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The Monsters of West Virginia

The Monsters of West Virginia
The Mothman

Mothman is one of the most well-known monsters in the world. During the 1960s the Mothman haunted the area around Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The first sighting was when six grave diggers were on the job and they saw a human sized bird flying overhead. When they saw the bright glowing red eyes, they realized it was not a bird at all and took off running. The next sightings happened three days later at the old TNT factory. Two couples were driving through the area when they noticed bright red eyes staring at them. They stopped the car to see what it was and to their horror the creature spread it's wings and took off after them, easily keeping up even as the car was going 100 mph. They managed to get back to town and report their findings. The newspaper gave the creature the name of Mothman after a villain in Batman. The sightings continued for over a year, terrorizing the small town in West Virginia. Everything to came to an end in December when the Silver Bridge collapsed during rush hour traffic. After this the Mothman sightings stopped all together, making many wonder whether the creature was warning the people of the impending disaster or the cause of it. 
The Flatwoods Monster

The Flatwoods Monster was sighted in the 1950s at Flatwoods, WV. Three boys were outside playing when they saw a bright light streak across the sky and land on a nearby farm. The boys got a group together and went to check it out. They were about a quarter of a mile away when one of the hunting dogs ran ahead and later came back with its tail between its legs. The group made it to the crash site when the saw a glowing fireball about 50 ft away. A horrible smell was in the air which caused the eyes and noses to burn. In the distance they saw two bright glowing eyes and when the farmer shined his flashlight on it they saw the 10 ft tall creature itself. It had a red face, a spade cowl, and was covered completely in body armor. It whirled and began to glide towards them when it suddenly changed directions and went back to the craft. The people took off running back to town. 

The next day in Frametown, a young couple was driving through when their car suddenly stopped. They got out and I estimated when the horrible odor starts up. The couple looked over and were horrified by what they saw. The creature had the same lower body as the Flatwoods monster but was a lizard man on the top. The couple was able to escape but the monster was never seen again.
The Sheepsquatch

The Sheepsquatch belongs to a group of demons known as the White Things. They are a type of creature that lives in the woods of West Virginia that will attack without reason. Animals who are attacked will be ripped to shred in a bloody fashion. However when they attack humans, their victims are forced to watch and feel the pain as if they are being ripped to shreds but when they are done, their victims are left unharmed with only the traumatizing memories of the attack. 

The first sighting of the Sheepsquatch was by a Navy seaman who was out in the woods. He watched as the creature came out of the forest and stopped to get a drink the river before leaving back into the forest. The second sighting was by a group of children who was outside playing. The creature was startled by the children before taking off into the woods. The next year a man was driving his car through Boone County when he saw a white creature in the ditch. He stopped the car and when the creature saw him it lunged out of the ditch and attacked the car. 

The creature would not be seen again until five years later by a group of campers. They heard an animal scuffling around and didn't think anything of it until the Sheepsquatch charged their camp. They took off running back to their house while the beast gave chase and stopped following them once they left the woods. When they went back to their camp the next day everything was destroyed.
The Monsters of West Virginia
Published:

The Monsters of West Virginia

My Senior Project for my university. I researched and illustrated three of the monsters known throughout West Virginia Folklore.

Published: