Mothman in Charleston 2: A Monkey-Faced Bird

 

The Charleston Daily Mail
21 November 1966

Well, it seems as if I've jumped the gun! I should consult my own research a little better before publishing new blog posts. Yesterday, I posted about Mothman being seen in Charleston, WV. That post dealt mostly with the creature being seen by Richard West, sitting atop his neighbor's roof on Lee Street. However, I also included another blurb from about a week earlier, in which a couple saw what they described as a large bird with a huge wingspan in the Ferry Branch area.

But, it appears, as if before either of these sightings, there was another odd sighting of what many believe to be Mothman here in the capital city!

On November 19, 1966 Lyle Atkins saw a rather peculiar sight. He told police that while on Homewood Drive, he had witnessed a monkey-faced bird with a wingspan of six to seven feet. Detective R.K. Gordon believes the description resembled a big owl with an overly big wingspan, but with further similar sightings appearing the next day and a week later, one has to wonder if this wasn't the infamous Mothman.  I do find the description REALLY weird, though. This is possibly the only article I've come across describing a monkey-faced bird. I can see where an owl might fit that description, but still...It's also interesting to note that the Ferry Branch sighting, which came a day later, is located VERY close to  Homewood Drive, AND the descriptions are fairly similar; at least, they're much more similar to each other than Richard West's "Batman on my neighbor's roof" encounter. 

Anyway, be sure to check out yesterday's blog, Mothman in Charleston: Richard West Encounter!

Ferry Branch Mothman Sighting
Unknown Source, dated 21 November 1966