Encounters with Flying Humanoids by Ken Gerhard

Author:Ken Gerhard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ken gerhard, paranormal, humanoid, cryptozoology, mythical animal, aliens
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2013-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

“Ohio River, Point Pleasant” © Ken Gerhard

The Silver Bridge Disaster

Exactly one year and one month after Mothman burst onto the scene, the Silver Bridge, which spanned the Ohio River joining Point Pleasant with Gallipolis to the west, collapsed, taking forty-six lives. It was December 15, 1967, and the Christmas rush was in full swing. At around 5:00 p.m., as dozens of cars and trucks sat stuck in traffic, the frigid air thundered as one of the suspension chains gave way, felling the structure into the icy waters of the river and taking thirty-one occupied vehicles along with it. Residents were in shock and rushed to the horrific scene in order to search for survivors. The catastrophe still ranks as one of the worst bridge disasters in U.S. history, and it changed the way that older structures are regulated. Aside from the forty-four bodies that were recovered, two victims were never found and nine more people were seriously injured. Everyone knows everyone else in Point Pleasant, and there is no person from that community who did not suffer a terrible loss in the tragedy.

The Silver Bridge had been built in 1928 and had been given its name because it had been coated with silver aluminum paint. Constructed of carbon steel, it was also one of the first high-tension eye-beam bridge designs. Ultimate analysis of the wreckage indicated that there might have been a structural defect involving eye-bar number 330. In addition, the bridge had been subjected to far more traffic and weight than it had ever been designed for, and it had developed a great deal of rust and wear after nearly four decades of brutal, icy winters. Still, there were whispers around Point Pleasant that the catastrophe was somehow linked to Mothman’s appearance the year prior. As it turned out, some of the victims had either been Mothman eyewitnesses or relatives of people who had been affected somehow. There was even an unconfirmed rumor that Mothman was spotted near the bridge just before its collapse. Curiously, sightings of the creature diminished abruptly following the Silver Bridge calamity.

The Keelian Legacy

As we can see, during 1967, certain schools of thought had begun to develop with regard to the Mothman. Whether it was the result of mass hysteria or whether an actual monster was frolicking across the Ohio River Valley that year, events seemed to escalate exponentially.

Author John Keel, who penned the definitive book on the subject, The Mothman Prophecies, estimated that he had spoken to hundreds of Mothman witnesses during that time, though many of them were too frightened to speak in public. Without question, no one was in a better position to gauge the level of weirdness that was occurring than Keel. A writer and professed UFO enthusiast, he had headed to Point Pleasant in order to get to the bottom of things, acting largely upon the advice of colleague Gray Barker.

Keel quickly formed an alliance with a local reporter named Mary Hyre and set out to gather up all of the information he could.

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