As you are driving one night, a movement catches your eye. You slow down to get a better look and suddenly an impossibly large, humanoid creature with massive wings rises up, staring directly at you. You are filled with a sense of dread and bring your car to a halt, the creature now walking toward you. You are frozen in fear, but suddenly the creature levitates and then quickly flies off. You have just encountered the Mothman.

Mothman, a new book by Richard Estep and Tobias Wayland, is an exploration of the cryptid known as the Mothman through a series of eyewitness interviews, investigations and expert opinions. Estep, an author and paranormal investigator of over 30 years and Wayland, a cryptid researcher and author of over a decade bring extensive expertise to this topic and take a deep dive into the details of many sightings in an academic, yet very accessible way.

The first section of the book puts the Mothman lore into perspective by sharing with the reader the history of some key figures who began collecting tales of strange and otherworldly occurrences in the early 20^th century, starting with Charles Fort and how his work shaped the current thinking on Fortean phenomena. Next they turn to the work of John Keel, an early Fortean who popularized Mothman through his 1975 book, The Mothman Prophecies. The section concludes with the first known involvement of the Men in Black in Mothman investigations.

The latter half of the book deals with various sightings, organized by location. It was surprising to find out how many were scattered around the Midwest, including around Lake Michigan (though as a Chicagoan, I will take exception with Rockford, IL being described as a “suburb of Chicago”). The chapters are a good mix of stories and transcripts of interviews of various eyewitnesses, making for an engaging read.

Of course, the authors had to explore the most famous of all Mothman legends, the Point Pleasant Mothman (and the yearly Mothman convention). The story of the Silver Bridge disaster in connection with Mothman is particularly compelling.

The conclusion of the book examines what the Mothman phenomena might actually be, delivered with a healthy dose of skepticism, but leaving the door open to the idea that Mothman is real. Whether you are a Mothman enthusiast or are just learning about the cryptid, you will find plenty in this book to hold your interest and keep you looking over your shoulder when you are in Mothman country.