TNT Area

McClintic Wildlife Management Area
(TNT Area)
Point Pleasant, West Virginia

I visited the McClintic Wildlife Management Area (TNT Area) twice - once on September 7, 2002 and again on April 12, 2003. Click on the following links to view the pictures:

* April 12, 2003 TNT Trip
* September 7, 2002 TNT Trip

Back in 1966 and 1967 there were sightings of a huge moth-like creature in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Several of these sightings were near the TNT Area. This area got its name because of the 100+ domes located there. During World War II ammunition and chemicals were stored in these domes. Today most of the domes are locked and welded shut, but I have heard that some of the domes have been broken into. I'd love to find one so I could see the inside!

Anyway, back to the Mothman sightings. These sightings have been seen all over the world. The first known sightings of this bird-like or moth-like creature was back in ancient Babylon. These creatures are seen for a few months or weeks before a great tragedy. For example, the mothman was sighted in Mexico City, 1985 right before the big earthquake. There were also sightings in Chernobyl in 1986, right before the big nuclear disaster. Some even claim that the mothman was seen in Western Pennsylvania right before the plane crash in September, 2001.

On December 15, 1967 at 5:05PM the Silver Bridge that spanned over the Ohio River between Gallipolis, OH and Point Pleasant, WV collapsed. Forty six people were killed. After that disaster most of the mothman sightings in this area stopped.

Of course, not everyone believes that the Mothman sightings were true. One professor at a West Virginia university believed that the people who claimed to see this creature actually saw Sandhill cranes. However, these cranes are the wrong color (they're white and mothman was dark gray or black) and they're also too skinny.

Another theory is that the Mothman sightings were really just a mass hallucination. However, not everyone saw the exact same thing, so this seems doubtful.

There's also the theory that the bridge collapsing, the Mothman sightings, and all of the UFO sightings that occured during the thirteen months prior to the Silver Bridge disaster are a result of a curse placed on the town by Chief Cornstalk. Chief Cornstalk was defeated in Point Pleasant during the beginning of the Revolutionary War. They say that before he was killed he placed a 200 year curse on the town.

Another theory is that the Mothman is really an alien. There were several UFO sighting during this time. People kept seeing moving, multicolored lights in the sky. There were also these mysterious men in black that kept threatening people who claimed to see the Mothman or UFOs. They did NOT want these people to talk publicly about the things they had seen.

Quite a few people believe that the Mothman is some kind of mutation from all of the chemicals and pollution at the TNT area. This could be a valid explanation since the EPA had declared the area an environmental disaster!

One thing is for sure…LOTS of strange things happened during this time! People were being chased by the Mothman or a Sandhill Crane and it scared them to death. The Mothman really seemed to be attracted to blood. One time he attacked a blood mobile, and most of the cars he chased were driven by women who were on their period. Also, there were several cases of missing animals that were found drained of blood. Investigators also noticed that on most of these animals the anus was removed and there were traces of radiation around the area.

Most people believe that Mothman did have something to do with the collapse of the Silver Bridge. Some even claim to have seen him standing on or under the bridge right before it fell. Even today there still isn't a solid, clear reason as to why the bridge fell. The West Virginia Department of Transporation concluded that it was a badly manufactured pin. The pin that was supposedly bad was the thirteenth pin…and the Mothman sitings had been going on for thirteen months! Strange stuff, isn't it?!

In 2006, I received an e-mail from Ryan about his experiences at the TNT Area:

I read your file on the Mothman and how you visited the TNT area. This area is very close to my parents' house. I haven't been in the TNT area for several years, but you really need to experience it at night! With that area being so isolated, it truly is an experience that will leave an impression. Visit during mid to late August…when humidity is high during the day, but cools down some at night — letting a fog blanket you.

I remember driving through that area late at night on different occassions while going to the county fairgrounds during the fair season. I would be by myself…driving through the fog…and I would get a little creeped out.

One time I recall very clearly. I was driving home from the fairgrounds around 11 PM or so…the humidity was high - the air so thick that it made you feel like you were suffocating from stagnate air. I felt a little uneasy about going that route, but it was closer to home vs. going a different way. Anyway, I was driving when the headlights and all the lights on my dashboard went out while driving. They didn't flicker, they went out…for about 30 seconds or so. After the time lapse, they came back on. Granted, I was driving a very old pickup truck…but I never had that problem before, and it never happened again.

Thankfully there was a well lit moon, so I could see a little bit while all my lights were out. However, that didn't help the uneasy factor as I was driving around the pond areas at the time. I was aware of the Mothman stories for years, but never looked for anything—and never saw anything. That one night reminded me that it was late — I'm driving down a road with no traffic, and in a place where I knew I wasn't welcome. Chills go down my spine just thinking of that one time.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License