Category Archives: UFO’s

The Mothman Mythology, Does He Really Predict The Future?

This statue is in Mothman’s “hometown” of Point Pleasant, W.V. Check out those abs! Mothman is ripped!

In May of this year, I featured a lot of paranormal content to celebrate Paranormal Month, which I invented (copyright!). When you think about the paranormal you usually think of ghosts, demons, UFO’s and cryptids like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

But have you heard about the Mothman? I had heard of Mothman occasionally when consuming paranormal content, but it wasn’t a big topic. The Mothman never gets paranormal headliner status, except in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. That’s sort of his home region. Despite stories of a winged entity in the Point Pleasant area since the 1920’s, Mothman is still like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster’s little brother, forever in their shadow.

Mothman is an interesting character though because, unlike cryptids, which are usually considered animals that are unusual and difficult to verify, the Mothman (or Mothwomen) are considered to be sentient beings. (Yes, I said Mothmen/women plural. There have been a lot more sightings than people realize.)

The Mothman is often described as being a tall, hairy, winged humanoid being with glowing eyes. Some people have theorized that the Mothman is an alien.

2016 picture of a Mothman flying over Point Pleasant

The Mothman sightings that really captivated the country began in Point Pleasant, West Virginia from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15, 1966. Author John Keel popularized local folklore about the creature with his 1975 book “The Mothman Prophecies.”

Interestingly is that shortly after the Mothman started appearing, so did reports of UFO’s and “Men in Black” (not Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones). In the documentary The Mothman of Point Pleasant there are several eyewitness accounts of unwanted harassment by the Men In Black.

Some believe The Mothman is a bad omen , only appearing when catastrophe is about to strike. There have been many claims that the winged, red-eyed creature was seen right before the Point Pleasant Silver Bridge collapsed early in 1967. That event took the lives of 46 people.

A great book by author JW Ocker with a chapter on the impact the Mothman has had on Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Over the last 50 years there have been reports of Mothmen or Mothwomen being spotted in Vietnam during the war, in Chernobyl, Russia before the nuclear plant melted down, and even a mothman near the Twin Towers before they were hit. Another was reported in August 2007 when the the bridge collapsed in Minnesota.

More recently, starting in the summer of 2011, reports of Mothman-like flying humanoids have been popping up in the Chicago area. The picture below is a map of where those sightings have occurred around Chicago. That’s a lot of sightings, so it’s definitely is not one or two crackpots reporting their hallucinations.

I find the century long story of the Mothman fascinating. If you look back at history, in every country humans have always reported seeing flying beings. Some were thought to be angels, some aliens, some predators. It’s another of those murky paranormal stories that seems to have enough widespread validation that something different is going on but we just haven’t pinned it down.

If you’re more of a watcher than a reader, there is a documentary titled The Mothman of Point Pleasant on Amazon for free. It’s interesting with some very detailed eyewitness accounts. Also on Amazon is a fictional movie based on what happened in Point Pleasant titled The Mothman Prophecies.  It stars Debra Messing and Richard Gere, who in the 6 degrees of separation game is only one person away from me. I wonder if The Mothman predicted that?

As they say, keep your eyes on the skies! You never know what you might see. What do you think? Are cryptids like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster real? Is the Mothman a member of an alien species that visits Earth to warn us of danger? Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts!

Have a great Wednesday! ~Phil

Have You Ever Wanted to See a UFO? Read This Book!

Yes, it’s still Paranormal Month and I am pleased to announce that aliens have landed… on The Phil Factor. Well, maybe not aliens, but a guy who knows a heck of a lot more about them than I do. That’s his book cover above and I love the book!

Multiple award-winning filmmaker and Emmy-nominated casting director Craig Campobasso was fifteen when he started in the entertainment business. Craig has worked behind-the-scenes on blockbuster film classics such as Frank Herbert’s Dune and two Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, Conan The Destroyer and Total Recall. He began his casting career on Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories. He received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Series on David E. Kelley’s Picket Fences.

Craig directed, wrote and produced the short film Stranger at the Pentagon, which was adapted from the popular UFO book authored by the late Dr. Frank E. Stranges. In September 2014, it won Best Sci-Fi film at the Burbank International Film Festival. In 2015, it won a Remi Award at the Worldfest Houston International Film Festival for Best Sci-Fi Short. Clearly, Craig knows how to write and he knows about UFO’s and aliens.

TPF: Craig you’ve done a lot in the entertainment industry over the years, contributing to many popular TV shows and movies, but what intrigued me about your career is your enduring love for UFOs and extraterrestrials. How did that start for you?

Craig: I began my casting career on Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories and when the show was completed I had a major spiritual awakening. I began to ponder the meaning of life, what was out there in the great big universe. I lived at The Bodhi Tree, a metaphysical bookstore, and started reading books on spirituality and contactee cases where individuals were having face-to-face contact with beings not of this earth, most of them humans just like us. That fascinated me.

I continued studying the phenomena, met many UFO researchers, began investigating cases with them. In one case, I actually photographed an extraterrestrial. The photo is in my best-selling book The Extraterrestrial Species Almanac. While I was writing the ET Almanac in 2019, I found my biological father whom I had never met, through a genealogist. He had passed in 2006. Long story short I found his brother who literally lived around the corner from me and discovered that Fred Vierow, my biological father was in the Air Force and was a part of Project Blue Book.

TPF: Why did you decide to write The UFO Hotspot?

Craig: The publisher Red Wheel Wiser books and their imprint MUFON books wanted to do a follow up to the ET Almanac, which is now a documentary I directed, to be released later this year.

We had the head of MUFON send out queries to all the MUFON State Directors to nominate their favorite hotspots. I compiled them, added a few of my own, and wrote the book. The reader will find the story behind each hotspot and or extraterrestrial encounters. You’ll hear from eyewitnesses, see photographic evidence, and learn about the government and military attempts to cover up and control the flow of information.  You’ll learn the when, where, up-to-date story, things to do at the site, tour guide information and Sources so you can read more about the hotspot.

TPF: What is the most convincing proof of alien life that you’ve ever seen?

Craig: A photograph I took of an extraterrestrial on a high profile abduction case in the Midwest. Another photograph I took of a round metallic probe flying away from Bell Rock in Sedona. (That picture is in UFO Hotspot book.) Also UAPs (Unidentified aerial phenomena) zipping across the skies through night vision binoculars, and in some cases, mentally communicating with them to move their ship in different directions, asking them to power up their ship, and they produce a light show.  Also contactee photographs of ships and the extraterrestrial themselves.

MUFON is a national network of researchers, experts and interested people who track and research UFO sightings. You can join!

TPF: What do you say to people who question the existence of UFOs and aliens?

Craig: I ask them if they believe in God. Most reply yes. Then I ask, Have you ever seen God?

TPF: It’s definitely hard to argue with that logic.

TPF: Here is the question we have all wrestled with. If extraterrestrials landed in your back yard and asked you to go with them for a ride in space, would you go?

Craig: I have been asking this question to actors, some famous, and friends–and most of their replies are yes. The few that said no were terrified of the unknown. There have been many contactees that have been onboard craft not of this earth: George Van Tassel, Dr. Frank Stranges, Howard Menger, early contactees in the 50s and 60s. More recent contactees have been on otherworldly craft numerous times, one man over 100 times. They are featured in my ET Almanac documentary and their story and evidence will be revealed upon its release. I myself would definitely go for the adventure, spiritual elevation, and connecting with our cosmic cousins.

Craig, thank you for sharing your time, experience and knowledge with The Phil Factor audience. For my readers, if you enjoy both reality and fiction books about UFO’s and aliens, instead of forking over more money to Amazon, go to Craig’s website where you can order a book and he will autograph and personalize them! I’ve already got the book and am planning to use it whenever I travel.

Thanks for reading, and keep your eyes on the skies! Stayed tuned tomorrow for an interview with a great psychic! ~Phil