On Mothman: Cryptid or Spirit?

Mothman hanging out in my herb garden.

I have to admit to being somewhat impatient with those who consider the infamous Mothman of Point Pleasant, WV a cryptid.

A cryptid is generally regarded as a biological, physically real creature that is simply unknown by science.

If you read the descriptions of the Mothman as narrated by John Keel, who was actively investigating the creature sightings as they happened in 1966-67, there is no way that they creature could be a real animal.

It is described as at least six feet tall, with a ten foot wingspan. Most descriptions show it with no neck and discernible head, but with two great glowing red eyes in the general region of the shoulders or chest. No feathers were seen in most sightings, and it was described variously as being grey, black or brown in color.

Witnesses said that it took off vertically, without flapping its wings, and soared, staying aloft without ever moving its wings. It was said by the two couples who made the first report of it to to police have kept up with their car, even though they were going seventy-five miles an hour in an attempt to outrun it.

It managed all of this without flapping its wings.

Now, let’s think on this a little.

The most logical suspect for this unknown creature would be a bird.

In fact, at the time one scientist tried to say that it was nothing more than a sandhill crane, and the witnesses, having never seen such a bird before (West Virginia not being within the natural range of sandhill cranes) , simply assumed it was some kind of monster.

This is such patent bullshit.

Sandhill cranes are five feet tall, maximum. They have a long, slender neck, a long bill and while they have red patches near their eyes, they do not glow. Their wingspan is about five feet. They flap their wings at take off and most definitely flap their wings when they fly, and their maximum air speed (unladen) is 35 miles per hour.

A car driven by a panicked young man going 75 miles an hour would leave a sandhill crane in the dust.

A more logical avian suspect for Mothman would be some sort of owl. The general profile of the Mothman--seemingly headless with a broad chest with great glowing eyes inset it in fits the shape of an owl with its wings outstretched. Owls, when they fly, as compared to hawks and eagles, seem to have no head, and their eyes can glow at night, though they tend to glow yellow.

Even if there is an unknown owl out there in the world that is large, with red eye shine, I’d doubt it could be six feet tall, with a ten foot wingspan, that it could take off straight up without flapping its wings and could soar with an airspeed of 75 miles per hour.

Birds just don’t work that way. When they take off, they flap their wings. It’s how birds work.

And, the fastest recorded airspeed for a bird in horizontal flight would be 68 miles per hour. This speed record was clocked in by a gyrfalcon, which flapped its wings the whole time, had a wing span of barely two feet, and wasn’t flying at night.

See--the thing is--Mothman, as a real live flesh and blood animal is impossible. Birds don’t fly that fast, certainly not without flapping their wings. Birds that big do soar--but they don’t do it at speeds anywhere near 75 miles per hour. 

I suppose Mothman could be a giant bat--but once again, bats flap their wings to fly, and they don’t fly that fast.

It isn’t a biological entity so it can’t be a cryptid.

It’s some sort of spirit being or energy-based being, or extradimensional entity. .

So, please, stop calling it a cryptid.