Point Pleasant, WV, is probably most known as the home of the Mothman. Although the mysterious winged man has historically received most of the attention, the city of Point Pleasant also boasts its share of ghosts, spirits, and maybe even a werewolf. Quite possibly one of the most famous weird American small towns, the city's history goes back to the settlers of the 1700s. Creepy stories about the area begin around that time, as conflicts between European immigrants and indigenous Native Americans most likely left many disturbed souls behind.
In addition to ghosts, the true Mothman stories from Point Pleasant can be pretty hair-raising. Witnesses have reportedly been chased through the woods by a flying creature with glowing eyes, and many believe the beast calls abandoned WWII bunkers home. Some people even connect the Silver Bridge collapse in 1967 to the Mothman.
Whether there's something in the water, there's something in the air, or a portal to Hell is secretly lurking under a resident's porch, the Point Pleasant area is responsible for some pretty creepy happenings.
Originally built as the Spencer Hotel in 1901, the Lowe Hotel sits along the Ohio River. It was elaborately furnished and once included a bank, billiard room, dry goods shop, and bar, but these days it's more known for its ghostly residents. Hotel visitors often experience mysterious drafts of cold air, unexplained loud noises, phantom smoke, in addition to full apparitions.
On the second floor mezzanine, a young woman thought to be the daughter of the hotel's original manager dances barefoot in her nightgown. Some guests have seen an apparition of a child riding a tricycle down a second-floor hallway, and others have reported hearing the tires squeaking and the child laughing.
Many consider the third floor to be the most haunted, especially rooms 314 and 316, and visitors have reportedly witnessed the ghost of a local steamboat captain, found cleaning supplies moved around by departed former employees, heard whistling, and felt chills.
The Curse Of Point Pleasant May Have Caused Tragedies
As European settlers moved into the Ohio River valley, they often came into conflict with Native American residents. Seven nations eventually came together as allies to fight their presence, and the conflict climaxed in 1774. The leader of the Shawnee nation, whose name translates to Cornstalk, made peace with the settlers but was taken as a pawn so Native Americans working with the British would not fight back.
When two soldiers ventured outside the fort and a few natives besieged them, the settlers took their revenge and Cornstalk's life. According to legend, he cursed them before he passed:
I came to the fort as your friend... May the curse of the Great Spirit rest upon this land. May it be blighted by nature. May it even be blighted in its hopes.
Since Cornstalk's curse, many tragedies have occurred in the area, including a monument dedicated to the white soldiers of the 1774 conflict and the crane used to build it each being struck by lightning on different occasions. The curse has been blamed for two plane crashes, a 1907 coal mine blast that took more than 300 lives, and a train mishap that spilled chemicals in the water; the area has also experienced tornadoes, floods, and fire.
A Woman Claimed To Have Seen A Werewolf In Front Of Her Home
In 2014, a woman sat on her porch one evening and noticed all the dogs in the neighborhood seemed to be going wild. She heard a few odd noises and saw movement along the railroad tracks across the street. According to the woman's story, she quickly noticed the thing responsible: it stood about six feet high, was covered in fur, and had the head of a German shepherd. Even more surprising, it walked on two legs.
She made eye contact with the creature and remembered being drawn into its eyes. The beast began walking toward her, but lights from an approaching car startled it, and it ran.
Countless Citizens Have Encountered The Legendary Mothman
Five gravediggers working near Point Pleasant on November 12, 1966, suddenly saw something fly over their heads. They quickly noticed it didn't seem to be a bird, but rather a human with wings that flew from tree to tree around them. Three days after the sighting, the creature appeared in front of two couples sitting in a car. When they became frightened and fled, the beast chased the vehicle, allegedly reaching speeds around 100 miles per hour while flying.
More and more people claimed to have encountered the creature called the Mothman, and one local paper reported eight people spotting it in a span of three days. One man discovered the Mothman on his property when his television began acting strangely and his dog barked at something outside. According to the man and others, the creature had red glowing eyes, stood up to seven feet tall, and had large wings.
The Original Owner Of The State Theater Still Walks Its Aisles
Point Pleasant's State Theater opened in the early 1940s and shares a lot of history with the town. The building is attached to the local hardware store, and the two businesses share a wall. During the aftermath of the Silver Bridge falling in 1967, the town used the basement of the hardware store to temporarily house those who perished. As a result, many people believe their spirits haunt the theater.
Witnesses have claimed to feel cold spots, especially around one particular seat. Lights turn on and off in the projection room, shadowy figures sometimes pass by, and one paranormal researcher felt a phantom hand press on her back. People have also claimed to see the first owner of the theater walk up and down the aisles each evening at precisely 8:45 pm.
Ghost Men Search Sliding Hill For Their Lost Treasure
A little further down the Ohio River Valley from Point Pleasant sit the towns of New Haven and Hartford City. Since roads weren't entirely usable back in the 1800s when people settled in the area, many traveled via the Ohio River. According to stories, thieves snuck onto a boat in the middle of the night and took the lives of two settlers. They hid the bodies and took the money the men planned to use to purchase land. Anxious about carrying such a large sum of money and worried they might get caught, they buried the coins in several places along a hillside.
Unfortunately for them, both men passed before they made it back, but people around the hillside claimed to begin seeing lantern lights not long after. The lights moved along the hill as if searching for something, and residents have reportedly seen lights from far away. One man became so curious, he approached a light one night and allegedly discovered a ghost without a head attempting to move a boulder.
