Sunday, November 9, 2008

West Virginia: Weird and Wonderful

The official state slogan was once "Wild and Wonderful," but I think it has since been changed. I would have suggested just plain "Weird." My reasons: a. It looks cool on your license plate, b. The little state I live in (no, not Paranoia. I mean the one I physically live in) has actually surpassed even Roswell, New Mexico, in the total number of reported UFO sightings.

Thankfully, the weirdness doesn't end there. We also have the Mothman. This cryptozoolgical mystery was reportedly seen hundreds of times by different people, all sightings actually originating in the Point Pleasant area- which is the town I currently live in. (I keep waiting to see him but he has yet to show.) Pictured below is an artist sketch of the odd fellow that had everyone so scared. This all happened in the late 1960s. It is speculated by many that the creature came to warn the town of the tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge here in Point Pleasant that killed many people. Others say it was a large owl with his feathers ruffed, making him appear much larger. Just a thought, but if theory one is correct and he had wanted to warn people -maybe he should have said something, or at least scratched a quick note in the dirt. Some cryptids have no manners whatsoever. (Photo borrowed, without permission from http://www.taskboy.com/. Not sure who has actual copyrights.)
Next, an even older mystery, complete with spooky monster. This strange tale unfolds in Braxton County, West Virginia, where several people reported that an object had fallen from the sky in September of 1952. Upon closer investigation of the spot those same persons allegedly saw a ten-foot tall monster, with a spade-shaped head and a beet-red face. (I am only speculating, but I believe they may have run out of hyphenated descriptions.) Below is a sketch of the Flatwoods Monster, or Monster of Braxton County. (Also borrowed sans permission, this time from http://www.worldoftheunknown.com/.)
Unfortunately I have yet to run into any of these characters. I will say, however, that a trip to the local grocery store any day of the week will invariably put me face to face with creatures of the human sort that are easily just as strange and fascinating as any mentioned above.
It is a weird place.
I think I like it here.

5 comments:

Blicky Kitty said...

Cooool! Was it ever on X-files? OK every state has its fringe. My mom's next door neighbor in Newport RI has UFO conventions at her house. My friend Tamar went over there once and said one of the guests (introduced as so-and-so who was abducted) did the nanu-nanu handshake.

*mary* said...

Haha, that is hilarious! Yes, Mothman was mentioned in passing on an X-files episode, but they did make a cheesy (or so I hear) movie about it starring Richard Gere that was filmed here. There are definitely weirdies everywhere, there just seem to be slightly more per capita here.

minerva1822 said...

this is why WV rocks :)

man i miss it there :(

controlled chaos said...

HaHa that's so funny!
Michigan isn't weird ...maybe except for its random weather changes. But that's nothing compared to the stuff here.

Sidd said...

Each night I fall asleep looking at my glow-in-the-dark Mothman and Flatwoods Kaiju. They are delighted I know someone from their hometown! Oh, and blicky kitty, do your neighbors have a chapter in Washington State? I kid you not, my neighbors are just like that ! Gatherings, abductee leader, everything.

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