The first newspaper publication of November 16, 1966 was titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something."[1]
The people who saw Mothman saw a dark shape with very large glowing red eyes.
Mothman may have been a barred owl. Barred owls's eyes shine bright red in the dark. At night, the eyes look much bigger than they really are. The people may have seen a barn owl flying very close to them and thought it was a larger animal further away.[2]
In popular culture
The Mothman became popular when American journalist and UFOlogist John Keel wrote the book The Mothman Prophecies and published it in 1975. The book was adapted into a 2002 movie.
Also the Mothman appeared in the video game Fallout 76.
References
↑Mark Turner (November 16, 1966). "Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something." Point Pleasant Register. cited in WestVA.Net.