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High* Tmi Hfa aldSunday, February 1. 200?3CThree decades later7Mothmanstill causingBy Debbie Schwarz SimpsonWEOlSTtH MCKALD RlfWff RWHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — An state agriculture commissioner, Gus Douglass has been baffled by the problems West Virginians have faced with the gypsy moth and black flyAs a farmer with roots deeply entrenched in Mason County, Douglass is even more perplexed by the accounts of a fabled Mothman that have been making the rounds for more thanthree decades,“I’ve never seen the Mothman. hut it’s quite a story down here, said Douglass, who was on hand in Point Pleasant last weekend for a round of activities marking the premiere of “The Mothman Prophecies.”The mystery-styled film stars Richard Gere and is set in the Mason County seat Based on a 1974 book by John Keel, it centers on local sightings of a surreal figure who surfaced in the1960s“I know of one family, theScarberrys, who are credible, that did see the Mothman, Douglass said. “They had two friends with them, and they verified the story.“There were others who went down there, and they claim to have seen theMothman. too.”Douglass said the Scarberrys told of encountering a large creature entangled in a fence. Their automobile’s headlights caught something with glaring red eyes and a wing-like structure on a semi-human body.“It came loose and came at them,” Douglass recalled. He said the Mothman moved alongside the Scarberrys' automobile for a “bit before he disappeared.The Mothman sightings took place at the old TNT plant on Route 62 on the outskirts of Point Pleasant, according to Douglass, who lives on a sprawling farm at Grimms Landing.‘ The plant made munitions during World War 11 and the explosives wereiM* PHOTORichard Gere top fight and Dan Callahan appear in a scene from 'The Mothman Prophecies, in this 2001 promotional photo. Gere portrays a tormented journalist who explores reports of strange phenomena observed by residents of Point Pleasan. in the late 1960s.stored in igloos. DouglassPXgjjtafeMi®»“In the ’60s, that was a rendezvous (for young people), Douglass said.Althou gh Mothmanformed the core of the film, Douglass says residents of Point Pleasant trace the tragedies that have befallen the river community to Cornstalk,the Indian chief who was defeated in the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774.“Cornstalk surrendered with the understanding that his people would live in freedom in the area. Instead, they were taken captive When he died, he put acurse on Point Pleasantthat was to last for 200years.Douglass said every time there’s a crisis in Point Pleasant it’s blamed on Cornstalk’s curse.“We’ve had floods, fires, the courthouse was blown up, and we’ve had many train derailments in the city, he said.In the recently releasedfilm, however, the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967 formed a final scene indicating the Mothman played a role in the tragedy.According to Douglass, although “The Mothman Prophecies was filmed inPennsylvania, Point Pleasant is reaping rewards from the production.“I think it will bring a lot of people in, said Douglass,Mothman pizzas, T-shirts and toys are best sellers in the scenic river community and a lighted Mothman will be featured outside the new tourism and information center.“They’re talking about having guided tours,” Douglass said, noting the old TNT plant where Mothman supposedly held court is adjacent to a well-established tourist attraction, the West Virginia State Farm Museum.stirHolstein Herd Farmprovides film scenesBy Debbie Schwarz SimpsonSfGISTWHCRALD REPORTERWHITE SULPHURIS —Cinema Productions opted to film “The Mothman Prophecies in Pennsylvania rather than Point Pleasant, production crews spent a day at a Mason County farm shooting scenes for the documentary “Search for the Mothman .”Jeff andToni Holstein, owners of the Holstein HerdFarm, have ties to the area. His father and step-mother,Charles and Lois Lilly Holstein, lived in Jumping Branch prior * to moving to Point Pleasant and are making plans to ret um to southern WestVirginia.You can see him driving the tractor in the documentary, said Lois Holstein. a native of Ellison in Summers County.It was a 196.1 Massey-Ferguson tractor and the rustic setting of the family farm that prompted the producers of the documentary to tap Holstein Herd Farm as a location site.According to Jeff Holstein, his claim to movie fame came when he answered mi ad in the Point Pleasant Register. The ad was seeking a suitable farm for a backdrop for “Search for the Mothman.“Ours is a period farm, Holstein explained. “It was“I've never seen the Mothman. You just have to weigh the information and use your own judgment.JEFF HOLSTEIN.owner, HoHtern Heal farmsbuilt in 1853. The Hol-steins use the farm for recreational agriculture They make their home on Route 62, not far from the TNT plant where the Mothman sightings tookplace.“Th ey liked the way itwas laid out. Holstein said of the historic farmand its sprawling hay-fields. “That was one of theselling points According to Holstein.the filmcrews arrivedat 1 p.m. and“didn’t leave until midnight. Holsteinsaid that, unlike manyfilms wherescenes are nitdrastically,the family farm has garnered a fairshare offootage in the documentary.For the Holstems, the experience was like a family outing.“The crew fixed steaks and corn on the cob for about 25 people, he said of the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Holstein noted David Grabiaa and Susan Rued, producer and associate producer of the documentary. pitched in to put the supper together.A highlight of the filming was getting to meet the Mothman, Holstein said. “I have two feathers from the original Mothman suit, he added. “They came from the wings he used.“I’ve never seen the Mothman.” Holstein admitted “You just have to weigh the' information and use your own judgment.
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Beckley Register Herald
Beckley, West Virginia, US
Sun, Feb 03, 2002
Page 21
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