Jeri Jacquin

Coming from director Seth Breedlove and 1091 bring THE MOTHMAN LEGACY exclusively on Digital Streaming Platforms this week.

It has been over 50 years since the Silver Bridge collapse in Point Pleasant West Virginia as the town is rebuilding. In the town is a museum dedicated to – the Mothman. West Virginia is filled with rivers, bridges and rolling hills. It brings tourists and those looking to see the beauty this state has to offer.

The lands have a generational history, first with the Indians who believed the land was cursed, to the Scotch-Irish people who, being considered outsiders, moved to the base of the Appalachian Mountains. The cultures folklore began to become blended with ghost stories etc. leading to the 60’s first speaking of the Mothman. In this documentary, many people remember their experience and share their story of the Mothman.

Thinking what happened at the bridge ended Mothman, nothing could have been further from the truth. The stories were still happening from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and still in West Virginia and Point Pleasant. Cray Barker and Mary Hyre kept the article of sightings coming. John Keel wrote “The Mothman Prophecy’s” book. It ignites even more controversy. Screenwriter Richard Hatem took to Keel’s book with interest.

Near the area of Point Pleasant is an area known as the T&T and in the 60’s the Mothman was called ‘The Bird’. The original title of Keel’s book was “The Year of the Garuda” but it didn’t get past the publishers. The Garuda can be found in many cultures and people believed it was a mutant bird because of the toxic waste in the T&T area.

The stories kept on coming and in the 1990’s, the Mothman was still around. Eyewitnesses come to the documentary ready to their experiences. After Keel’s book, theories began to emerge from an Indian curse and more thought perhaps it came from another plane of existence. With that more and more sightings are told. Each person truly believes in what they saw and do not hesitate in speaking.

In the 2000’s, a website “Mothman Lives” arrives on the internet that talks about the town and the T&T area. Later, the film THE MOTHEMAN PROPHECIES, there is even more light brought to the sightings with intense descriptions and the admittance of fear. Keel was thrilled that the movies was being done. Jeff Wamsley from the website also wrote two books “THE MOTHMAN: The Facts Behind the Legend” and “THE MOTHMAN: Behind the Red Eyes” which led to the museum.

The question asks by many “is the Mothman the Harbinger of doom?” and they compare the like to the Welsh-Irish character “the Banshee” with red hair and red eyes. Is there an ancient secret here? It is not just sightings as some have had more intense experiences. The Mothman museum is doing well and Keel passes in 2009 but saw Point Pleasant one more time.

Screenwriter Hatem says, “I have never experienced anything. I have never seen a UFO or seen a ghost or a weird phone call, none of it. I used to look at people who have experienced this with envy…now I don’t feel that way anymore at all” Wamsley’s research keeps Point Pleasant front and center with the Mothman Festival that happens each year.

It is a new way to keep an old tradition alive with storytelling. Getting the stories and documenting them for the museum and leaving a legacy for the Mothman and helping the community of Point Pleasant. Now, it is a family affair – as it should be!

1091 Pictures is an American film studio and was founded as the film and television division subsidiary of The Orchard in 2015. The company is best known for the Oscar nominated films LIFE, ANIMATED and CARTEL LAND. Sony divested the company and its catalogue of over 4,000 in 2019, with the company adopting the name 1091 Media. For more please visit www.1091pictures.com

THE MOTHMAN LEGACY is truly an interesting look at what most people do not know about the Mothman itself. The history is presented making it clear that not only do people believe, but there is nothing you can say to them to undo that belief.

The hold fast to their culture of the legends surrounding the people and the places they live. That is what drew me to this documentary from the beginning. My family holds steadfast to the family stories and pictures believing that it is important for the generations to come to understand their roots.

Granted most do not have such legends as the Mothman as my own does about the Banshee, but one thing is for sure – the Mothman has made his mark on those of us who want to know more. Director Breedlove lets the documentary take us places the film did not have time to. I am a total fan of the film

In the end – the forests of the Appalachia hide an ancient secret!

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