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EntertainmentTown drawn to Mothman legend like to a flameBy JENNIFER BUNDYAssociated Press WriterPOINT PLEASANT, W.Va. -The real Mothman is long gone. Tourists and reporters now haunt the residents of this small Ohio River town portrayed in the film, “The Mothman Prophecies.”Carolyn Harris is so used to having her picture taken since the movie’s mid-January release that she suggests to a photographer the best places to pose in her Main Street steak house.Ruth Finley, owner of the antique-filled Lowe Hotel, has been interviewed on at least 10 radio talk shows and was host to actor Will Patton for two nights while he was preparing for his role as town resident Gordon Smallwood. She has photos of her husband and Patton handy at the front desk.Hilda Austin of the Mason County Area Chamber of Commerce has a long list of reporters she has talked to.“Like all of a sudden I’m the spokesman for Mothman,”Austin said.People say the Mothman, an ashen-colored, 7-foot-tall manlike creature with large wings and glowing red eyes, appeared near Point Pleasant several times during the 1960s.Two couples who said they were “chasing parkers” at the former West Virginia Ordnance Works, known as TNT, first saw the creature in November 1966. Sightings tapered off after Point Pleasant’s Silver Bridge collapsed in December 1967, killing 46 people.Mothman was last reported seen in late 1968 but the creature has reappeared as a mysterious presence in the movie starring Richard Gere.Small business owners along Main Street hope the new notoriety brings prosperity to the town of slightly less than 6,000 residents, which before the movie promoted its Revolutionary War era history. Some consider the 1774 battle between American Indians and troops led by General Andrew Lewis the first of the American Revolution.At Criminal Records, in-person and Internet sales of Donnie Sergent and Jeff Wamsley’s book, “Mothman: The Facts behind the Legend” are good.Mothman T-shirts and sweat shirts abound. Mothman toys and even refrigerator magnetsAPAPHilda Austin of the Mason Couhty Area Chamber of Commerce In Point Pleasant, W.Va., holds one of the Mothman plush toys that she and her husband created.Jeff Wamsley, co-author of the book, “Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend, works on Internet sales of the book at Criminal Records store in Point Pleasant, W.Va.IAPHarris Steakhouse owner Carolyn Harris, right, looks at old photographs of the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant, W.Va., with town Postmaster Al Biggs who is designing a commemorative envelope of the bridge and Mothman. The Silver Bridge collapsed in December 1967, an event possibly foretold by the Mothman as depicted by the recent movie, “The Mothman Prophecies.” Harris’ 3-year-old son and his 32-year-old father were killed in the collapse.can be purchased. A Mothman video game is in the works.Resident Angela Roach has a friend who has joked about financing her retirement by grinding up green plastic foam and selling it as Mothman poop.A new tourism committee is now trying to take advantage of the movie by pushing the town as a destination for the curious.A Christmas display-like lighted Mothman greets visitors at a new welcome center and there are plans for aMothman festival.The curious appear to be interested as dozens of tourists have trekked to Point Pleasant, 56 miles from Charleston and 115 miles from Columbus, Ohio.Richard and Melissa FUjio of Los Angeles, Calif., who go someplace different every yearto renew their wedding vows, thought Point Pleasant would be the best location to celebrate their llth anniversary, the Parkersburg News Sentinel reported.They repledged their troth in the banquet room of the Lowe Hotel — then ate aMothman pizza.The attention, while welcome, can be exasperating.Austin complains about one national TV crew that took up half her day and only used footage of her hand holding the Mothman plush toys she and her husband created. Instead, the television show featured a Point Pleasant resident who claims to have seen the real Mothman, Austin said, rolling her eyes.Many residents know someone who saw Mothman or remember going Mothman hunting as teens. When asked if they believe the creature existed, many smile and say they believe people saw “something,” clearly not wanting to imply their friends and neighbors are crazy.Karen Mattox, 30, is too young to remember Mothman. Her home abuts the rural TNT site, which she didn’t worry about until she saw a Mothman documentary.“That night, I was watching for the red eyes to be out my front window,” she said.Residents who saw the movie have a few bones to pick with its makers.“They made our Mothman look like he was bad. He never hurt anybody,” Harris said.Also, Mothman never talked to anyone, as he does in the movie. The movie also doesn’t mention the hundreds of UFO and alien sightings that occurred around the same time.Residents’ biggest gripe, however, is that the movie was made near Pittsburgh.Co-Executive Producer Richard Wright says Point Pleasant was just too small. There weren’t enough local people who could work the behind-the scenes jobs and there were not enough hotel rooms to handle a crew that at one point numbered 500.Kittanning, Pa., became Point Pleasant. A bridge thereFRIED SHRIMP on the Buffetdoubled as the Silver Bridge. A recreation of its collapse is the climax of the movie.Point Pleasant residents did not like that scene.“I would have liked it a lot better if they had left the bridge scenes out or just maybe put a little bit in there. But they went into detail with it,” said Harris. Her 3-year-old son and his 32-year-old father were killed in the collapse.Since the John Keel book the movie was based on made the connection between the bridge and Mothman, the movie had to show the collapse, Wright said.Filmmakers tried to be sensitive to the loss of life, but “If you tiy and make no connection between your movie and actual life, then you make a movie that has no connection to an audience,” he said.Wright seemed happy to hear of Point Pleasant residents’ merchandizing efforts, even though none of the proceeds will go to filmmakers.“Point Pleasant is a town that suffered a terrible tragedy some years ago and in some ways is still feeling the reverberations of that tragedy,” he said. “To be able to help the community in any way gives us great pleasure.GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCHliwy. 98 Bryn Mawr • 244-0822LUNCHEON $Open to the 1’iihlieThurs.* March. 7, 2002 I 1:00 A.M. To 1:30 P.M.Menu Entree: Dolmathes (Stuffed Orapeleaves)Vegetables* Salad, Loffee or TeaGREEK PASTRIES WILE RE ON SALEPROUDLY SERVING THE EMERALD COAST FOR 20 YEARSSTEAKHOUSE LOUNGETil HlfilNKlAppearing:WED. Thru SAT.Suellen JerryIncludes: Cup of French Onion Soup, Fresh Green Salad and Choice of PotatoEARLY EVENING DINING SPECIALS5:00-6:30 p.m. Tues.-SaJ.as lane as available“HAPPY HOirReservations Recommended, Call After 4p.m. 244-X669Tues.-Friday 5-7 p.m. °SfoseTdMondan,5 Hot Hors D'oucvresBanquet Facilities1120-B SANTA ROSA BLVD. • FORT WALTON BEACH, FL • ON OKALOOSA ISLANDCROSSWORDACROSSPREVIOUS PUZZLE SOLVED
Newspaper Details
Northwest Florida Daily News
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, US
Wed, Mar 06, 2002
Page 29
Full Page
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