Mothman: Monster or Myth?

(Editor’s note: The following story appeared in the Oct. 25, 2017 edition of the Times)

Belief that a giant flying creature resides in Trempealeau may depend on how much one trusts the storytellers, but one researcher left the area about a decade ago convinced such a being lives on Trempealeau Mountain at Perrot State Park.

Other reports of a “mothman” date back more than 50 years to Point Pleasant, W.V. Multiple witnesses from that town claim to have seen the flying creature before the collapse of the Silver Bridge in Mason County on Dec. 15, 1967.

While the bridge’s collapse officially has been blamed on structural issues, some in Point Pleasant claim the mothman caused it to come down without warning, killing 46 people.

The story that brought a cable network to Trempealeau came from a La Crosse-based Native American man named Awohali, who said he was traveling with his son in 2006 when a large “man-bat” appeared in front of their car.

Awohali claimed the creature was about seven-feet tall and 250 pounds with a white mouth and red eyes. He said they left the area and returned the next day to find a mutilated deer carcass.

Of the three researchers the History Channel had investigate the incident in late 2009 for the episode that aired in early 2010, zoologist Nick Redfern came away believing the mothman is very real.

While no evidence was presented on the show that aired more than seven years ago, Redfern authored multiple blog posts in which he claimed to believe the urban legend. In September 2011, he posted on nickspicoftheday.blogspot.com that he thought the story of the mothman was true.

In January 2016, he wrote on mysteriousuniverse.org: “Being there for a week gave me a very good opportunity to dig deeply into some of the sightings, to gain confidence and trust the locals and to see what I could uncover. I’m pleased to say that what I discovered amounted to a great deal.”

The blog posts raised questions as to whether there was more to the story than what showed on the screen.

In a correspondence with the Times, Redfern confirmed there was more information than appeared in the show. However, he admitted he had no hard evidence. He based his opinion mostly on stories told to him in Winona, Minn., where he stayed during the filming.

“One story — if I recall correctly  — was from a truck driver who claimed to have seen a huge bird in the area, much bigger than a regular bird,” Redfern said. “I think there were two or three stories like that, but definitely no hard evidence surfaced at all.”

Another of the History Channel’s investigators believes Awohali saw an owl. On the show he conducted a study showing how difficult it would be for someone to determine the size of a creature in the circumstances Awohali described. He also said an owl’s eyes would reflect red in headlights.

Awohali appears to be alone in this sighting. There are numerous blog posts online from people claiming to have seen the mothman in Trempealeau, but almost all came after the History Channel’s airing.

One blogger who goes only by the surname “RB” claims to have seen the mothman in 1975. He said he also saw a female mothman, and they had a prey, a man named Lars Lutherson, who was found floating in Lake Goodview near Winona.

That post surfaced in September 2010, about seven months after the History Channel’s airing. An online search shows no record of anybody named Lars Lutherson having been found in Lake Goodview.

Another poster in October 2010 claims to have seen the mothman “20 or 30 years ago” and said he reported it to the Trempealeau County Sheriff. However, without a more exact date, searching such reports to the sheriff would be next to impossible. 

While the Internet seems to be a hotbed for people claiming to have seen the mothman, there don’t appear to be any official reports.

Officials at Perrot State Park along the Mississippi River says they have not received a single report of any creature resembling the mothman from the hundreds of thousands of people who have hiked or camped there.

The Times also reached out to the general public and received no reports. Instead, the Times heard from residents who’ve lived near the park and the river for their entire lives and never came across anything resembling the mothman.

When Redfern came to Trempealeau, he took a boat to Trempealeau Mountain and deemed it an ideal place for a large flying creature to make its nest. But as of now, there is no proof that the monster is anything more than a myth.