies around that water like Superman.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
That's what they call swimming.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I just didn't know shrimp did that. It's different than
Look at him.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Look at him, Look at him.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
He is soaring, I think is the word I would use.
He sores through the water. Look how fast he freaking is.
Oh my god, I saw it up close, his little
back feet. And there's about I don't know ten of them.
They were going a mile a minute just now as
he was soaring.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
All right, everybody, So.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I'm most fascinating.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Yes. The other thing I wanted to say, and related
to everything we've just mentioned, is I, by accident came
across this like YouTube video and it was like I
was so drawn in. I watched the whole thing and
it was like an hour long. I'm saying, but it
was about the most isolated town in America, not counting Alaska,
(04:40):
Like there's obviously some very isolated places there, but in
the lower forty eight states. Do you know what state
it falls into?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Well, what immediately came to mind is this town that
I heard of a while ago. I want to say
it's in Pennsylvania. No, possibly Virginia or West Virginia. No, okay,
and it I want there's some issue going on with it,
So basically it's deserted and nope, but I don't know
if that's the same asiety.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
About the burning city.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yes, gaseous issue going on. I was the coal fires, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
So this is in Nevada. Oh and it's a place
called Jarbadge.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Like garbage, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Yes, yeah, And so this town is in any single
direction it is one hundred miles from anywhere else, any
other town, so it's roughly two and a half hours
to get to any other town. The population, So what
(05:47):
this video was was just a person that that was like,
I'm going to visit the most isolated town, right, Well,
how many people live there? Fifteen?
Speaker 2 (05:58):
I was going to guess fifty. I think that was
probably like not correct and there were way more.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
No, fifteen people?
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Is it his whole family?
Speaker 1 (06:06):
No? No, But the reason why it's considered a town
is because they have their own post office. So even
though there's hardly anybody who lives there, yeah, because they
have their own federally recognized post office with a maleman, like,
it counts as a town. So that's why it's, you know,
(06:28):
America's whatever most isolated town. And I watched about three
different YouTube videos on people visiting this place and like
absolutely adorable. Uh, in terms of the people like it
doesn't it's not the prettiest looking town by any means.
It is an old like they found gold there, so
(06:49):
it used to be a very hopping town. And I
think the last, the last official stagecoach robbery that ever
happened took place in jar Wow.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Do they have dogs there?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
I don't know. I didn't.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Do they have a bookstore?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
No, but they have a general store. Oh, they have
one gas station.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Speaking of general stores, yeah, you I don't think did
watch this? You did? Or did not watch Doctor Quinn Medicine?
Speaker 1 (07:26):
Not really?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Oh my god, I loved that show.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
They had.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
General story is I've tucked about it.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Before you have?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Can you imagine back to jarbage? Can you imagine that
freaking mail route? I mean, you would be done before
freaking lunch.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
I have a feeling they don't go anywhere. I think
they come pick it up at the post office. It's
like one road. It's just one road, one main little
road with all these little houses.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
What do they do with packages?
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I don't know, But I did know. I didn't know.
I did see that one of the people doing the videos,
they on their tune half hour trek out there. They
did pass a UPS and a FedEx truck. So FedEx
and UPS deliver. I'm sure Amazon does as well, right,
But anyway, the point was it was just I don't know.
I was probably trying to find something creepy and then
(08:13):
this video just happened to pop up, and it's not
at all creepy, like I said, it's just I mean,
it's a rundown little place for sure, but it's very adorable.
And there's like a man who has a glass.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Blowing thing business.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Yes, and during the summer they have a little bit
more business and that's when people come out to the
outdoor in spelled inn.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And it's like the motel and we have some tourism.
Oh mean yes, but I don't think very much. And
I was going back and forth on like do I
talk about this place, like do they want people? But
all the videos they were interviewing, like the guy who
runs the bar and the motel, and you know, they
all said that like yes, everybody is welcome, you know,
(09:02):
like come on down type of thing. So it was
just a very cute little thing to just anybody who's
interested to just research how adorable this place is and
watch some of the videos because the people there seem
very very sweet all fifteen. So yeah, but thank you, well,
(09:26):
you're welcome. I didn't hear they had any local legends,
but actually that's not true. Jarbridge is the name means
something I think in Native American that does talk about
some devil or something but I don't have that information.
So but anyway, speaking of local legends, will jump back
(09:51):
in to the Mothman. So where we last left off,
I think we were talking about out just like the
museum that point Pleasant had and how they were embracing
(10:12):
the mothman energy, if you will. So anyway, what I
wanted to do in this half of it was go
into a little bit more in depth of like what
could this have possibly been if it wasn't a legitimate mothman.
Let's just let the siren go by first, shall we?
(10:33):
We shall, all right? So the first one we talked
about already, which was this concept that people were saying
that this could be a misidentified bird, which I think
is pretty freaking far fetched.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Thinking of like what we talked about in the last episode,
knowing what a crane size is, a blue hair and size.
I don't think those are the waters we were in here.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
No, I don't think so either. So, you know, like
I had said, the first thing was people were saying, oh,
a sand hill crane, this large crane. It stands about
as tall as a man, It has a wingspan of
seven feet, and they do have reddish patches around their eyes.
But They're not common in West Virginia by any means,
and people admit that it's a pretty big stretch to
(11:24):
think that somebody who's out at night would not be
able to tell the difference between a life sized mothman
and a and a bird. And I don't think there.
I don't even think they're nocturnal.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
To be I told you the blue hair, oh, the cranes. Yes, yeah,
I don't know. I didn't think that about blue herons.
And then when that whole experience happened and I started
doing a deep dive on them, it's said that they
fly during daylight hours and evening hours in the dark,
which I just wouldn't have guessed that. So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Well, I don't know whether, but we're not. Then, of course,
the other thing is, well, what if it was some
kind of owl, like a barn owl or a barred owl,
which are so freaking cute.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Are they that big?
Speaker 1 (12:12):
No? They obviously have reflective eyeshine that can glow red
and orange and light. They can fly silently, and they
might a spear might a spear, and they might appear
spooky sometimes, But come on, I think this is bullshit.
I think all of that is bullshit. So there's this guy,
Joe Nickel, and he is a paranormal debunker, and he
(12:37):
has argued that a large owl, perhaps a barn owl,
could explain the sightings. But I just think that's a
bunch of bullshit, malurky right now. Back then, during nineteen
sixty six, a farmer actually did shoot and kill a
(12:59):
giant snowy owl.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
That's illegal.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Well, he thought it was a mothman, so he did
this thinking that he captured and killed the moth man
and it was sadly a snowy owl instead. What year
was nineteen sixty six? Oh my gosh, so very sad.
But and then we can't forget the hair in theory
(13:23):
where that sheriff thought it was a shit poke or
shitty poke or whatever, so poke a shitty pokey whatever
whatever that is. But anyway, I don't think that that's true.
So whatever. The next theory is that this was mass
(13:45):
hysteria that was happening. So another explanation that doesn't involve
a creature at all, but more the human psyche. In
the late nineteen sixties, you know, they were a pretty
tense time. The Cold War was happening, Vietnam Forrest Gump, absolutely,
(14:06):
and some people were thinking that the initial sighting whatever
that was, say it was a bird or whatever, started
to spark some sort of mass hysteria because once the
first story hit the news, people's imaginations might have gone
into overdrive, and then people could have been like little pranksters,
and you know, they're putting non costumes, which would have
been pretty bad at that farmer had seen one of
(14:28):
them in a costume instead of that snowy owl.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
But douneze, you know, do you believe excuse me, that
that could be what this was? What the I don't
know what are other examples of masters?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Well, I'm glad you asked, because I looked that up.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
So there were two of them. I didn't obviously, I mean,
I just looked up the first two that popped up
for me. But so one of them was the Dancing
Plague of fifteen eighteen. So I guess what happened here
was in July of fifteen eight eighteen, there was a
woman she stepped out onto the streets in what was
(15:05):
then the Holy Roman Empire. She began to dance, and
she just danced erratically and silently for hours, and then
she just kept going and days passed and she was
still dancing, and it seemed like she was unable to stop.
But that wasn't even the wild part, because the wild
(15:26):
part was Within a week, dozens of other townspeople joined her,
and some accounts of this claimed that the number rose
to over four hundred people, and they danced in the
summer heat. They danced day and night. There was no
music or it wasn't a party or anything. They just compulsively,
unstoppably danced. Many of them ended up collapsing from exhaustion,
(15:50):
and some had reportedly died from heart attacks or strokes.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
How can they go to the bath?
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I don't know. Doctors were baffled, and they they I
guess back at the time they thought this was something
called hot blood. So they actually encouraged them to dance
more to get rid of this affliction and strug I guess.
(16:20):
So they hired musicians and they put these musicians. They
put these musicians in like dance halls and they would
just have them play. So I guess the musicians weren't affected.
But sadly it did not help, and this plague, as
(16:45):
they called it, lasted about a month before it burned
itself out, and there's never been any further explanation on
why all these people started dancing. So that's one example
of mass hysteria. And the other one, which sounds a
little nicer to me, was the laughter epidemic of nineteen
(17:06):
sixty two, so a lot closer to this time. So
in January of nineteen sixty two, a village near Lake Victoria,
which is now Tanzania, a bizarre phenomenon broke out at
a boarding school for girls. So three students who suddenly
(17:26):
they just started laughing uncontrollably, which seemed harmless at first,
but then it started to spread to the other kids,
and within a matter of days, ninety five of the
one hundred and fifty nine girls had been affected. And
they were literally just laughing to the point of crying, trembling,
and even having trouble breathing. I guess it doesn't sound
(17:48):
as nice as I thought.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
No, and that kind of laughter makes me think like maniacal,
scary people laughing and inappropriate stuff. I feel like a
scary This actually reminds me.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Just let me finish it. It's like one more little
sentence here they laughed for some of them laughed for
up to sixteen days.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Were they going to the bathroom.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
I couldn't say that there were no physical illnesses, but
the emotional and behavior behavioral symptoms were intense enough that
the school literally had to shut down and the girls
ended up going home. And then the condition spread to
the other villages that apparently affected over one thousand people
in total, mostly school aged children and young women. It
(18:40):
disrupted a total of fourteen schools, some which closed down
for weeks, and I guess, interestingly enough, adults were rarely affected,
which is part of what tiped researchers off that it
might be psychosomatic rather than something real like viral or environmental.
That it was no adults, barely any adults.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
This the fact that it was a school what did
you call it? A boarding school? And I don't even
know if this was a boarding school, but I think
it was a private school because I think I remember
the girls being in uniforms. The other Catholic show that
we've watched on Netflix, Evil, They reminds me of that
episode that song yes yes, and it was like the
(19:27):
Christmas jingle from like a very catchy may I say,
hell yeah yes. But that's what it reminded me of.
And they were like putting pencils or something in their eyes.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Weren't they their eyes? Their ears?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
I was so close anyway, I guess that would make
worse sense. Huh. Oh, my gosh, I want to watch that,
you know, I know finished it.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
I didn't either, you did it? No? Why? Just I
lost interest? And it was a scary ass show. Some
of those things were freaking scary. The girl, sorry, the
girl in the video game game.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, the freaking blue man.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
The demon in the beginning, yeah, he was sup. Then else, I.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Was proud of myself handling that.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
So anyway, the other next thing. So of course, now
some people were saying, was it a supernatural entity or curse?
Sounds like a reasonable assumption, right, So you know, they
were thinking, like this is legit, and it was like
a demonic entity, especially with those red eyes, or like
was it a ghostly apparition something like that. So there
(20:49):
is a local legend that I guess is tied to
the Mothman, and it's talking about an old Indian curse
on the land. So Point Blast was the site of
a violent frontier battle in seventeen seventy four the Battle
of Point Pleasant sounds right on the murky easy, and
(21:10):
folklore claims that the Shawnee chief Cornstock cursed the town
as he lay dying. Some creative folks wondered if Mothman
might have been the embodiment of that curse, although it
took him a while to show up. If that was
the case.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
True, like, what would have triggered it?
Speaker 1 (21:28):
I wonder, right, an avenging phantom sent to haunt the
descendants of these settlers. So there you go. Of course,
there's no evidence of this obviously. And then of course
others were like, well, maybe it's a guardian spirit or
as we talked about before, like an omen bearing spirit,
like a benche right, right, And then we have something
(21:54):
that once again might have been far fetched before, but
now it's old news, which was an alien So could
Mothman have been some type of alien being just kind
of taking a bebop around our world seeing what there
is to see?
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Didn't hurt anyone except band.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
It, right, So obviously UFO enthusiasts are very into this
concept because you know, during the Mothman sightings and stuff,
there were also sightings of weird lights in the sky
over Point Pleasant, and even encounters with odd individuals like
I told you were these men in black would like
show up. One of the people they showed up to
(22:32):
was that Mary Higher woman and they basically said like, hey,
not get off, like, don't say anything else, zip as.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Ursula would say.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
So you know, there's that concept like maybe little Mothman
was a little alien scout, a boy scout, just out
looking around seeing what's going on here?
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Do you think he was?
Speaker 1 (22:58):
And I don't, you don't, I don't what do you think?
I have no idea? Well you don't think it's that
You're right, but I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
It's fair, fair, it's fair.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
I've got one more thing to say on the potentials
and then I'll dare, I say, I'll let you tell
me what you think is happening here. And then the
last one is like was this some kind of hoax
or a government experiment got wrong? Basically, so this one's
(23:29):
kind of more like conspiracy theory. But people were saying
was this some type of secret government project? Because remember
that TNT area where Mothman was often seen. That area
had been abandoned. It had been long abandoned by nineteen
sixty six, but during World War Two it was used
to manufacture and store explosives, hence the name. And some people, oh,
(23:55):
some people were theorizing that maybe there was some type
of toxic waste or chemical byproducts in that zone that
could have mutated some type of animal from a normal
looking animal into something a little less normal looking. So
and then of course they were talking about also the
possibility of a military experiment, like people were testing out
(24:17):
like flying suits or you know, something else like futuristic technology,
and it was like a soldier in a jet pack
or something. I mean, who the hell knows. But speaking
of that, tell you, what do you think is going
on here? Pray tell.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
I think I could wrap my head around the alien
scout theory, but I think it was probably some sort
of supernatural being. I don't know what to make of
the fact that it didn't hurt anyone again except Bandit,
(24:56):
which we don't even know that Bandit was hurt. Sort
of back to the alien yeah theory. If Bandit wasn't hurt,
like Bandit's body was never found, like he just was gone,
so it makes me wonder if he was taken, say,
if it wasn't alien. Back to the ship.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, to get a pup cup, right, you know, no,
I would never want to think about what I mean.
But maybe they're nicer to animals than we are. For
all we know. I can only hope, right, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Like gentle experimentation whatever.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
But oh wait, wait, I'm so sorry. There's actually two
other theories that I forgot about.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Don't be sorry, all right.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
So the first one is not so much about him,
but just about the area. Some people said that this
was what people call a window area, which is where
reality gets thin quote unquote. So some Mothman researchers started
noticing that the Point Pleasant sightings weren't happening in isolation because,
(26:07):
like I said, there were talks of weird lights in
the sky. People were getting weird telephone calls, uh, their
TVs were going all staticky. People claim to have these
really like intense dreams and stuff. So they floated that
maybe Point Pleasant at that time was experiencing something called
a window area, which is basically a thin spot in
(26:29):
the fabric of reality, so a place where all sorts
of strange phenomena can slip through. Now I have no
idea about this, but I know the other place, which
I abso freaking literally will be doing an episode on
at some point is Skinwalker Ranch And I know I've
talked to you about that before and I can't wait
(26:52):
talk about that again. That's a big topic that will
be absolutely a two or three.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Well a goodie that should be like a nice summertime
when you do I decided, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
And the last one, which actually this has sort of
a connection to a case we've done before, the idea
that this Mothman is a tulpa, which is, you know,
it's like an idea that gains momentum and becomes a
literal life force of its own, like the suicide Forest, no,
(27:29):
like the slender Man. Oh god, so where there's like
so many people who believe in this thing that the
belief in thing makes the thing real instead of the
thing being real first and then people believing it's like
the opposite. So people were saying that, you know, whatever
that original thing was that somebody saw if people were
(27:50):
so obsessed with this, and they you know, because it
was a big thing for quite a while and people
were like manifesting this all the time, like where's the Mothman,
Where's the mothman? You know, right, maybe he was born
of this belief in him.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
That is another theory I think could be reasonable. Fine,
I mean I think he's real, but if he were
to not be, I could.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
You think he's real? But if he were to not be,
I think it could be real because people thought he was.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Well, No, if people think he's real and he's not,
I don't think that makes him real. I get you know.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I don't think you understand what a tulpa is. I do.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
It's like saying fuzzball World is a place. It's not.
But then enough people start going on and on and
on and about it, it becomes this believed to be
true place and it's not.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
I think you almost have it. But the point is
it is then a place.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Oh then no, I wasn't fully there.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Yeah, so that's what I'm saying, Like so many people
believed in Mothmaan that it made it brought him into existence, oh,
instead of him being in existence and then people being
like holy shit, it's the reverse.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Okay, then no, I don't believe in this theory.
Speaker 1 (29:18):
Fine, So anyway, those are the theories. But here is
a little a little story I found. It's a very
short story, but theory. So This was just from like
an anonymous person online. It said it was just a
regular summer evening. My son and I had pulled off
to the side of a narrow wooded road in Mertztown,
(29:43):
eastern Pennsylvania. Nothing unusual, just trees, stillness, the kind of
quiet that feels heavy. We were sitting in the car,
the windows were cracked, chatting about nothing, when the air
suddenly felt dot dot dot off. I got the chills, chillworthy,
(30:08):
and then it came. At first, it was just a
shadow moving across the tree tops. Then it glided, glided,
not flew, right up the road toward us. Slow, smooth, silent.
This thing was massive, a wing span easily stretching twenty
(30:30):
five to thirty feet.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
That's no freaking crane.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
As it passed over the hood of my car, its
wing actually blocked out the light. My son and I
both instinctively ducked. We didn't even think, we just moved.
It had a human sized, rounded head, no beak, no feathers,
just slick black bat like skin ooh ooh, stretched over
(31:01):
huge wings, A long narrow tail maybe four or five feet,
trailed behind it like something straight out of a nightmare.
A dragon or a demon. I've seen a lot in
my life. Not much shakes me, but this this thing
(31:22):
chilled me to my core. It glided only ten feet
off the ground, completely silent. After about fifty maybe seventy
five feet, it gave one enormous flap of its wings
and it just kept going, disappearing into the woods like
it had somewhere to be. And it didn't make a sound,
(31:45):
it didn't lose altitude, it didn't even care that we
were there watching it, and then it was gone. I'll
never forget those forty five seconds, neither will my son.
I swear to you that thing is real, and if
I ever get the chance to see it again, I
did definitely try to catch it. Yeah, what the hell
is she or he talking about? End of story? But
(32:09):
what a story, And.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
It didn't hurt anybody, And.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
I think I told that story pretty nice. You're hunched
over like the hunchback of Notre Dame.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
You should be a book theare reader.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I was sucked in, So as we do wrap up here, Yeah,
I tried to find a list of things, which I
did an unofficial Mothman safety rules to follow to stay
safe from said creature. Yes, you got it number one.
(32:44):
Dim the lights. Now, that would not be good for
your house. For those of you who don't know, which
is everyone tell you. Recently moved into a beautiful new
home and I went to see it for the first
time a few months ago, and I think I should
have put on sunscreen when I walked in there, because
(33:08):
the amount of undiluted bright, bright white. Everybody, we're not
talking soft you know that soft incandescent. We're talking bright
white led.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
The reading cook light is dimmable, and so are the
kitchen lights.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
The light was so bright in that living room that
when I was sitting on the couch looking at her,
she was she could have been mothman. She was nothing
but a silhouette in front of the light.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
So, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Any Way, so mothman would like your house. It says
he's attracted to bright lights, headlights, porch lamps, even jewelry. Ueah,
wait a.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Minute, wait a minute.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
He does not, No, a moth likes lights. He does
not want to dim.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Why would you dim your Maybe you are mothman? Why
would you dim your light? Why is this the guy?
This is as if he's dangerous. To avoid him.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
They're saying, if you don't want to come across mothman.
Don't keep your lights on to bright in the house.
It attracts him, is what they're saying.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Meanwhile, these sightings were in the middle of the night.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
Dark headlights though car headlights. Next, if you'll let me, if.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
You'll allow me, I will, I surely will.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Next, avoid sweet sense. Some believe that mothman follows sugary
smells like a bat. So to be safe, skip that
floral perfume a bat or bird, and don't take fruity
snacks when venturing into the Is that what it says? Yes?
(35:03):
Number three, there's eight of them. By the way, make
yourself appear larger how well, like with a bear. Some believe,
oh I'm sorry. Eyewitnesses suggests that mothman is less likely
to approach larger figures. Wearing bulky clothing or standing tall
might deter unwanted attention.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
I don't know about that.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Number four. Stay vigilant on bridges. Given moths Man's association
with the Silver Bridge collapse in nineteen sixty seven, some
view sightings near bridges as ominous. Exercise caution and be
alert when crossing. Now, I don't know what kind of
caution you could have, but I guess not wearing sense
(35:48):
fruity fruity pibbles by another siren happening.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
I think he got a bad rap for that bridge thing.
I think it was purely coincidental. Unless he's the word
that I can ever think of, that he is a
bad omen. He's an omen of some carbinger of doom. Yeah,
but I thought you used a different word. Maybe not,
unless that's true. I don't know what he has to
(36:14):
do with that bridge, and I think it's terrible that
he's associated with it.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Number five, trust your instincts. Many who have encountered Mothman
have reported an overwhelming sense of dread. So if you
feel like that and you want to leave that area,
then you should probably do it.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Do so right now. I'm so sorry. Refresh my memory.
He has been seen in other states than West Virginia.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Well, yeah, that story I told took place in Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that was a stewary that you read.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Yeah, as I just said that story I told, this
one's very very uh what's the word, very very obvious?
I think avoid the TNT area at night. Well yeah,
if that's where he lives, sure, I don't even think
I need to explain that. Just don't go there. Number seven,
(37:07):
I think a bunch of people would be okay with this.
Don't engage. If you spot a large wigged figure with
glowing red eyes, don't go over to investigate it.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Stay back, Just.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Remove yourself from the area. And last, and this is
my personal favorite, respect the unknown, whether Mothman is a harbinger,
a guardian, or something else, entirely approach the legend with
respect and caution the legend.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
I think that's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Oh thank you, well you did you? No, I didn't,
but I.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
Think that's very sound advice. And yeah, leave him alone,
live and let live man.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
I agree, as long as he's not hurting anybody, right.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
He's not messing with anyone. But band it, Oh, oh
my god, what if that's like bandits.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Spirit through marmalade.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
Almost another dog that was insane timing.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Very insane, except she does that twenty five times a day.
So look at the end of the day, here the
Mothman remains. And then during icon of American folklore, endless fascination.
So what began as a few little spooky sightings in
a small Appalachian town has morphed into a worldwide known phenomenon.
(38:39):
At this point, Like I said, thousands of people come
to Point Pleasant to go to the festival and just
celebrate the what would we say, the curiosity and the
fascination of this cryptid.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Is following.
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yeah, so that's all I have from Offman. But I
mean something I really knew nothing about. I would say,
I'm glad we looked into it.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Heck, yeah, I knew nothing, not a shred of info.
And I'm very intrigued about it. I I said, I
think I'm a believer.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
You said what you said I did.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
That's that.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
And in part one you said, for some unknown reason
which I still don't even know if you'll be able
to explain it while you're here in real time, but
you would go to the TNT area during the day,
But you don't want to be there with a group
of people. You only want to be there you and
(39:46):
quote unquote some kind of guide. You told me, What
does that mean? Explain yourself quickly?
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Well I can't do that quickly. True, So I don't
words have never been spoken. Want a big group there.
I don't want to be distracted by anything. You know,
there's always nonsense that goes on with groups. I don't
like that. So I would like to go on like
a guided tour private where I am told this may
(40:17):
have happened over here. If this happens here, look over here, please, okay,
I shall And it's nice and intimate and quaint. No distractions,
no interruptions by this group that could be there, no, no,
and yeah, but I would not go at night. I
would be damn curious to go at night because I
(40:38):
feel like if there was any chance.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
It would be at night most likely.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
Yeah, right, but I would like to get my eyes
on the area.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
All right, Well, I think it would be fun to
go either time. But you would go a group. Yeah,
I'm not into that whole one on one like like
when you hear about, you know, people going on ghost
towards Ngetty Like, I don't. I'm not really interested in
that either. But when they go with a group, I'm
a little less turned off. Safety in numbers, right, like
(41:09):
maybe the ghost will pick somebody else to what's it called?
I was going to say, za habit?
Speaker 2 (41:17):
So anyway, have you ever looked up the YouTube videos
of people going out to the Gettysburg battlefields at night?
I don't know if you're like not supposed to go
in certain areas, or if it's a free for all
you can do whatever you want at night and they
just go do whatever. I don't know what the deal is,
but I mean, I certainly don't have an eye for
(41:40):
what's fake and what's real when it comes to ghost videos.
But these people go out there and record, and I
guess I don't know if they have lighting set up
or if it's from their headlines or what. But you
can see things I haven't.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
But I'm shocked you're watching these videos.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
It was years ago, years ago.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Gotcha, Well maybe you should see what's going on now.
Speaker 2 (42:07):
Well I don't know.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
Oh well, so there we have it, everybody. Thank you
all for tuning back in for part two of our
Mothman series, and by series, I mean two episodes, and uh,
just for future reference, I did look into the flat
Woods Monster, which was the same the guy who wrote
(42:29):
the Mothman book wrote the flat Woods Monster book, so
I did. I'm doing some research on that for a
future a future endeavor.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
So all right, on that note, everybody, stay safe and
stay chill, and we'll see you next time.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
Bye, everybody, you've just listened to Chilworthy.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
Thank you for joining us on this latest episode. While
we strive to keep our discussions engaging and lighthearted, we
also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the real
lives and events that are at the heart of these stories.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
We try to approach each topic with a sense of
curiosity and respect fully aware of the impact these events
have had on the individuals and their loved ones. Our
goal is to honor their memories by keeping their stories
alive and shedding light on the mysteries that surround them.
Speaker 1 (43:24):
If you enjoyed this episode, please remember to subscribe, rate,
and leave a review, and don't forget to join us
on the next episode of Chilworthy.
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