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The Mothman Prophecies: A True Story Paperback – 12 March 2013
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| Paperback, 12 March 2013 | $29.33 | $29.33 | — |
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Translated into over thirteen languages, John Keel's The Mothman Prophecy is an unsettling true story of the paranormal that has long been regarded as a classic in the literature of the unexplained.
West Virginia, 1966. For thirteen months the town of Point Pleasant is gripped by a real-life nightmare culminating in a tragedy that makes headlines around the world. Strange occurrences and sightings, including a bizarre winged apparition that becomes known as the Mothman, trouble this ordinary American community. Mysterious lights are seen moving across the sky. Domestic animals are found slaughtered and mutilated. And journalist John Keel, arriving to investigate the freakish events, soon finds himself an integral part of an eerie and unfathomable mystery.
The Mothman Prophecy is the basis of the 2002 film starring Richard Gere.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication date12 March 2013
- Dimensions13.84 x 2.41 x 20.83 cm
- ISBN-100765334984
- ISBN-13978-0765334985
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"An essential read. Even if you just enjoy good suspense, when Keel talks of his own experiences with Men in Black, stolen evidence, and intimidation via eerie phone calls and visitations, you'll want to keep reading." --Strange Horizons
"The Mothman remains a potent piece of American folklore." --CNN
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Tor Books; First edition (12 March 2013)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0765334984
- ISBN-13 : 978-0765334985
- Dimensions : 13.84 x 2.41 x 20.83 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 190,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 385 in Ghosts & Hauntings
- 697 in UFOs (Books)
- 927 in Unexplained Mysteries
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from Australia
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would have to study the book to make sense of what was happening
so interesting but not an easy read
Top reviews from other countries
Buying books is a hit and miss affair with Amazon if you want them in pristine/new condition. I'm one of those people who can read an book and leave it looking brand new and that's the way I want my library. Amazon sacrifice careful packaging and just jam books in together (the other book I ordered was in a state too), so I rarely buy books from them. Amazon, stick them in shrink on pack them tight so they can't be bashed around!
On to the book itself: I first became aware of Mothman in the early 70s when I read about 'him' in a book called 'A Modern Look At Monsters' which I still own. Mothman was covered- along with The Flatwoods Monster- in a chapter on "Mosnters From Space". I was fascinated.
In the decades since Mothman has become really famous. Keel is -or was- one of the most respected UFOlogists/Paranormal Research Authors out there and this book (originally published in the later sixties as 'Visitors From Space' and subsequently revised a couple of times) is regarded as a Classic. The truth is that it's anything but.
For me, the key works of UFOlogy are Tim Good's 'Above Top Secret' (retitled and revised as 'Beyond Top Secret') Charles Bowen's 'The Humanoids' and the works of Stanton Friedman. I've read quite a number of other books on the UFO phenomenon, write professionally myself from time to time and am generally pretty well informed on the 'golden age' of UFo encounters (1947 until the dawn of the internet, after which you can trust nothing).
What astonishes me about this book is how poorly constructed it is. Structurally, it is full of digressions, meanderings and blind alleys - although Keel makes some interesting points as a systematizer, he is clueless. Compare this to the work of Good and -another example- Colin Wilson's magisterial 'The Occult' and we're in pulp territory. The book still smacks of the cheapo Fortean exploitation magazines of the 60s and earlier such as 'Fate', where padding, tangential thinking, pointless asides and an overall failure to organise material engagingly while relying almost entirely on sensationalism and 'research' not underlined by supporting notes, evidence and references was de rigeur. It's also a very boring and irritating read, even during lockdown when one is desperate for diversion.
If you've ever wondered about this book, don't waste your money on it. You can find pretty much all you need to know about Mothman on Youtube and those TV channels no-one watches.
The whole Mothman myth centres on the eponymous winged, red-eyed black figure haunting the highways and backroads of West Virginia, scaring motorists and courting couples but otherwise not molesting them as traditional abductee stories go. It is woven with more traditional American conspiracies like the Men In Black and UFO encounters and makes for fascinating reading.
Keel strikes a good balance between the credulous and the cautious...though clearly a 'believer' he takes a more cynical, distant approach as a longtime ufologist, and one well acquainted with panicky eyewitnesses and media scaremongering. The focus culminates in the Silver River Bridge disaster, and Keel makes no excuse for connecting the various Mothman events as portents of this community disaster, as they cease immediately following (draw your own conclusions!)
It's a perfect study of post-industrial age humanity if nothing else. The blue-collar town of Point Pleasant is an archetype of the kind of America people still want to believe in - simple, white god-fearing folk, just getting on with their lives, free from government interference. Yet their credulity, fear and sociocultural anxiety gives rise to paranoia, and being susceptible to manipulation, easily amplify the 'sightings' into a general paranoia about odd 'strangers' (what could just be quirky door-to-door salesmen, census takers and market researchers or immigrants from foreign cultures) which take on a sinister government and alien dimension, ultimately providing an explanation for their fears.
One dated aspect of the narrative which modern readers may find distracting is his need to physically describe every female witness or character according to their looks and figure, but then I guess he is a UFO nerd after all!
Worth a look if you're interested in cryptozoology, but I think casual readers would find it pretty hard work.
I would not recommend this purely based on the above plus its way over priced at £9! Add that It Is so frustrating to read.Then pick it up from the library.Not one for the serious collector.
I really enjoyed this book. I will now read everything I get my hands on with the name JohnA. Keel. Excellent!
There is always tension looming because you know something terrible is about to happen but no one can quite work out what. The story is a real rollercoaster of human emotion and wonderment. It is a classic and deserves to be read by all who are interested in the unknown and mysterious.







