The Mothman Festival celebrates the famous Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia and its warning or cause of the Silver Bridge’s 1967 collapse. The festival has live music, a great assortment of cryptid vendors, nice food options and so much more. It’s a nice time to also visit the museum while visiting.
2023 DATE: September 16-17, 2023
Location: Downtown Point Pleasant, WV
Website: https://www.mothmanfestival.com/
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This post documents my experience on September 17, 2016.
On November 15, 1966, two young couples were driving outside of Point Pleasant, WV…
…when they saw a large flying white creature with glowing red eyes.
Soon after, more people saw this “Mothman” in the area…
…and these sightings lasted until December 15, 1967 (Jamie C. Sloane)…
…when the Silver Bridge collapsed into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.
And although the Mothman hasn’t been seen in those 50 years since…
…the town of Point Pleasant has been commemorating his visits through a festival.
The Mothman Festival takes place primarily on Main Street…
…where local businesses decorate in Mothman themes (Main Street Consignment)…
…steakhouses turn into Mothman diners (Harris)…
…and Mexican restaurants even make Mothman burritos.
Mothman fans quickly filled the streets…
…to discuss the Mothman with local authors (George Dudding)…
…paranormal investigators (Cameron Jones)…
…and investigative societies (Southeastern Ohio Society)…
…to purchase their Mothman shirts…
…art…
…bowls and mugs (Stef Ratliff)…
…cornhole boards…
…and beard balm…
…and to get their pictures with the Ghostbusters (WV Division/Columbus)…
…Batman and Bigfoot…
…various Star Wars characters…
…Mr. and Mrs. Captain America…
…the Mothman himself (with a Man in Black)…
…and Death.
Many fans even came to meet with the Mountain Monsters team…
…and I mean many…
…because the line ran down the street.
But there was still more to do (inflatable)…
…like the Hillbilly zip-line…
…games…
…face painting and caricatures…
…various guided tours (not a picture of an actual tour)…
…educational presentations…
…live music…
…and a visit here…
…at the world’s only Mothman Museum…
…where you could read up on the Mothman…
…before picking up some official merchandise.
Finally, it would be important to mention the food.
Not only was there a nice selection of smoked and barbecued meats (Cornfed’s/Save by Grace)…
…there were wok fired soba noodles (Island Noodles)…
…and some decadent mountain food (Mountain Que)…
…where I got this cup filled with pulled pork and macaroni and cheese.
There were also Mothman cupcakes…
…Mothman eyes…
…Mothman wings…
…Motheroni rolls…
…and the rather famous Mothman pancakes.
With all the Mothman stuff, if was only a matter of time before you saw him yourself…
…just be quiet about it or the Men in Black will find you.