UE; P&M, August of 2016—Jonathan Lane reports a “giant, shapeless, black thing” with “two very large red eyes” in Rockford, Illinois. The Singular Fortean Society earns a fee as an Amazon Associate for qualifying purchases. LB; P&M, July 27th, 2017—A person headed home from work reports a large, bat-like creature perched atop a light pole. Last week, UFO Clearinghouse received another witness report from someone claiming to have seen a red-eyed winged humanoid, also at O’Hare Airport, on December 3. UE; UFOCH, July 29th, 2017—Two friends report a "huge black shape" gliding over the Albany Park/Lincoln Square area. UE; MUFON/P&M, October 19th, 2019—A man reports a shrieking “giant-sized bat” fly overhead as he is smoking a cigarette outside of a wedding reception in Rosemont, Illinois. To report a sighting, reach out to us directly at The Singular Fortean Society through our contact page. Moran, Mark; Sceurman, Mark; Lake, Matt (2008). One witness, who goes by Jeff, reported seeing the Mothman during the fall of 2016. The Mothman Prophecies (2002) is a major motion picture, loosely based on the 1975 book of the same name by John Keel. Brunvand notes that recountings of the 1966–67 Mothman reports usually state that at least 100 people saw Mothman with many more "afraid to report their sightings" but observed that written sources for such stories consisted of children's books or sensationalized or undocumented accounts that fail to quote identifiable persons. LB; TSFS, August 27th, 2017—A retired police officer reports a "dark gargoyle" with red eyes in the Forest Park neighborhood. In West Virginia folklore, the Mothman is a creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. "Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something", "Munitions Risk Closes Part of Wildlife Area Again", "Monster Bird With Red Eyes May Be Crane", "Mothman' still a frighteningly big draw for tourists", "Man photographs creature that resembles legendary, "Is the Mothman of West Virginia an Owl? UFOCH (UFO Clearinghouse): These sightings were received/investigated by Manuel Navarette of UFO Clearinghouse. Since February of last year, over 55 eyewitnesses in the city of Chicago have reported something strange flying in the sky and concluded that it’s the famous Mothman. The Chicago Phantom is a case which began on April 10th 2017 when an alleged sighting of a winged humanoid in Oz Park, Chicago by an unnamed person was reported on by Manuel Navarette of the UFO Clearing House website under the title "Flying Entity, possible Mothman sighting seen in Chicago, Illinois". UE; UFOCH, June 30th, 2020—Two women report seeing a “huge owl” with "glowing red eyes that looked like [they] belonged to the devil himself" near a parking lot at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The cases took place between 10 p.m. on April 15, 2017, and 2 a.m. on April 16, 2017. UE; TSFS/P&M, February 21st, 2020—A security guard at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport reports a "very tall...solid black" creature with "glowing red eyes." LB; P&M, April 12th, 2018—Two elderly women reportedly witness a dark winged being vanish in West Lakeview. [9] Wildlife biologist Robert L. Smith at West Virginia University told reporters that descriptions and sightings all fit the sandhill crane, a large American crane almost as high as a man with a seven-foot wingspan featuring circles of reddish coloring around the eyes, and that the bird may have wandered out of its migration route. UE; TSFS, Early spring 2010—A man reports a “four-and-a-half-foot dark-colored entity perched on the peak of his neighbor's roof.” UE; P&M, Late summer of 2010—Two teens report seeing a winged "deerbat" while driving outside of Rockford, Illinois; a second sighting of something described as a “flying tar man” reportedly took place nearby around the same time. UE; UFOCH, February 26th, 2020—A woman reports a “big, black birdman” in the backyard of her apartment building in West Englewood, Chicago. Every year in downtown Point Pleasant you can visit the Mothman Festival, a celebration of the creature that put the town on the map. Two volunteer firemen who saw it said it was a "large bird with red eyes". LB; UFOCH, May 19th, 2017—A group of friends report two giant bats performing aerial maneuvers near Adler Planetarium. UE; P&M, Winter of 2011—A woman reports seeing a flying humanoid with “greenish yellowish-like eyes” while driving near the Prairie Creek Reservoir in Indiana. UE; P&M, August 28th, 2017—A delivery driver reports a "large man with wings" flying over the same area of McCook as the sightings reported on August 22nd. [2][3] and was later popularized by John Keel in his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies,[4] claiming that there were supernatural events related to the sightings, and a connection to the collapse of the Silver Bridge. Following the Mothman sightings, the bridge collapse was the second terrible and bizarre thing to put Point Pleasant on the map in a year’s time. [20], According to University of Chicago psychologist David A. Gallo, 55 sightings of Mothman in Chicago during 2017 published on the website of self-described Fortean researcher Lon Strickler are "a selective sample". I am writing to report something that my boyfriend and I saw while traveling southeast on highway 63 around 10:30 PM on December 12, 2007. UE; P&M/TSFS, February 28th, 2019—A man outside of the Jewel-Osco in Woodstock, Illinois, reports an "unusual being" with wings and "bright green eyes" charging at him from the McHenry County Fairgrounds. Is This The 'Chicago Mothman?' ", "People Keep Seeing the Mothman in Chicago", "Legend of the Mothman" plaque on base of statue, "Petition Launched to Replace Every Confederate Statue With Mothman", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mothman&oldid=1008794867, Wikipedia pages move-protected due to vandalism, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 February 2021, at 02:35. Mason County Sheriff George Johnson commented that he believed the sightings were due to an unusually large heron he termed a "shitepoke". LB; P&M, June 29th, 2017—A police officer, along with the officer's partner and a group of civilians, reportedly sees a "dark black shadow with wings" standing atop a building before taking flight in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicago. The tale of the Mothman begins back in the 1960s in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where over the course of 13 months it allegedly appeared to multiple people and … LB; TSFS, November 1st, 2015—A woman reports a “crow man” hovering over a high-rise near Chicago’s Washington Park. UE; TSFS, Summer of 2019—A man reports "a large, dark, man-sized bat-bird 'thing'" flying behind his home in Franklin Park, Illinois. UE; P&M, Summer of 2003—A young woman and her friend report an “owlman” outside the window of her house in Alsip, Illinois. UE; P&M, Fall of 1971—Retired police officer David Ramos reports an encounter with a shadowy winged humanoid he had when he was 12 years old near the North Branch of the Chicago River. UE; P&M, April 10th, 2017—A woman walking her dog in Chicago's Oz Park reports a run-in with a paralyzing winged being. Although no images could be taken then but there is a sculpture that proves that the incident has occurred. Nickell attributes the Mothman stories to sightings of barn owls, suggesting that the Mothman's "glowing eyes" were actually red-eye effect caused from the reflection of light from flashlights or other bright light sources. The Chicago sightings have varied in reports and characteristics. In 1975, author John Keel conflated the Mothman sightings and the bridge disaster while creating his book The Mothman Prophecies. UE; P&M, October 7th, 2017—A witness reports a large, winged being flying in the River North neighborhood. UE; UFOCH/P&M/TSFS, Late October, 2019—A woman and her husband report an “unknown flying human owl” perched in a tree near their apartment in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. UE; P&M, April 20th, 2016—A woman reports a hulking, hunched-over, winged being across the street as she takes the garbage out that morning. UE; UFOCH, Late September, 2019—A woman reports a toddler-sized “bat creature…running like a gorilla” across Meadow Hill Road near Barrington, Illinois. UE; UFOCH, Early July, 2020—A man and his coworkers report seeing “a large person with wings” fly overhead while unloading a plane at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. UE; TSFS, Early summer 2016—A woman reports seeing a “prehistoric bird” after dropping her kids off at school in Gary, Indiana. The winged being, according to some witnesses, bears a resemblance to the famous Mothman of Point Pleasant, while others have described it as more bat-like in appearance.One researcher argues that it is probably just a large owl.While testimony concerning the appearance of this creature varies, one recurring theme seems to be consistent; the feeling of dread and doom that … LB; P&M/TSFS. LB; P&M, February 22nd, 2019—A man in Woodstock, Illinois reports a large, winged being “covered in dark fur” illuminated by the headlights of his car as the being crosses the street in front of him. LB, PH; MUFON, April 27th, 2017—A man fishing with his son on the banks of the Little Calumet in Chicago reportedly sees a weird winged being after hearing an eerie, unexplained sound. UE; P&M/TSFS, Summer of 2000—Two friends report a weird, winged entity at the Goshen Dam in Indiana. A 12-foot-tall metallic statue of the creature, created by artist and sculptor Bob Roach, was unveiled in 2003. UE; P&M, April 12th, 2019—Ghost hunter Craig Nehring reportedly collides with a “miniature mothman” while driving his semi truck near Wittenberg, Wisconsin. LB; UFOCH/MUFON, August 6th, 2017—Two concertgoers report a bat-like flying humanoid with glowing red eyes in Grant Park following the Chicago Lollapalooza. LB; P&M, Late summer, 2017—A woman in Rockford, Illinois reports a “tall and dark” humanoid with huge wings taking flight from a neighbor’s yard about a block away. [11][12], After the December 15, 1967, collapse of the Silver Bridge and the death of 46 people,[13] the incident gave rise to the legend and connected the Mothman sightings to the bridge collapse.[9][14][15]. UE; UFOCH, Also on May 27th, 2017—A woman and her boyfriend report a "large black flying man with wings" near 127th St. & Ashland Ave. LB; P&M, June 3rd, 2017—Two different couples report encounters with a large, bat-like flying humanoid in the Lincoln Park area. [23] LB; P&M, February 2nd, 2018—Three witnesses report a "tall man" with a "very large black pair of wings," and glowing, "ruby red" eyes in Oak Park. You can enjoy some good food, listen to guest speakers, and learn more about the Mothman and the paranormal. [22], Point Pleasant held its first Annual Mothman Festival in 2002. LB; UFOCH, August 21st, 2017—A second sighting of a shadowy flying humanoid reportedly occurs in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. LB; TSFS August 27th, 2017 —A retired police officer reports a "dark gargoyle" with red eyes in the Forest Park neighborhood. LB (Large Birds): These sightings are the most likely to be a misidentified modern avian species or potentially anomalous large birds—think owls, herons, and cranes, or even pterosaurs and thunderbirds. LB; P&M, January 28th, 2018—A woman reports a "weird hybrid mix of an owl and a bat" outside of her home in Wilmington. © The Singular Fortean Society (Tobias & Emily Wayland) 2016-2020. [23], According to the event organizer, Jeff Wamsley, the average attendance for the Mothman is an estimated 10–12 thousand people per year. LB; P&M, April 10th, 2018—Two witnesses report an "owl man" on Chicago's south side. PH (Potential Hoax): These sightings are the likeliest to have been deliberate hoaxes—the information given has been proven to contradict verifiable facts. Mothman sightings map --Chicago area --Cryptid flying humanoid / entity reports from eyewitnesses in the Chicago, IL metro area - 2011-Present. Whatever you might believe about this tale, there is one place you can spot the Mothman for sure. UE; P&M/TSFS, May 1st, 2018—A man's parents report a "large winged humanoid" flying above the trees behind their home in Wheeling, Illinois. [14], In June of 2020, a petition was started to replace all Confederate statues in the United States with statues of Mothman. Since the rash of sightings started in February, he’s been painstakingly interviewing witnesses and documenting their accounts. And one of these I found to be very interesting. UE; TSFS/UFOCH, May 31st, 2020—An airline pilot reports a “large, black, human-like creature” flying above O’Hare International Airport. It still remains unknown whether Chicago Mothman is a subspecies of the West Virginia Mothman or the same species — or whether it is, perhaps, just a heron that got caught in a garbage bag. UE; TSFS/P&M, 2011—A suspicious winged entity is captured on camera, two roommates and their friends are reportedly terrorized by glowing eyes peeking through their window, and a college student reports a "man with wings." UE; UFOCH, September 16th, 2017—A pair of siblings are reportedly terrified by a bat-like creature in the Little Village. [9][10], At the time, Batman was a popular TV show, and soon after the first reports, newspapers coined the name “Mothman”, inspired by a comic book enemy of Batman called Killer Moth. UE; TSFS, January of 2002—A woman reports a terrifying encounter with a red-eyed, winged creature in Madison, Wisconsin. [18][7] Benjamin Radford points out that the only report of glowing "red eyes," was secondhand, that of Shirley Hensley quoting her father. UE; TSFS, Mid-June, 1976—A man’s vehicle is reportedly attacked by a winged “black figure” with “glowing red eyes” in Waukegan, Illinois. MUFON (The Mutual UFO Network): These sightings were received/investigated by field investigators with the Mutual UFO Network. He also records anecdotal tales of Mothman supposedly attacking the roofs of parked cars occupied by teenagers. (1) Mothman is said to have sighted first time in 1966 when two young couple found that they were not alone. UE; P&M, Summer of 2007—Two friends report a flying humanoid with “glowing yellow-ish eyes” at Prairie Creek Reservoir in Indiana. If you enjoy these articles and would like to support the Singular Fortean Society, please consider becoming an official member by signing up through our Patreon page—membership includes a ton of extra content and behind-the-scenes access to the Society’s inner workings. Mothman is a cryptid resembling a tall man with large wings like that of a moth, its notable feature is its large red glowing eyes that resemble brake lights. LB; P&M, March 16th, 2017—A witness reports a large, winged being perched on top of a roof in the Tinley Park suburb of Chicago. The group organizing the event chose the Mothman to be center of the festival due to its uniqueness, and as a way to celebrate its local legacy in the town. As of July 2020, the petition has garnered over 2,000 signatures.[27]. [1] The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States. LB; P&M, May 9th, 2018—A man on his way to work captures a "bat-like" flying creature on his GoPro camera; he later describes it as "someone in a wing suit." UE; TSFS, March 6th, 2019—A woman is awoken in the early morning hours by a “sinister” and “monster-like” growling outside of her home in Woodstock, Illinois. [5] An annual festival in Point Pleasant is devoted to the Mothman legend. (Photo) Red-Eyed Winged Humanoid Twice Observed in Hammond... MIB Grabs Sample of Snow Possible Wendigo in Red River Gorge, Kentucky Photo: Phantom at Rialto Bridge in Venice Wendigo Encounter at Pine Basin, Idaho Ghostly Glove in the Dustcart Shapeshifting Reptilian Recorded by David Eckhart LB; P&M, April 10th, 2018—A woman reports a winged creature with "bat-like" wings near Oak Park. LB; UFOCH, August 21st, 2017—A woman and her friends report a "large black bat" with "humanoid features" in Chicago just prior to the solar eclipse. UE; TSFS, August of 2016—A man driving in Gary, Indiana has his second reported sighting of a dark, grayish “prehistoric bird” with smooth, leathery skin. So far, Lon Strickler of the Singular Fortean Society, has recorded 39 sightings of the Mothman since the beginning of this year in Chicago. These sightings have been reported out of chronological order, so we've put together a timeline of the reports with links to the articles that describe them, in order to help you contextualize the sightings.