I have a confession to make.  I have a slight interest in the Paranormal.  I know, I know, it’s probably a HUGE shock to you, my faithful followers, but I do love the Paranormal.  I own every single DVD set released by Unsolved Mysteries.  I own the entire series of “A Haunting,” including its two pilot episodes.  Hell, one of the first books I had ever read was Mysteries of the Unexplained, a Reader’s Digest anthology of little snippets of paranormal stores.  I just enjoy this stuff so much.

One of my favourite veins of the Paranormal is Cryptozoology.  MONSTERS!!  Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, the Mongolian Death Worm, all good stuff.  Whether it’s real or not, I really could care less.  There’s one Crypto, though, that grabbed my interest immediately, and is near and dear to my heart.  Hell, he’s one of the stars of my comic series.  The plucky, red-eyed anti-hero, the Mothman!  And, it was through this fandom of The Mothman, that I came in possession of a screener copy of an independent documentary, The Eyes of the Mothman.  I was approached to review this DVD, based on my apparent interest in the subject matter, a request that has since provoked me to add the title “Paranormal Expert” to the list of things I call myself.

Like any good story, we start with the prologue.  A prologue that stretches back to the American Revolution.  During the time, the area surrounding Point Pleasant, West Virginia, was inhabited by the Shawnee, a First Nation (pardon my Canadian colloquialisms, that’s Canadian for “Indian tribe”) lead by the mighty Chief Cornstalk.  In 1777, he found himself captured by Virginian colonists and Militiamen, and was ultimately murdered.  With his dying breath, he cursed the land and the settlers to an eternity of doom and despair, a legend that still survives in the modern day.

Part Two of our prologue takes us to the 1940’s, and a Munitions plant built by the US Army, locally known as the TNT.  Here, the Army would design explosives and store them in hidden, grass covered bunkers; Top Secret, Armyman Stuff.  Following the War, the Army dedicated some of the land to use as a Nature Preserve.  Problem was, all those chemicals the Army used and stored on site during and after the war started seeping into the ecosystem.  By the 1980’s, it was determined that the nature preserve was INCREDIBLY polluted, and the ecosystem compromised, with accounts of giant mutant fish, and bright red chemicals leaking directly into manmade ponds were reported.

Now, what does all of this have to do with The Mothman?  Well, these two chapters serve as initial explanations as to why the Mothman appeared in the first place.  Some say that he’s a Demon, like his brother-in-terrifying mystery, the New Jersey Devil, sent to terrorize Point Pleasant at the behest of Cornstalk’s Curse.  Some say that he’s simply a mutated (or not) Sandhill Crane, or Owl, a product of the pollution from the TNT.  Regardless of  his origin, He came to visit Point Pleasant in between 1966-1967, and a lot of people got to see him.

Now, we get into the sweet, sweet centre of this Paranormal Chcoloate Egg.  In November of 1966, Mothman makes his first public appearance.   Eyewitness accounts and stories are told of encounters with Mothy, from the frightening (such as chasing after and divebombing cars around the TNT, and stalking a mother and child into a house) to the mundane (the only eyewitness featured on this Doc tells her story of seeing Mothman rush by her parent’s car, while searching for him at the TNT).  Then, the Paranormal weirdness gets bumped to the Next Level.  At the same time the Mothman was being spotted, UFOs started showing up as well.  Weird lights, unearthly aircraft and tiny aliens were being reported, and an unearthly being calling itself Indrid Cold.  Which, of course, ushers in the Men In Black.  No, not Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (ZING!).

This all culminates with the Silver Bridge Collapse of December 1967.  The bridge plunges completely into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.  Officially, it is ruled that structural failure is to blame for the disaster.  However, some townspeople beg to differ, accusing the Mothman and the mysterious Men In Black.  In the decades following 1967, the town of Point Pleasant as grown to accept its spooky, tragic history.  A statue of Mothman was erected.  A festival in his honour is held annually.  Several townsfolk have written their own accounts of the events in question.  The Mothman Saga is something that has transcended local legend.  They even made a movie about it, starring Richard Gere!  Don’t bother watching that movie, though, it’s pretty bad.

DO watch this movie, though. I enjoyed this documentary, and would recommend it to anyone.  However, there is one thing you need to know, before viewing: This Doc is long.  VERY long.  Very long, and very thorough.  Which, depending on your point of view, can be an asset or a detriment.  For me, it’s an asset.  One of the things I hate about paranormal shows is that they’re not long enough.  Keep in mind, I have a gigantic appetite for this stuff.  I can understand how the 155 Minute-runtime can be daunting, even intimidating, but if you sit still and pay attention, you will learn EVERYTHING you need to know about the Mothman Story.

You can buy the DVD here.