Podcast Script (Narrative)

Background music

 

Host: Fifty-seven years ago, on December 15, 1967, the streets of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, were packed with early evening commuters. Many were on their way home from a long and weary work day; some, with the holidays just around the corner, were wrapping up their Christmas shopping, their trunks packed with gifts to bring home for their friends and families.

 

These two, small cities on the edge of the Ohio River were linked by the Point Pleasant Bridge, dubbed the Silver Bridge by the local residents. Consisting of over 2,200 feet of steel eyebar, the Silver Bridge arced more than 100 feet over the rushing water. On that fateful evening, dozens of cars crawled bumper-to-bumper across the bridge, a rush-hour commute that many had doubtless made every day for years.

 

Then, at around 5pm, disaster struck: The Silver Bridge, which had spanned the river since 1928, collapsed into the frigid water below. Of the 37 vehicles on the bridge at the time, 31 plunged into the Ohio River along with the wreckage. Twenty-one narrowly avoided injury or were rescued from the river; 46 people died; the bodies of two victims, Kathy Byus and Maxine Turner, were never recovered.

 

In the investigations that followed, one miniscule flaw—only 0.1 inches deep, in a single eyebar in the bridge's suspension chains—was identified as the culprit behind the horrible strategy. 

 

But ask the people of Point Pleasant, and some may say there’s more to the story.

 

Starting in mid-November, 1966—just over a year before the Silver Bridge’s tragic collapse—West Virginia residents began reporting sightings of a mysterious creature: a hulking shape, six to seven feet tall, with enormous wings and red, glowing eyes. Over the following year, this “thing” was allegedly responsible for a number of strange encounters across Point Pleasant and the surrounding area. And, according to some, the creature was seen flying over the Silver Bridge on the evening of December 15, 1967…mere minutes before the deadliest bridge disaster in American history.

 

This is History De-Cryptid.

 

Opening theme

 

Host: Welcome to History De-Cryptid, where we unpack the monsters, myths, and legends that have shaped our history, for better or worse. I’m your host, Mike Rofone, and today we are discussing one of America’s favorite monsters and one of the central figures of the cryptid renaissance of the last few decades: the Mothman. 

 

Together, we will explore the myriad stories of the Mothman, study the local and world events that surround these sightings, and delve into how these stories shape our past, our present, and even our future…

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Sources: The Silver Bridge Collapse; The Legend of Mothman – Paranormal W.Va.; An Ode to a Hometown Creature: Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia