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welcome to the best of first person

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episodes of phantoms and monsters

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please like subscribe and hit the bell

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icon

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so you'll be notified of all future

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winged humanoid observed in fiat caddy

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west virginia

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hi lon hope things are going well i read

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about the winged humanoid in your latest

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newsletter

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i've been following these stories in

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your newsletter pretty closely

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the newsletter that was in my inbox

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today really struck me

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because i have seen something similar

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the jeepers creepers description was

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dead on

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long story short i don't remember the

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exact year but this would have been the

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mid 80s

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my best guess is 1985 or 1986.

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it was a summer evening in oak hill west

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virginia oak hill is a small town in the

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south central part of the state

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about 15 minutes from beckley west

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virginia or about one hour from

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charleston west virginia i was between

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seven and eight years old at the time

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and i was outside playing with my

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brother one year younger than me

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and our neighbor a boy named roy who was

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the same age as my brother

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give or take a few months we lived in a

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very rural area which

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at that time we probably had three or

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four neighbors within a one mile radius

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and we effectively lived on the edge of

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the woods down a dirt road

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probably half a mile from a railroad so

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there weren't many people around

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it was dusk and we were throwing rocks

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to bats today

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it seems strange but back then it was

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something kids in the area did

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that's a common in the area and around

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dusk in the summer they are out in force

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to catch bugs

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you'll see dozens of them and they

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usually fly approximately 40 feet off

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the ground or less

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if you throw a small rock high in the

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air you can often get the bat to swoop

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down and catch a rock

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presumably thinking it's a bug it's

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interesting the things kids did before

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there was the internet and we only had

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abc and pps on the tv back then

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so this was entertainment at its

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finest.at any rate

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we're throwing rocks to bats when we see

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what we at first thought was a monstrous

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bat flying higher in the sky than the

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others

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i don't remember who spotted it first

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but once it was pointed out we were

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stunned

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after staring at it for a few seconds it

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was clear that this wasn't a bad

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it was something else it was a creature

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in the shape of a man but with wings

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it had wings exactly like that of a bat

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but it had distinct arms and legs

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also it was mostly gliding with only the

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occasional flap of its wings which is

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unlike a bat

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which constantly flaps its wings and its

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arms were sort of lazily hanging behind

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it at its side

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it looks whole but linky but it was too

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high in the sky to really get a good

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estimate of size

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i know today that it's pretty easy to

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get size estimates really wrong on

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objects that are flying

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like large birds i also can say that it

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was dark but i couldn't tell you

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anything about coloration

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it was dusk and the light was relatively

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low by that point and we were seeing it

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mostly as a silhouette

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we saw head but never face i don't think

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it was looking down

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my best estimate is that it was about

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two to two and a half times as high as

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the bats

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so that would probably put it at around

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100 feet off the ground

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but i could easily be way off it wasn't

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a detail that i focused on at the time

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we watched this creature for a little

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while maybe 15 seconds or so

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we were transfixed standing there with

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slack jaws trying to comprehend what we

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were seeing

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then we snapped out of it we looked at

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each other and simultaneously we ran

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toward the house to get my dad

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i remember my dad was home but my mom

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wasn't

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we ran inside and told him to come

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outside quick we told him that we had

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seen the devil

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of course we thought it was the devil

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that's how we would have contextualized

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it within our very limited framework at

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the time

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he told us that he was sure that we

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hadn't seen the devil but he reluctantly

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decided to come outside and check

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by the time he did whatever it was

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called he reassured us with some

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platitudes but he obviously didn't

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believe us

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we were all pretty shaken by deciding

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and we talked about it for weeks

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afterwards

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i slept in the bed with my parents that

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night and for at least a week afterwards

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this incident actually spurred my

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interest in the supernatural

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later as a teenager i learned about the

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mothman sightings and wondered if that

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had been what we had witnessed with the

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west virginia connection it was natural

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to think it may have been

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but the descriptions never really fit

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perfectly and we weren't very close to

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point pleasant

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it wasn't until the reports starting

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appearing in your newsletter that it

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became clear that others had been seeing

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exactly what i had seen

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the jeepers creepers description really

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is the most apt description that i've

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seen

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i'm a scientist or was anyway so i have

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trouble reconciling what we saw with

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reality as i know it but i am sure that

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we saw something

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not really much to tell beyond that my

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brother passed away many years ago and i

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haven't spoken to roy in probably as

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long

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he's had some struggles with substance

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abuse as an adult and i've kept my

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distance

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none of us discussed the incident since

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we were adults but we did discuss it at

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some point in our teens

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i wanted to share just to give you an

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additional data point in your

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investigation

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i expect that we'll never really know

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what people are seeing but it's good

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that someone is documenting it for

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posterity if for nothing else

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the faithful mothman our family lived in

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fayetteville west virginia

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and our home was located one-tenth mile

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from the major town street

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our house was located in the forest and

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our property bordered a state forest

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i was 11 or 12 at the time the forest

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was dense with well-worn hiking paths

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some had been logging roads at one time

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one was larger as it had once been a

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rock quarry road

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the remains of the quarry was located on

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our property

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a quarter mile from the quarry was a

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convergence to two creeks

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one was wolf creek the convergence point

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once had a five foot stone dam that was

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blasted years before my time due to

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waterborne disease outbreaks

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the town dumped its owage into the

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smaller creek beyond the convergence of

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the creek it descended several large

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waterfall systems into the new river

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george

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when waters were low large flat rock

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creek bed was exposed and we played in

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it as kids

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several of us were wrapped up in the

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dungeons and dragons craze

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were enamored by heavy metal music and

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teetered on the edge of occult interests

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nothing too serious boys of their time

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and place

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during one late afternoon i proclaimed

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upon the top of a rock outcrop over the

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creek bed that i was calling forward a

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great spirit of the deep forest

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nothing happened we continued playing

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until dusk parted ways and returned home

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perhaps it was happenstance perhaps

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related

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my experience with mothman began that

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week and lasted just less than a month

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i did not speak of it or share with

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others for nearly 15 years

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i was afraid that speaking of it would

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somehow cause it to come back around

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i will spare you the minor details but

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need to share the only backstory that

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matters

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a few years earlier i played with a girl

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my age and her younger brother

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they had a grand three-story wooden home

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in our neighborhood

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it was a historic house a mansion by

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local standards

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we entered her home one night after

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searching out fireflies in the front

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yard

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when we walked through the foyer to the

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main staircase to the second floor i

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looked to my right across a large

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sitting room

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where there were sets of large windows

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outside the windows was a large hardwood

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about 75 years old

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i saw two large red eyes large i stopped

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the girl and her brother were already a

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fourth the way up the stairs and i was

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standing still and mesmerized

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i said there are two red eyes in your

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tree the girl replied back

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that's a ghost he has red eyes looks

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like an old man

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sits in the tree and stares at the

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sometimes i asked if they ever called

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the police

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she said no she said her mom told them

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not to look at it and ignore it

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their mom often seemed drained and

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depressed i was glad i did not have old

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creepy men sitting in trees around our

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house

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it stayed with me back to my main story

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i immediately felt that i was being

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watched of all times

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the primal feeling of prey being stalked

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it did not matter

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if i was in my house woods walking to

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the park

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day and night there were scratches at my

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second floor window but no trees

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deep fear of getting out of bed

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paralyzing fear

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many sleepless nights i tried to share

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strange things were going on to my

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parents

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they had no interest i would wake them

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up at night and ask them to search the

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house

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check the doors etc there were annoyed

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they did agree to keep the floodlights

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on surrounding the house

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my dog was acting strange normally a

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brave dog not scared by bear

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not man nor bigger dog was a mess while

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this was going on

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i called one of my friends that was

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there with us when we were playing and

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asked him to come over

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that it was very important told him i

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would only speak with him in person

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about it

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he did and i learned he too was having a

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series of strange and frightening events

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he felt we needed to stick together and

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tell no one as they would think we were

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nuts

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needless to say i did spend a lot of

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time at his house

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located in a non-wooded neighborhood the

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stuff going on at his house

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was just as bad knocking on multiple

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walls during the day

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a thousand birds on the power lines

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outside his home

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the fear of being watched and followed

298
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he was irritated with me as he felt it

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had been my fault

300
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one night i mustered the courage to go

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to my bedroom window and look out on the

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backyard

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a beam crossed from the shadows of the

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house side across the yard

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00:09:51,190 --> 00:09:49,279
and into the floodlight lit area just a

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00:09:53,269 --> 00:09:51,200
bit stopped and looked over its shoulder

307
00:09:54,710 --> 00:09:53,279
at me at an upward angle as i was in an

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00:09:56,870 --> 00:09:54,720
elevated position

309
00:09:59,110 --> 00:09:56,880
first this thing was eight to nine feet

310
00:10:00,150 --> 00:09:59,120
tall had its giant wings pulled in

311
00:10:02,310 --> 00:10:00,160
across its back

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00:10:03,430 --> 00:10:02,320
so that it looked like a cloak it looked

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straight ahead again

314
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and seemed to glide across the yard in a

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standing position

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it did not have traditional legs and the

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00:10:12,949 --> 00:10:11,200
legs came together into a very strange

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point as though its stance could not

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support its mass yet they did

320
00:10:18,870 --> 00:10:18,079
it used no stride it was not human many

321
00:10:21,269 --> 00:10:18,880
years later

322
00:10:22,550 --> 00:10:21,279
when the film came out i was amazed the

323
00:10:25,509 --> 00:10:22,560
static on the phone

324
00:10:27,190 --> 00:10:25,519
headaches etc at the time of the events

325
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i assumed it was a demon

326
00:10:31,750 --> 00:10:29,760
mothman was not a term i knew i never

327
00:10:34,150 --> 00:10:31,760
saw it spread its wings or fly

328
00:10:35,430 --> 00:10:34,160
i did have the feeling it was above me a

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bird's eye view

330
00:10:38,710 --> 00:10:37,279
the damn thing was silent as i have the

331
00:10:40,870 --> 00:10:38,720
hearing of the fruit bat

332
00:10:42,710 --> 00:10:40,880
i had a panic attack that night cold

333
00:10:45,030 --> 00:10:42,720
sweats and felt very alone

334
00:10:46,150 --> 00:10:45,040
i got down on my knees and prayed in a

335
00:10:48,710 --> 00:10:46,160
way i never had

336
00:10:50,310 --> 00:10:48,720
and never have since there was one wise

337
00:10:52,470 --> 00:10:50,320
old man who cut our grass

338
00:10:54,389 --> 00:10:52,480
and acted as a handyman when the minds

339
00:10:57,590 --> 00:10:54,399
closed from time to time

340
00:10:58,710 --> 00:10:57,600
he liked me gave me a lot of advice told

341
00:11:01,509 --> 00:10:58,720
me stories

342
00:11:03,509 --> 00:11:01,519
he had three girls and no boys my dad

343
00:11:04,310 --> 00:11:03,519
liked to do his own work but pitch the

344
00:11:06,710 --> 00:11:04,320
fellow work

345
00:11:08,790 --> 00:11:06,720
because he was a good guy he was working

346
00:11:09,670 --> 00:11:08,800
on our mower when i broached the subject

347
00:11:11,829 --> 00:11:09,680
briefly

348
00:11:13,190 --> 00:11:11,839
he stopped what he was doing stood up

349
00:11:15,509 --> 00:11:13,200
took me by the shoulders

350
00:11:17,110 --> 00:11:15,519
and looked me in the eyes he said i know

351
00:11:19,030 --> 00:11:17,120
what you are talking about

352
00:11:21,829 --> 00:11:19,040
it is the thing we do not talk about in

353
00:11:23,990 --> 00:11:21,839
this town it is called mothman and even

354
00:11:26,550 --> 00:11:24,000
talking about it can bring him around

355
00:11:29,190 --> 00:11:26,560
that was it i live in atlanta now and

356
00:11:31,430 --> 00:11:29,200
during 2005 i finally shared the whole

357
00:11:33,030 --> 00:11:31,440
story with my wife of six years

358
00:11:34,710 --> 00:11:33,040
within a week i was in the back

359
00:11:37,190 --> 00:11:34,720
courtyard in one swooped

360
00:11:37,829 --> 00:11:37,200
the wingspan and speed was awesome it

361
00:11:40,550 --> 00:11:37,839
perched

362
00:11:42,310 --> 00:11:40,560
not like a bird 70 yards away at about

363
00:11:44,150 --> 00:11:42,320
70 feet and watched me

364
00:11:45,430 --> 00:11:44,160
no red eyes during the middle of the day

365
00:11:47,430 --> 00:11:45,440
and blended well

366
00:11:49,670 --> 00:11:47,440
they do not weigh much but are crazy

367
00:11:51,990 --> 00:11:49,680
large intelligent and not human

368
00:11:53,670 --> 00:11:52,000
it moved on within a week while they can

369
00:11:56,069 --> 00:11:53,680
communicate telepathically

370
00:11:57,590 --> 00:11:56,079
so can i when you lock minds with it i

371
00:11:59,670 --> 00:11:57,600
let it know that it was out of its

372
00:12:00,629 --> 00:11:59,680
element in a city like atlanta that i

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00:12:02,150 --> 00:12:00,639
had no fear

374
00:12:04,069 --> 00:12:02,160
and that i would end it should it mess

375
00:12:06,629 --> 00:12:04,079
with my family and property

376
00:12:07,110 --> 00:12:06,639
not sure i could but i was a man at that

377
00:12:09,269 --> 00:12:07,120
time

378
00:12:10,629 --> 00:12:09,279
and had very little patience and refused

379
00:12:12,870 --> 00:12:10,639
to succumb to fear

380
00:12:14,310 --> 00:12:12,880
they are most curious about us they

381
00:12:15,829 --> 00:12:14,320
don't think like humans

382
00:12:18,230 --> 00:12:15,839
don't have the same values and

383
00:12:20,389 --> 00:12:18,240
motivations there were no tragedies

384
00:12:22,790 --> 00:12:20,399
associated with my experience

385
00:12:24,069 --> 00:12:22,800
they are voyeurs by nature i don't think

386
00:12:26,230 --> 00:12:24,079
they are physically as strong

387
00:12:27,750 --> 00:12:26,240
as a full man but i can't imagine

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00:12:33,670 --> 00:12:27,760
getting a shot at one

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00:12:37,110 --> 00:12:36,230
this is lon strickler if you like this

390
00:12:38,870 --> 00:12:37,120
program

391
00:12:40,150 --> 00:12:38,880
it would help us if you would give it a

392
00:12:43,030 --> 00:12:40,160
thumbs up

393
00:12:43,509 --> 00:12:43,040
then subscribe and click the bell icon

394
00:12:45,910 --> 00:12:43,519
so you

395
00:12:47,990 --> 00:12:45,920
get notification when we upload new

396
00:12:51,110 --> 00:12:48,000
first person encounters

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00:12:53,590 --> 00:12:51,120
we have many more to come very soon and

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00:12:55,990 --> 00:12:53,600
by the way if you have a suggestion