Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend - The Expanded Edition Donnie Sergent Jr and Jeff Wamsley

Book

Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend – The Expanded Edition, The Sergent Company, 2016

ASIN: 01FBP7830

Authors

Donnie Sergent Jr and Jeff Wamsley

Sections

Preface

·     Learned there had been a CD ROM edition of the book

·     Mothmanlives.com is informative and fun.

Prologue

·     First Mothman sighting in 1966 – armed search parties became a social event. Small towns, everyone.

·     Both authors are from the area, which makes the book already a lot more immediate.

·     Mass UFO sightings.

·     Both authors were merchandising and had a store in the area.

1 Brief History of Mason County

The gist:

·     A brief history of the county: who is was named for, the leading industries of the past. Point Pleasant named for a military camp, etc.

·     Lord Dunmore’s War – bloodiest battle ever between Native Americans and white settlers.

·     Mad Annie Baily! Only her name and burial place. I like the sound of her. She sounds like a salty bitch.

Interest:

It’s too short, but the war and Mad Annie, I would look these up.

Read it?

May as well, it’s the beginning of the book.

2 The Battle of Point Pleasant, West Virginia

The gist:

·     This is Chief Cornstalk and Colonel Andrew Lewis having their bloody war.

·     First act of the American Revolution.

·     The British not having a good time.

·     The Native Americans are having a worse time.

·     Cornstalk lost but cursed the land. Can’t say I blame him.

Interest:

In general, it’s interesting. It’s always good to have context. I can see what the authors are doing.

Read it?

There is a lot you could skip at the beginning and end of the book. It would cost you no time at all to read this, but you will miss nothing if you don’t.

3 Fort Randolph

The gist:

·     It’s a page about a wooden fort.

Interest:

It’s a part of the geography and part of the story. It’s not clear why these are being included now. I haven’t read John Keel’s seminal classic. I’m going on what I believe are the facts behind this case.

Read it?

Can skip

4 Summarized History of the TNT Area

The gist:

·     First sighting of Mothman.

·     Great fishing, but ‘tis an eerie place

·     Full of wartime bunkers

·     TNT (yes, that TNT) was manufactured here. The author spends time describing this and the effect it had on the local environment. Seepage of red and yellow water that are the results of manufacturing TNT.

·     Well into the 90s, they were still cleaning up here, and they had, and I shit you not, a Toxic Swamp. So, I’m already thinking Mothman is a mutant.

·     All this information came from the EPA website.

Interest:

Yes. I’m not sure what bearing this has on the book yet, or why we need to know this. Unless they are going to reveal that Mothman is a Swap Thing. Or everyone is having a mass hallucination from the chemicals in the water supply

Read it?

Yes. It’s short and of general interest.

5 The Silver Bridge Disaster

The gist:

·     A brief retelling of the fall of the Silver Bridge in 1967, one of the Authors being directly affected by it.

·     Finding out the theory behind why it collapsed is terrifying.  I read online that the determination of this was finally released in 1971.

Interest:

Yes, this is one of the main reasons why Mothman stays current.

Read it?

Do! Also, very short.

6 The Linda Scarberry Interview (Original Eyewitmess)

The gist:

·     The reason for and the structure of the book is finally explained at the beginning of this chapter. Should have been in the preface.

·     One of the authors is also quite connected the Linda. I do like this; it makes the book feel more authentic.

·     Linda was on site for the first Mothman sighting, which makes her rather important. To be honest, from the start the prose can be quite dramatic and a bit tabloid. I’m looking past it because I want the info.

·     What follows is a transcript of the interview given by Linda to Donnie in 2001.

·     And it’s quite the account. Men in Black mentioned here. They may not be human, according to Linda. They might be demons…they might steal babies.

·     Donnie is asking Linda a lot. Mothman's connection to other unusual happenings in the area. Satanic practises; UFOs; government conspiracies; curse of Chief Cornstalk. Linda has an opinion on it all.

·     Mary Hyre. A reporter who died under mysterious circumstances begins to appear in this chapter.

Interest:

Certainly, sir. This is the most interesting part so far. It tells us everything we want to know about Mothman. What was happening in the area at the time (paranormally speaking). She also lets us in on a bit of the culture of Point Pleasant then, which is fascinating and very 60s.  If you don’t read any other chapter in this book, read this one.

Read it?

Defo.

7 Original Press Clippings

The gist:

·     Linda Scarberry kept a shit tonne of press clippings, which is not surprising. The authors have scanned then and presented them here.

·     The authors offer tips on reading them. They really are scanned old articles. Which delighted me. Point Pleasant Register, anyone? Yes please. They are hard to read.

·     The Athens Messenger, where Mary Hyre worked.

·     A professor suggested what Linda saw in detail was a Sandhill Crane. A later article shows a picture of one.

·     Dogs saw something as well.

·     The papers are super insistent it’s a Sandhill Crane.

·     I’m calling it saucer hunting from now on.

·     This, though:

Actual footage?

·     Professor Robert Smith would say “Sandhill Crane” to any enquiry put to him.

Interest:

There’s a lot to read here and wonder about. You could clock through until you get caught by a headline that grabs you. I can see a lot of people doing that, because it’s a pain in the arse to read them.

Read it?

Yes, I mean, like the Linda Scarberry interview, this is what you’re here for.

8 Letters from John Keel

The gist:

·     There are several letters from John Keel. They give an insight to how John’s life was, and how hard investigators worked back in the day.  I forget that he was on this from the very beginning. Like I said, I haven’t read his book, but I will now. He speaks warmly of Mary Hyre.

Interest:

Some. I like that he talks about how money is tight. He mentions strange experiences he had but does not disclose them. I like the respect he shows everyone he is in correspondence with. He says things that make you want to get up and look for yourself, and that’s an unusual quality in any writer. He believes it.

Read it?

Yes.

9 Notes Taken by Mabel McDaniel (Linda Scarberry’s Mother)

The gist:

·     Mabel McDaniel. Linda Scarberry’s mother. She kept some notes. They are quite random. Tracing winged creatures/UFO’s through roughly a century, internationally. An attempt to put a pattern on something.

Interest:

None.

Read it?

No need.

10 Parts of a Letter received from John A Keel NY, written 1-2-67

The gist:

·     There is part of a handwritten letter from John Keel. Quite detailed instructions on what to do and to look for on UFOs. Including an intriguing nugget about missing dogs and cows.

Interest:

John Keel was beginning to plan a sort of universal theory of the paranormal here. Remember, I’ve not read any of his work, but now, I want to. So I would say yes, this is him sharing knowledge he has gathered over the years.

Read it?

Ja.

11 Return to the TNT Area

The gist:

·     About a documentary.

·     Linda Scarberry agreed to show them the TNT where she interacted with MothMan.

·     It’s a lot more exciting for the authors than for us.

Interest:

No, not really. There are pictures people filming things.

Read it?

You can skip it.

12 Places of Interest in the Point Pleasant, WV Area

Read it?

It’s a short list of nothing new. You can skip it.

13 Additional Resources

Read it?

Short, you already got this information at the start of the book. So, no.

14 Extended Edition Bonus Materials – Exclusive John A Keel Interview

The gist:

·     Mothman was the very least of what was happening in Point Pleasant and the surrounding areas. The authors may be making some cash from the Mothman, but John Keel doesn’t bring it up unless prompted. And even then, he’s quite dismissive.

·     There’s a part that made me jealous. When his eyes were good, he could read a book in an hour. I want to call bullshit on it. But he was one of those people.

Interest:

By 73, the age he was when this interview took place, John Keel had learned a lot. He had passed on what he could by writing and was then he got tired. He didn’t want to be a specialist. He found the bigger picture more interesting. All I know about John Keel is from this interview and some of the letters I read here. I only know about him in a general sense. I get the impression he would be just fine about that.

Read it?

If you read nothing else in this book, read this and Linda Sacrberry’s interview.

15 Extended Edition Bonus Materials – Exclusive Will Patton Interview

The gist:

·     Will Patton was an actor in the film with Richard Gere made about the Mothman Prophesises. I saw it when it came out. I liked it.

Interest:

There is. An outsider perspective on Point Pleasant as it was when Will Patton went there. I thought it was fascinating in a small way.

Read it?

Yes. You will get something out of this.

16 Extended Edition Bonus Materials – Mothman Festival 2003

Interest:

It’s a bit about the festival, and the website. It’s still going, I was delighted to see. There are pictures. I personally didn’t care.

Read it?

No need to read it.

17 Extended Edition Bonus Materials – The Birdhouse

Interest:

It’s the power plant. With pictures of a local band from 1992 called Draggin’ Flies.

Read it?

Worth it for Draggin’ Flies. They’re painfully and beautifully 90s. 

18 Extended Edition Bonus Materials – Tu-Endie-Wei State Park

Interest:

Brief description and some pictures of the park.

Read it?

If you want, I skipped through it fast.

19 Extended Edition Bonus Materials – Fort Randolph inside Krodel Park

Interest:

Same as above

Read it?

Meh, skipped on.

About the Authors

There’s not much on the internets about them. Donnie tells you a lot about himself in the book, but Jeff is a bit more mysterious. I’ve heard him in some interviews.

Conclusion

It is a strangely put together book. This is the expanded edition. This book has been going around for a while. It feels slapped together. It’s a case file, not a book as such. “Here’s some interviews, here’s some pictures, read John’s book”.  It’s a fast read on the surface, but it stays with you. I’ll be mulling over this for a while.

I numbered the chapters here so I could keep a track. They are not numbered in my Kindle versions. The chapters I found the most interesting: Chpts: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 17.

Worth buying?

I liked the clippings, and I loved the interview with John Keel. I also enjoyed the Linda Scarbery interview. John is all investigative burn out and ‘look to our place in the universe’. Linda is ‘y’know, I felt sorry for it, but there was so much weird shit happening, I don’t even know.’ John’s letters were also a goldmine of information. I did get this book on KU, so in a way, I paid for a loan of it! Would I buy a copy to keep? As a completist, I would buy it. It's an introduction to both Mothman and all that Mothman represents. I have a copy of John Keel’s book, so I’m looking forward to that now, as the definitive guide. The Facts is an update to some of that work. A later supporting guide to answer the questions the authors have launched at them on the reg. No one knows what Mothman is. End of. But! Now I must know a lot more about MIBs. And missing dogs and cows in relation to UFOs.