Mothman Witness Describes Creature in Terms That Exactly Match a Great Horned Owl

A West Virginia motorist has reported a terrifying encounter with a creature he believes to be the Mothman, providing a description that ornithologists have identified, with what they call 'exhausting certainty,' as a great horned owl.

'It was perched on a fence post,' said witness Dale Encounter, his hands still shaking during the interview. 'Massive wingspan -- at least six feet. Glowing red eyes. And the face -- the face was almost human, but angry. Like it was judging me.'

'That's a great horned owl,' said Dr. Patricia Pellet of the West Virginia Ornithological Society. 'Wingspan of up to five feet, eyeshine that appears red in headlights, and a facial disc that, I suppose, could be described as judgmental. They're very common here.'

Encounter rejected the identification. 'I know what an owl looks like,' he said. 'This was not an owl. This was larger, more ominous, and it made a sound I can only describe as a low, resonant hoot.'

'Also an owl,' Dr. Pellet noted.

Cryptozoological investigators from the Mothman Research Institute responded to the scene within hours and documented what they called 'a classic Mothman encounter consistent with the Point Pleasant pattern.' Lead investigator Frank Wingspan noted that the location, a rural road near a river, matched the 'Mothman habitat profile.'

'It also matches the great horned owl habitat profile,' Dr. Pellet said. 'Because they're the same habitat.'

The investigation has been complicated by the discovery of owl pellets at the site, which Wingspan described as 'anomalous organic material' and sent to a lab for analysis. The lab confirmed they were owl pellets.

'Inconclusive,' Wingspan said. 'We'll need more data.'

Encounter has installed a dashcam and returned to the road every evening for two weeks. He has recorded three owls.