The world as a whole has no shortage of strange legends of supposed "monsters" that still roam the Earth, hidden from human eyes and only revealing themselves to people by pure chance. Of course, there's the well-known stories like Bigfoot/Sasquatch (who at this point I'm pretty sure is just naturally blurry, based on all the photos taken of him), as well as the Loch Ness Monster.
On the other hand, there's been plenty of regional monsters reported over the years that have given people plenty to worry about when walking through remote areas after dark. Who could forget legends like New Jersey's own Jersey Devil?
One of the biggest, most enduring myths of the Western world, of course, has been that of the Mothman. First reported as being sighted near Point Pleasant, West Virginia between 1966 and 1967, there were eventually several reports of a large, man-like bird with glowing red eyes. Local folklore later tied the monster to a bad omen connected with a tragic bridge collapse in 1967.
There have been books written about the subject (most famously The Mothman Prophecies, which was adapted into a 2002 movie starring Richard Gere), and the legend remains firm in the area.
However, it looks like the Mothman may have decided on a change of scenery.
Throughout 2017, a whopping 55 reports have come in from the Chicago area that supposedly detail a strange creature with red eyes appearing in the sky above the city. According to Vice:
"Accounts have varied from "a large, black, bat-like being with glowing red eyes" to "a big owl" or something that resembled a "Gothic gargoyle" or a "Mothman." Most eyewitnesses spotted the being in-flight, but some particularly disturbing reports detailed it dropping onto hoods of cars, peering in through windows, and swooping down at bystanders."
According to Lon Strickler, a researcher of paranormal activity, these Chicago reports are unlike anything he's seen in his decades investigating alleged flying humanoid sightings: "This group of sightings is historical in cryptozoology terms. For one, it's happening in an urban area for the most part and that there are so many sightings in one period."
Other researchers though, like Dr. David A. Gallo, a psychologist from the University of Chicago, remain unconvinced. According to Gallo:
"There's a phenomenon where there's basically some real witnessed experience, but if there are holes or gaps in that original experience, sometimes the mind is unable to fill in the gaps." Because of this, Gallo warns that, "if something is suggested to them subsequently as a plausible scenario"”like a Mothman or whatever"”that person might be inclined to fill in the gaps with that."
