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You're listening to Unexplained, Season six, 10 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: episode twenty seven, All that we See, Part two of three. 11 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: It wasn't until two am that the Scabreeze and Mallets 12 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: finally arrived back at Rocha and Linda's trailer on the 13 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: thirtieth Street. Still trembling from all they'd experienced, the friends 14 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: hastily switched on the lights and double locked the doors, 15 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: and so it remained for the rest of the night 16 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: while they kept an anxious vigil on the skies outside, 17 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:22,319 Speaker 1: until finally the first rays of daylight crept into the valley. 18 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: In towns like Point Pleasant, news can sometimes seem to 19 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: travel so quickly among its residents it brings the very 20 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: laws of physics into question, even more so when that 21 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: news involves disturbing reports of strange, monstrous creatures stalking the 22 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 1: local skies. With gossip and rumor already spreading rapidly through 23 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: the town by the following morning, Mason County Sheriff George 24 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: Johnson promptly called a press conference in the hope of 25 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: nipping it all in the bud. A few hours later, 26 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: number of somewhat skeptical local journalists arrived at the Sheriff's office, 27 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 1: eager to hear directly from Linda, Roger, Mary and Steve 28 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: as to what exactly had occurred the night before. What 29 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: they certainly hadn't expected was to find the four apparent 30 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: witnesses visibly shaken up and genuinely convinced that what they 31 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: had seen was not of this world. When the articles 32 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: were written up the next day, many struck an open 33 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: minded tone, carrying headlines such as couples see man sized 34 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: bird creature something as the point Pleasant Register put it. 35 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,919 Speaker 1: The official line from Sheriff Johnson, however, was that the 36 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: something was nothing more than an unusually large bird. Many 37 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: other residents were far less sympathetic. Before long, rumors were 38 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: circulating about the reputations and drinking habit of the so 39 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 1: called witnesses, with many suspecting they had just made the 40 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 1: halting up for a bit of attention. Deeply hurt by 41 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: what they felt to be slanderous accusations, the four friends 42 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: soon realized there was only one way to shut their 43 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: detractors up. Despite all their better instincts, they would simply 44 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:26,519 Speaker 1: have to go back, find the creature and capture it 45 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: for all to see. Just after midday on Wednesday, November sixteenth, 46 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: Roger Scarberry's black Chevy pulled up once again outside the 47 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: North Power Plant, but this time they'd come prepared. After 48 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: suggesting to the others that they wait in the car 49 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: while he had a cursory look around, Roger grabbed his 50 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: gun from the trunk and headed off toward the plant. 51 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: He didn't want to have to use the rifle, but 52 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: he thought it was safe to assume that they had 53 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: no idea what they were dealing with, and he wasn't 54 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: about to take any chances. The huge, monolithic, red bricked 55 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: building was vastly more imposing up close. Though he tried 56 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: to hide it, there was no, denying his apprehension as 57 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:26,720 Speaker 1: he approached the main entrance, taking a deep breath before 58 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: pulling open the door and stepping inside. After making it 59 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 1: through the first room, he found himself in a vast 60 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: central chamber. Two levels of gangways skirted the edges, while 61 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: in the middle sat the rusted remains of the plants 62 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: for boilers. On the ground, small puddles and broken bricks 63 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: mingled with pockets of leafy growth and scatterings of rusted metal. 64 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: All along the walls, vines crept over a litany of 65 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 1: painted marks kings bearing the names and initials of those 66 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: who'd come before. All was quiet, save for the sound 67 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: of dripping water that echoed throughout and the occasional flutter 68 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:16,840 Speaker 1: of pigeon wings from high up in the rafters. Just then, 69 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: Roger heard something coming from one of the old corroded boilers. 70 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: Heading over to it, he grabbed the handle on the 71 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: door and braced himself. The others were relieved to see 72 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:35,040 Speaker 1: him emerge a few minutes later, if a little disappointed 73 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,679 Speaker 1: that he'd found no sign of anyone or anything in side. 74 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: Deciding it was safe enough, the four of them then 75 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:47,039 Speaker 1: ventured inside together, Linda and Mary stayed close to the 76 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: exit as Roger and Steve headed off to explore the 77 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,720 Speaker 1: upper levels. The men had only been gone a few 78 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: minutes when Linda caught sight of a peculiar set of 79 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: markings on the floor, like horse hoof prints. She thought, 80 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: if only horses walked on two legs. She was just 81 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 1: about to show Roger when a terrifying scream echoed through 82 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: the lower chamber. It's here, cried Steve, suddenly appearing from 83 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:22,719 Speaker 1: a back room. It's in the boiler. In terror, the 84 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,720 Speaker 1: four of them raced out at the building and bundled 85 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: back into the car and drove off as fast as 86 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: they could back to Point Pleasant. Steve recounted what had 87 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: happened later, claiming that he saw something very large shifting 88 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: behind a boiler door and had moved in for a 89 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: closer look. As soon as he put his hand on 90 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: the door to open it further, whatever it was inside 91 00:06:48,480 --> 00:07:00,240 Speaker 1: disappeared immediately up the chimney. That afternoon, the story worry 92 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: of the initial apparent sighting hit the news stands throughout 93 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,599 Speaker 1: Mason and Athens County, and as it filtered through to 94 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:12,000 Speaker 1: the many surrounding towns. By Wednesday afternoon, it was all 95 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: anybody could talk about. By early evening, Route sixty two 96 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: out of Point Pleasant was so clogged up by excitable 97 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: armed residents intent on capturing what had by then been 98 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: dubbed the red eyed Thing, that the fire department were 99 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: drafted in to keep things in order. By nighttime, the 100 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: peaceful wilderness of the tnt area was well and truly 101 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: shattered by a continual revving of engines, excited shouts, and 102 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: the occasional sound of gunshots. But the bird, as others 103 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: were calling it, remained elusive. At least it did for 104 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: all those who were looking in the wrong place. It 105 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 1: had just gone eight thirty PM when twenty one year 106 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: old Marcella Bennett, along with her two year old daughter Tina, 107 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: set off toward the TNTE area from their home in 108 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: Point Pleasant with her brother Raymond Walmsley and his wife Cathy. 109 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: Just like everyone else, Marcella and Raymond had also heard 110 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: about the bizarre creature that supposedly terrorized the scarberries and 111 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: mallets just the night before. However, unlike the many others 112 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:31,239 Speaker 1: hopeful for a glimpse of the apparent beast with red eyes, 113 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: that night, Marcella and her brother had merely decided to 114 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: pay a spontaneous visit to their sister, Virginia, who lived 115 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: just past the northeastern edge of the former ordnance works. 116 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: Having finally got past the busy throng of erstwhile monster hunters, 117 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: they were just making their way through the outer fringes 118 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: of the region when Marcella caught a glimpse through the 119 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: trees of what appeared to be a large red light 120 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: moving about in the sky. Thinking little of it, she 121 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,959 Speaker 1: said nothing to the others as they continued on their way, 122 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: arriving finally at her sister's bungalow just after nine pm. Sadly, 123 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: the trip proved to be a wasted journey when they 124 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,960 Speaker 1: discovered that, although their three kids were home, Virginia and 125 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: her husband Ralph, had gone out for the evening. Deciding 126 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,440 Speaker 1: not to wait for them, the visitors said a brief 127 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,200 Speaker 1: hello to the children and were just heading back to 128 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: their car when Raymond became suddenly distracted by something in 129 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: the sky above. What's that, he said, stepping back onto 130 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: the porch and pointing at a couple of distant lights 131 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: hovering in the darkness above the trees. Cold and eager 132 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: to get back home. Marcella ignored her brother, then lit 133 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: a cigarette and pushed Tina toward the car. It's just 134 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 1: a plane, she said, but couldn't take his eyes off 135 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: the lights. That's no plane, he replied. The way she 136 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,840 Speaker 1: would describe it later, Marcella had just put her keys 137 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: in the car door when something moved from out of 138 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: the darkness behind it. The thing was well over six 139 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: feet tall, with muscular legs that appeared to be covered 140 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:33,199 Speaker 1: in small gray feathers, and a large torso behind which 141 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: she could clearly discern were a gigantic pair of wings. 142 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: There might have been ahead, but from what she could 143 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,559 Speaker 1: tell in the low light, it was pressed down into 144 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 1: its chest and difficult to make out. In that moment, 145 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: she felt nothing but sheer paralyzing terror. From the porch. 146 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:59,559 Speaker 1: Raymond and Cathy had also seen the thing emerge from 147 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,560 Speaker 1: behind the car. Marcella could hear them screaming for her 148 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: to make a run for it, but however hard she tried, 149 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:10,960 Speaker 1: she couldn't move her legs. It was as if the 150 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 1: thing were somehow holding her there. Finally, after then becoming 151 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: aware of the terrified cries of her daughter standing beside her, 152 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: she found the will to break free from her momentary paralysis, 153 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: she grabbed Tina and made a run for the front door. 154 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: Moments later, she was sent inexplicably tumbling to the floor, 155 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 1: knocking her daughter to the ground in the process, finding 156 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 1: herself paralyzed again as her daughter screamed uncontrollably. It was 157 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: only when Marcella felt the burn of her cigarette on 158 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 1: her face that she found the strength to get up. 159 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 1: As she pulled her daughter toward the safety of the porch, 160 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: Raymond grabbed them from the top of it, and together 161 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: they fell headlong into the house. Yond locked the door 162 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,840 Speaker 1: behind them, then frantically pulled down all the blinds as 163 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 1: Cathie did her best to calm Virginia's children, who'd heard 164 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: it all from inside. In a daze, Marcella said, she 165 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: then made her way to the sofa with Tina as 166 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 1: Raymond went to the kitchen to call the police. After 167 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: checking to make sure her daughter wasn't injured, Marcella noticed 168 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 1: that her own hands and knees were bleeding. Catching her 169 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,439 Speaker 1: face in the mirror, she saw that it too had 170 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: been badly grazed in the panic. She then became aware 171 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:45,559 Speaker 1: of Raymond's voice coming through from the kitchen as he 172 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: yelled down the phone, demanding an officer be sent out 173 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: to them immediately. You don't understand, he kept telling them. 174 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 1: The thing is still outside. What do you mean it's 175 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: still outside, said Marcella, begin to panic again. Then she 176 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 1: heard something shuffling about on the porch. Raymond rushed back 177 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: in at the sound of Marcella's screams to find her 178 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 1: pointing at the window with Tina tightly clasped to her chest. 179 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: Go away, she shouted. Sh everyone be quiet, ordered Raymond 180 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: as he tiptoed softly to the blinds, hearing it himself now. 181 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,840 Speaker 1: As whatever it was moved slowly up to the window, 182 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: he carefully pried apart the blinds with his fingers, took 183 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: a deep breath, then peeped through the gap with his 184 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,199 Speaker 1: eyes slowly widening in horror, Raymond could just about make 185 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:47,200 Speaker 1: out some sort of body pressed up against the glass. 186 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 1: Trying not to panic, he quietly closed the blinds again 187 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 1: and backed away from the window, taking his place with 188 00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 1: the others on the sofa as they waited for police 189 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:03,800 Speaker 1: to arrive. Fifteen minutes later, the family jumped in terror 190 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:08,959 Speaker 1: as a loud, insistent knock shook the door. The sobering 191 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 1: sound of a police officer's voice broke through the noise, 192 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 1: and moments later the officer was stepping inside to find 193 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: four children and three adults, one bleeding from the face 194 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 1: and legs, in a desperate state of panic, back out 195 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: near the North power plant, the time having gone just 196 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: past midnight, news of Marcella's sighting began to filter through 197 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: the crowd. Having left empty handed from their earlier excursion, 198 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: the Mallets and Scarborreries returned to the TMPTY area and 199 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:55,120 Speaker 1: joined the throng of hopeful onlookers for Linda. Especially the 200 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: excess of people who continued to turn up from all 201 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: across the county served only to exacerbate their fears at 202 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: confronting the creature again. Spinning round in the dark, with 203 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: all the bodies out there picking their way through the 204 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: back roads and abandoned buildings, every shadow loomed larger in 205 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: her mind. Spying something on top of a nearby maintenance building, 206 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 1: what was left of her resolve finally crumbled, and she 207 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: yelled for Roger to take her home, deciding it best 208 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,440 Speaker 1: to stay with Linda's parents that night. They were barely 209 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: through the door when Linda became convinced that the creature 210 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: had followed them there. Linda's fear was by now escalating 211 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,040 Speaker 1: into a full on panic attack, as her heart began 212 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 1: to race ever faster and her breathing threatened to spiral 213 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: out of control. Roger and her father rushed her to 214 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 1: the local hospital, where she was eventually calmed by the 215 00:15:56,320 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: medical staff. The following morning, down at the front desk 216 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: of the Mason County Sheriff's Office, police struggled to keep 217 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:09,320 Speaker 1: up with the avalanche of calls flooding the switchboard as 218 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 1: one sighting after another was reported from the previous few nights. 219 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: When the papers hit the stand that day, a number 220 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: of intriguing stories from as far as a hundred miles 221 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 1: away began to emerge, including one of a resident of 222 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: Salem detailing the strange disappearance of their family dog Bandit. 223 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: Others spoke to the press to offer more sober opinions 224 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,520 Speaker 1: as to what the bizarre sightings could be raging from 225 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: quote a large owl, a migrating goose, and boys playing 226 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: pranks with a rigged device, As local paper, The Huntingdon 227 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: Advertiser had it, one local high school teacher suggested the 228 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 1: seven foot tall, red eyed thing with wings may in 229 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:04,640 Speaker 1: fact be nothing more than an experimental balloon. By now, 230 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 1: the apparent creature, thanks to one imaginative copy editor, had 231 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: also been given the name which from that day forward 232 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:19,879 Speaker 1: it would forever become known, the Mothman, inspired by the 233 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:25,399 Speaker 1: recently released Batman TV series. Over the next few days, 234 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:30,439 Speaker 1: thousands of onlookers traveled up from Point Pleasant and even 235 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,360 Speaker 1: further afield to get a glimpse of the supposed aberration. 236 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:40,200 Speaker 1: The highways and intersections were jammed with hopeful heroes, many 237 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 1: carrying rifles and shotguns, with only one thing in mind. 238 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,440 Speaker 1: For Linda, Roger, Mary and Steve, the shadow that had 239 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,440 Speaker 1: apparently been cast over their car by the creature's wings. 240 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 1: That Tuesday night had been a long one, with still 241 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: no credible roof of their sighting. Many had taken to 242 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: calling them out in the street, or simply pointing and 243 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 1: whispering derogatorially as they passed. For Linda especially, it was 244 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,199 Speaker 1: all she could do to keep her eyes down and 245 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: try not to let it get to her. But there 246 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 1: was one local reporter who refused to be so dismissive. 247 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:32,639 Speaker 1: Like many local journalists, the fifty four year old Mary 248 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: Higher hadn't quite known at first what to make of 249 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:42,639 Speaker 1: all the sudden talk of unidentified creatures flying about the sky. Ordinarily, 250 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,919 Speaker 1: the pugnacious twenty five year veteran of the Ohio based 251 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: Athens Messenger would have taken it all with a pinch 252 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:54,800 Speaker 1: of salt. That summer, however, it just so happened that 253 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: she had experienced a peculiar event of her own. Higher 254 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: had been making her way back home from just across 255 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: the other side of the Ohio River, which marked the 256 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:09,879 Speaker 1: border between Ohio and West Virginia, when she caught sight 257 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 1: of what she first took to be a plane in 258 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 1: the sky. Having forgotten all about it, she was surprised 259 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,959 Speaker 1: to look up a few minutes later, only to find 260 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 1: that the plane hadn't moved an inch. She grew even 261 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,359 Speaker 1: more surprised when, having drawn closer to it, she realized 262 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: that it wasn't a plane at all, but some other 263 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 1: sort of aircraft oddly spherical in shape. A similar object 264 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 1: was later reported hovering high up in the sky above 265 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:47,719 Speaker 1: Tiny's diner. Furthermore, just two weeks previously, a local construction 266 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,480 Speaker 1: worker whom Higher was familiar with, had walked into her 267 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: office on Point Pleasant sixth Street, claiming to have seen 268 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 1: an elongated object descend from the sky and land right 269 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: in front of him while he was driving home. Mary 270 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: had listened with patients as the construction worker went on 271 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,920 Speaker 1: to describe how a man in a black coat had 272 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: exited the vehicle and asked him a series of inane 273 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:18,880 Speaker 1: questions before returning to the aircraft, which then took off 274 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 1: into the sky, never to be seen again. Incredibly, at 275 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: roughly the same moment the construction workers encounter had allegedly occurred, 276 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 1: West Virginia State Police were dealing with an oddly similar 277 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 1: incident of their own. Sewing machine seller would Row Derenburger 278 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: had been returning home from work that evening when he 279 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 1: was apparently overtaken on the motorway by a strange elongated 280 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,639 Speaker 1: craft that had pulled out in front of him, forcing 281 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:52,880 Speaker 1: him to stop his car. He too, had then allegedly 282 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:58,200 Speaker 1: seen a smartly dressed man exit the vehicle before approaching 283 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:03,400 Speaker 1: him to ask a series of odd questions. Darrenburger, who 284 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:07,160 Speaker 1: claimed the man's name to be Indured Cold, went on 285 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: to give an interview to West Virginia's WTAP TV alongside 286 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: police chief Ed Plum, detailing has supposed encounter. Darrenburger's account 287 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: has since become known as one of the most bizarre, 288 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,880 Speaker 1: if less believable examples of a UFO citing on record. 289 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: For Mary Higher, whose primary job for many years had 290 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 1: been little more exciting than collating point pleasants, birth deaths, 291 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:41,160 Speaker 1: and marriages, it was certainly a welcome break from the norm, 292 00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:44,159 Speaker 1: though she had yet to draw any firm conclusions from 293 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: it all, it was hard to resist the thought that 294 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: something peculiar was beginning to cent her on her own 295 00:21:51,000 --> 00:22:01,680 Speaker 1: quiet patch of the Ohio River Valley. With her interest 296 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: piqued by the Scarberry and Mallet's sightings and hearing about 297 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 1: Marcella Bennett's experience, Higher began to wander if all the 298 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:14,639 Speaker 1: recent strangeness was somehow connected. Determined to get to the 299 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,359 Speaker 1: bottom of it, that afternoon, she invited the Mallets and 300 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,879 Speaker 1: the Scarberries to escort her to the TNT area to 301 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: help her paint a clearer picture of what they'd seen. 302 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,719 Speaker 1: The four were reluctant at first, wary of how Higher 303 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:34,160 Speaker 1: might portray them. However, when they realized that Mary's interest 304 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 1: was completely genuine, they eventually agreed to accompany her. Before 305 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:43,119 Speaker 1: long they were back trawling through the abandoned zone of 306 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: the North Power Plant, picking their way along the twisted 307 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: and rusted piping of the vast boily unit. Steve pointed 308 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: out to hire where he claimed to have seen the 309 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: creature wandering aloud if it might not in fact be 310 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:02,679 Speaker 1: living there. Roaching that same boiler, he took a moment 311 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: to compose himself before wrenching the door open wide, but 312 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:11,600 Speaker 1: there was nothing inside. Though in one sense relieved, the 313 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: group was disappointed to once again have nothing tangible to 314 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:20,880 Speaker 1: show the reporter. Steve slammed the door shut, sending some 315 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: pigeons scattering up toward the ceiling, before leading the group 316 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 1: back out of the building. A moment later, they heard 317 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 1: a loud metallic clatter echo through the plant. Running back 318 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,159 Speaker 1: to the main hall, they were stunned to find the 319 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:41,439 Speaker 1: same door that Steve had closed only seconds before was 320 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: now wide open again. By the end of the week, 321 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:50,080 Speaker 1: with Linda and her friends having by now made formal 322 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: statements to the police, there had been at least eight 323 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:58,120 Speaker 1: specific sightings of a man sized winged creature from as 324 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:02,240 Speaker 1: far as Cheshire and Rutland, as well as quote an 325 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:06,399 Speaker 1: isolated home near the TNT plant and one in Doddridge 326 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:13,000 Speaker 1: County east of Parkersburg. According to the Athens Messenger, West 327 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: Virginia University Associate professor of wild life doctor Robert Smith 328 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:22,879 Speaker 1: had also contacted Mason County Sheriff George Johnson to offer 329 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: his expert opinion. It was Smith's belief that the creature was, 330 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:33,480 Speaker 1: as Johnson suspected, nothing more than a sandhill crane. Such 331 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: a bird, which as an average wing span of seven 332 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,160 Speaker 1: feet and can stand up to six feet tall, could 333 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 1: well have stopped off in the area while migrating south 334 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: for the winter. Though sightings continued to trickle in over 335 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:51,440 Speaker 1: the next few days, the Sheriff's department were growing impatient 336 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 1: with the hordes of armed and trigger happy onlookers clogging 337 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 1: up the TNT area. There was the very real concern 338 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: that they might end up killing nothing more than a 339 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: harmless crane. By the next Tuesday, November twenty second, the 340 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:14,280 Speaker 1: department concluded their investigation and the case was officially closed. 341 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:25,719 Speaker 1: The following Sunday, eighteen year old Connie Carpenter made her 342 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 1: way home from church toward the quaint riverside town of 343 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:34,640 Speaker 1: New Haven, roughly twenty kilometers north of Point Pleasant. As 344 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: she passed the Mason County golf Course, she thought nothing 345 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,520 Speaker 1: of what she took to be an oddly stiff looking 346 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,720 Speaker 1: man standing just off the road ahead of her. That 347 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: was until she saw what she later described to be 348 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,719 Speaker 1: a pair of ten foot wings suddenly unfurled from behind 349 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: its back. Then whatever it was shot straight into the 350 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:04,479 Speaker 1: air and headed straight toward her car. Connie screamed as 351 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: it drew near and clocked its red eyes before it 352 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 1: almost smashed into the windscreen, and then veered away at 353 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:16,640 Speaker 1: the last minute, only to vanish from sight. Two weeks later, 354 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:21,600 Speaker 1: a stranger approached Linda Scarborough's parents home on Thirteenth Street 355 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,880 Speaker 1: in Point Pleasant and knocked on the door. When her mother, 356 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 1: Mabel opened it, the man introduced himself as John Keel, 357 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:35,639 Speaker 1: a writer from New York. Earlier that year, having become 358 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:40,160 Speaker 1: increasingly intrigued by the subject of UFOs, Keel had been 359 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,720 Speaker 1: commissioned by Playboy to write an article about it. He'd 360 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,119 Speaker 1: been traveling the country ever since, investigating UFO flaps and 361 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:53,119 Speaker 1: interviewing witnesses. When he caught wind of the unusual events 362 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:57,480 Speaker 1: taking place in Point Pleasant taken by the bright young 363 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: man from out of town, and sat As spied that 364 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,200 Speaker 1: he hadn't come to stir up trouble. Mabel invited him 365 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:07,880 Speaker 1: inside and suggested he take a seat while she made 366 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: a few phone calls. Soon, Keel was being introduced to 367 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:16,720 Speaker 1: Mabel's daughter Linda and her husband Roger, as well as 368 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:21,320 Speaker 1: to Mary and Steve Mallett. He was also introduced to 369 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:25,280 Speaker 1: a young woman with red and irritated eyes, which he 370 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: assumed to be conjuncti vitus. After apologizing for the infliction, 371 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:36,400 Speaker 1: the young woman introduced herself as Connie Carpenter. She explained 372 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,720 Speaker 1: that the eyes had turned red the morning after her 373 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 1: own apparent encounter with the infamous mothman. This was especially 374 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: intriguing to Keel and not the first time that he'd 375 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 1: encountered such a thing. In fact, many of the apparent 376 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 1: witnesses to UFO phenomenon that he had recently interviewed also 377 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,959 Speaker 1: claimed to have suffered from pinkeye in the idiot aftermath 378 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:07,159 Speaker 1: of their sighting. Finally, Keel was also introduced to Connie's aunt, 379 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: who was none other than local journalist Mary Higher. Together, 380 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,159 Speaker 1: the apparent witnesses all gathered in Linda's parents living room 381 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,840 Speaker 1: and huddled around Keel's tape recorder as one by one 382 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: they detailed their various stories. None of their accounts had 383 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:37,159 Speaker 1: changed at all in the weeks since they occurred. Writer 384 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: John Keel then chanced a suggestion would they accompany him 385 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 1: back to the power station for one last attempt at 386 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 1: finding the creature. Linda shifted in her seat and looked 387 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:54,880 Speaker 1: nervously toward Roger. Neither had been back since the night 388 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 1: of her panic attack. However, with all the name calling 389 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: and being only brandished as drunks and liars, just as 390 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 1: fresh in their minds, having the writer from New York 391 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,560 Speaker 1: as another witness might just be enough to convince the 392 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 1: town they hadn't made it up. Driving into the TNT 393 00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:20,960 Speaker 1: area shortly after nine pm, they found the place once 394 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:25,960 Speaker 1: more restored to its former, eerily deserted glory, as it 395 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:31,680 Speaker 1: had been back before that terrifying night of November fifteenth. 396 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,640 Speaker 1: They stepped out of their vehicles into the frigid night air. 397 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: The main gate at the plant was now padlocked shut, 398 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: but fortunately there was a gap in the fence just 399 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: large enough for the more to squeeze through. Though some 400 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: had initially been enthusiastic about going back, by the time 401 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,400 Speaker 1: they were stood out there in the dark in front 402 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:59,880 Speaker 1: of that imposing facade, Keel could sense a quiet panic 403 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 1: spreading throughout the group. When he asked for volunteers to 404 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,760 Speaker 1: accompany him in sight, only Connie and Keith raised their hands. 405 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,520 Speaker 1: It was fair enough, he thought, after everything they claimed 406 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,880 Speaker 1: to have been through. He was grateful at least that 407 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 1: he wouldn't have to go in there alone. And with 408 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:26,480 Speaker 1: that the three of them, John, Connie and Keith steeled 409 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: themselves then pressed on into the power plant. You've been 410 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: listening to Unexplained, Season six, episode twenty seven, All that 411 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:46,880 Speaker 1: We See, Part two of three. The third and final part, 412 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 1: will be released next Friday, January twentieth. If you enjoy 413 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,880 Speaker 1: Unexplained and would like to help supporters, you can now 414 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 1: do so via Patrion. To receive access to add three episodes, 415 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 1: just go to patron dot com forward slash Unexplained pod 416 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: to sign up. Unexplained, the book and audiobook, featuring ten 417 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,240 Speaker 1: stories that have never before been covered on the show, 418 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 1: is now available to buy worldwide. Who can purchase through Amazon, 419 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,959 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements 420 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 1: of Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced by me 421 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,560 Speaker 1: Richard mc clane smith. Please subscribe and rate the show 422 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,440 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to podcasts, and feel free to get 423 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 1: in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories 424 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 1: you've heard on the show. Perhaps you have an explanation 425 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,360 Speaker 1: of your own you'd like to share. 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