Customer Reviews

The Mothman Prophecies

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

The movie was good but forget about connecting that flick to this book. This book was first written in 1975 - NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO! If you have ever read "true story" UFO books before, then you have probably come across a lot of recent material that seems more plausible like "The Gulf Breeze Sightings by Ed Walters" and "Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience by Travis Walton" but both of these books have since had their day - they have been pretty much debunked and are widely known as absolute hoaxes, if not downright fabrications at best. After 30 years, The Mothman Prophecies is still a SOLID story because of the amount of witnesses to the events, biological medical evidence and the final catastrophe that ended the phenomena. The only case that debunkers have against this story is that the Mothman could be an owl or a large species of crane, but eyewitnesses deny that it is any such animal.

In fact the Mothman is not part of any category of cryptozoology. Much like the chupacabra, it is a zoological impossibility so the only possible realm of existence for this thing is genetic experimentation, an apparition or extraterrestrial. The latter category is what the Mothman falls into and this book is all about just that.

Keel went to Point Pleasant West Virginia in 1966 and 1967 to investigate a series of unexplained happenings that the towns people where experiencing at the time. Most importantly was the sighting of a creature that could only be described as some sort of a flying monster. This creature, dubbed the Mothman, was new to Point Pleasant but not to the history books and so Keel went digging around to see what he could find. While doing this he unearthed an astonishing amount of information on this mythical beast. At the same time there was some UFO activity in the area and Keel was the one who made the connection between the Mothman and the UFOs.

Essentially "The Mothman Prophecies" is a book that documents and reports on a HUGE UFO FLAP in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Coupled with this event where strange lights in the sky, encounters with the unknown, men in black, psychic phenomena, cattle mutilations and an impeding of Keels investigation by possible secret government agencies. Keel is only one of many people that where exposed to these events and although the book must be treated skeptically, it does open your mind because there is simply too much activity taking place to call it a hoax or work of fiction. Various people seemed to be attacked by the Mothman. Even an ambulance used for blood donation was chased and attacked by the thing. In short this is an excellent UFO book that still stands the test of time.

For years we have been waiting for its re-release and the movie has helped spur that along. When you compare this book to other true stories about UFOs you really begin to appreciate its value. I have read a lot of UFO books and books about strange encounters but this is the one that really got me gripped from start to finish. After reading this book it is very hard to see it as anything less than real and truthful. "Occam's Razor" tells us that in explaining a thing no more assumptions should be made than are necessary - but when applied to this book you must explain how everything occurred in this one region to so many people. Keel not only researches the Mothman but documents everything that happened at Point Pleasant during that fateful period of time.

It is a whopping story that is highly intriguing, absolutely baffling, horrific and extremely hard to dismiss as a work of fiction. It is not until you see the Mothman documentary that is on the movie DVD that you actually get to put faces to the people in this book and hear them talk about their experiences. This is first rate investigative reporting and an amazing story to boot that can't simply be dismissed as all in Keel's mind, or a hoax or fabrication. Strange things went on in Point Pleasant, West Virginia and the people where scared. Then it ended with a massive tragedy and the supernatural phenomena stopped. There is no doubt that something completely out-of-this-world occurred at Point Pleasant and you should not miss reading about it.

Exceptionally riveting journalism!

This book is not what I expected at all. I picked up the book after I saw the movie. It turns out that the movie is a fictional story based on the mothman. In this book, author John Keel tells his stories of traveling around the east cost areas and, well, UFO hunts. It is very creepy the stories he has to tell and the fact that thousands have witnessed what he is writing about. This is a very fun, and creepy book. It will leave you stirring in your sleep.

Books about the paranormal I never find to be entirely satisfying; you get teased and left to make up your own mind. I get drawn to this kind of material for some reason, always hoping to get some answers, to figure it out, to fit this into my theistic worldview. A year ago I got my first taste of satisfaction, from the book "Lights in the sky and little green men", in which the authors concluded that residual UFO's, the ones that cannot be explained away, are in fact real, but are not physical but spiritual.

John Keel, with The Mothman Prophecies, arrives at a somewhat similar conclusion. He scoffs at the idea that these are visitors from other planets, but is less convinced that they are from the spiritual realm, at least as commonly understood by Christians. His bizarre thirteen month set of experiences centered on Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1966-1967, culminating in the tragedy of the bridge collapse, has left him certain of nothing. He does seem to see a continuity between paranormal experiences throughout history and those of today, with poltergeists, demons, Bigfoot, Nessie, UFOs, and Men in Black all falling under the same explanatory umbrella, whatever that may be. Possibly an independent spiritual world exists, or possibly these are psychic imprints and pollution, echoes that play back in certain geographical locations, like a record stuck, playing back the same groove over and over.

You are not going to get closure from this book, but his account is gripping and his speculations are thoughtful and intelligent. To repeat an overused phrase, you are not going to want to put it down.

Upon my initial reading of this book one thought came to my mind: "confusing". There wasn't anything even remotely like a "stroy" going on, but rather a mishmash of facts, and experiences from a number of individuals related to the phenomenon known as the mothman, the MIB, and UFO encounters.

After having saw the film, I then took another chance to read it, and found it to be fascinating in the way that I believe that Keel had intended for it to be confusing (this is due to a scene in the film where one of the characters utters "We aren't supposed to know what they mean..."), and I give him the utmost respect for it. He has created a book that is both unsettling, and highly enjoyable (it reminds me of the feeling I got when I first read Burrough's "dope" manifesto "Naked Lunch")

This is one of those books where all things aren't supposed to make sense, and where you are supposed to get your own interpretation from the "prophecies" contained within. Whether a work of fiction, or non-fiction, "The Mothman Prophecies" is a fascinating read, and a good primer to the world of UFOs, MIB, and cryptozoology. I definitely recommend this to any fan of the paranormal.

If you're new to the paranormal and/or crytozoological studies, you should deffinately pick this up. Its light reading, so you won't have to constantly analyze if something is symbolic or not. Its written like an episode of "Law and Order", really. In the book, Keel relates events that he experienced, centered around the West Virginia town of Point Pleasant. Very rarely does Keel ever color the events with his view or interpritation of things. Usually he relates the facts and lets the reader come to any conclusions that need to be come to. This is very important, as usually books of the paranormal ilk are SATURATED with the authors view of what a specific event is or means. Overall, its highly enjoyable. If you are even remotely interested in paranormal phenemonons, this is a fantastic book to start with. Any conclusions you come to will be those of yourself based on the evidence provided, not because the author colored things to make it appear more one way than another. The only thing that could have made this book any better was maybe a deluxe edition that would include pictures of some of the reoccuring characters and scenes, such as Mrs. Hyre and the TNT area. Sometimes sketches of visiting entities are mentioned, it would have been awesome to see these sketches. There is a whole realm of possibilities for additional photographic illustrations to this book that could add more depth and realism. That is the only thing that could have made this book better, for what it is. However, this is just bonus material, none of it is needed to better understand the story, so there is no reason to mark down for such things not being included.

I don't know quite what to make of this book, because I don't know quite what to make of the events that occured in West Virginia (and Ohio and Long Island, among other places) in the late 60's. The story is probably well-known if you've seen the movie. The book does differ somewhat from the movie but this isn't exactly a linear tale. I did read that Keel was pleased with the results.

In brief, in the late 60's a lot of peculiar events took place in the area around the Ohio/West Virginia border centered around the town of Point Pleasant, WV. Most of the events involved sightings of the Mothman (whose name was coined from a Batman villain) but there were various other Men in Black types running around Point Pleasant too. Other events are too numerous to mention and seem to involve lots of peculiar folk showing up on people's doorsteps and beeping phonecalls and maybe an abduction or two. The events culminate in the collapse of the Silver Bridge. Despite some criticisms of the book (the reason for the Bridge collapse had a scientific explanation), Keel does not suggest that the tragedy was caused by the Mothman, et al. He simply suggests that these visitors knew about it and purposefully misled him and others. How did they know? Keel thinks they are time-travelling visitors from another dimension that come here for purposes unknown and maybe unknowable, although possibly just because it amuses them. It all sounds fairly ridiculous when you try to explain it. Keel seems reasonable and he's well-respected by his peers (his peers, granted, probably including some rather flaky folks.)

The book is well-documented and not especially sensationalistic. I actually grew tired of the repeated stories of odd occurences at crossroads and a seemingly endless parade of unexplained lights in the sky. It is short and worth a read if your interest was especially piqued by the movie or you just have an interest in this sort of thing, in which case adjust the rating upwards. Otherwise, this book probably isn't for you. Do be prepared to be haunted by Keel's final words (a quote from Charles Fort, a famed student of the unexplainable): "If there is a universal mind, must it necessarily be sane?"

I bought and reread this book that I read years ago. I still liked it. If you want a Novel or Liked the movie you might not like this book. The book isn't written that way and novel reads. you are a novel reader you may find it harder to follow and get lost by the end. It isn't a smooth read beause it's written more real life. Real life isn't a smooth read. If you want a first hand account by a investigator who was trying not to loose objectivity then you will like it. The people who might not like it are those readers who con't see a connection between UFO, Bigfoot or other strange creatures, Ghost & poltergeist phenomena. You won't see the writer trying to comunticate with undead spirits or make peace with extraterestirals. You will find an investigator who noticed that ufo sights seem to corispond with poltergiest and other supernatural activity.

Keel's tome regarding the Mothman has nothing to do with thie film (ok, I'm nitpicking)...more to the point, it involves itself not only with the events in WV, but, also with events on Long Island and other locales.

THIS IS NOT A NARRATIVE.

At least, not in the normal sense. It's a story of one man's journey from skeptic to the other side....by the end of the book, Keel is not necessarily a stone believer, but he is a stone paranoid, which amounts to the same thing. He goes into the book carrying one belief system and walks out of it with quite another.

This, I feel, is the actual appeal of the book. We get to witness not the transformation of a character, but the transformation of the author, which makes this not only a fascinating study, but a dangerous book indeed.

And why is it dangerous? Because a researcher changed his mind? No, it is dangerous because the researcher had CREDENTIALS beforehand...he's a scholar. If Gore Vidal (the historian) told you that in his research for "Lincoln" he discovered that Lincoln liked to savage rabbits with his bare hands...would you believe me?

Of course not...but the problem here is that there is no historical record to go on, that if we are to believe, we believe on the basis of our judgment of a man's character.

That said, I believe he is telling the truth. I have read not only the book in question, but many other works by Keel, and I believe him to be sane. Naiive, yes, often. But always he thinks about his topic. This educated man experienced something back in 1967. The question is : should we accept his account of events?

I personally say yes, but that is an answer rising from years of "ufo's exist..." upbringing, along with my religious convictions.

I leave it up to you.

The point is, this is a book that needs to be taken not with a grain of salt, but with a full salt lick in front of you. The facts presented are merely things to be looked at more carefully. Here's hoping you do just that. Highly reccommended.

In order to comprehend the TRUE nature of All of the incidents of the paranormal (from Mothman to automatic writing) one could do no better than to read ALL of Keel's writings. UFOs are not ships from other planets (they're not "false sightings", either) and big hairy monsters are not unknown biological life forms (yes, they are real and not "mistaken sightings".) Keel demonstrates the nexus extant between all sectors of the paranormal -- between clairvoyants, ufos, monsters, demonic possession, possessed individuals, demons, MIBs, ghosts, and much more. As a former journalist, he knows the correct questions to ask which is mandatory in obtaining the correct answers to expose any mystery. The claims he made decades ago, which may seem impossible, are being endorsed by quantum physics today -- not that ufos or bigfeet exist but that the nature of space and time (referred to as "spacetime" in physics) is such that they are allowed, in the laws of nature, to exist -- quantum reality or the reality extant at, if not beneath, the subatomic level. We perceive only a very small modicum of reality, as there is a helluva lot more to it than we could ever perceive. The ultimate question is: who, or what, exists over there and do they perceive us?

I saw the movie and had to have the book. This book is very scary leaving you grasping for the truth. I was actually scared to the point of turning lights on in my house! I am not usually a fraidy cat like that, but jeesh. Monsters can be killed. Vampires can be staked. Mummies can be burned. Ghost can be lead into the light. What do you do to ward off a creature from another dimension or time or planet that has a hot laser and ain't 'fraid to use it? Nothing as you'll read in the masterful tale of suspense and honesty. Mr. Keel will come right out and tell you when he and others are afraid, hurt, and run for their lives. This book FEELS true in many aspects. My recommendation - read this during the day and try not to think of it at night. Don't answer the door, turn off the phone (if you can), and call a buddy. This ain't your momma's UFO.