Curiously, Mothman sightings seemed to have dropped off dramatically after the event, leading some to speculate that the creature appeared perhaps to warn people of the impending tragedy. Whatever the case, after the bridge collapsed Mothman sightings became more and more rare.
Per Coleman:
“So what eventually happened to Mothman? Like so many monsters, Mothman just seemed to appear less frequently and then disappeared from West Virginia completely several months after it had first been seen. It never attacked anyone, never tried to communicate, nor took much notice of the people it terrified. It just liked to chase cars every once in a while as though the automobile was as intriguing to it as it was to those who saw it. It seemed to be something alien to our world, though momentarily trapped in it. It almost seems as though Mothman was someone’s nightmare that had been objectified into physical existence.”
Skepticism
Some of the most commonly referenced evidenced against Mothman is that the creature may be nothing more than a misidentified barn owl.
In a 2002 issue of Skeptical Inquirer, paranormal investigator Joe Nickell came to the following conclusion:
At this point it seems relevant to consider a real West Virginia winged creature—one that has “nocturnal habits” and “large, staring eyes” of the type that yield crimson eyeshine, plus “facial discs” that can make the eyes appear even larger. It has a large head and (unbirdlike) is “monkey-faced,” but looks “quite neckless” (its very short neck sloping into its body so it could seem headless in silhouette). It has “oversized wings and long legs,” the latter being “powerful” and (unlike the spindly legs of many birds) covered with feathers, making them look relatively thick. Its flight is “noiseless” and indeed “mothlike,” although during flight it may vocalize a “loud, trailing ‘khree-i.'” Its broad range includes West Virginia, and it is a “widespread nester in human habitations”; in fact it “hides in old buildings” … as well as barns. Because it is active only at night, it is “seldom disturbed or even seen by humans,” so when it is encountered it has an unfamiliar as well as “sinister appearance” Its name is Tyto alba, the common barn owl.
While barn owls don’t grow anywhere near seven feet in size, it’s always possible that a human spooked by an animal may report that animal to be much larger than it actually is. That sightings just suddenly decreased dramatically after 1967 is telling, though. Maybe it was a huge owl that died. Maybe it was the Mothman. Maybe it was something else entirely. Whatever it was, the town of Point Pleasant, Virginia will never be the same.
Further Reading
Mothman (Wikipedia)
The Mothman Prophecies (Book by John A. Keel)
The Mothman Prophecies (Movie at IMDB.com)
Mothman and Other Curious Encounters (Book by Loren Coleman)
Mothman (The Skeptic’s Dictionary)