The Saltwood & Hythe Mothman

Sightings of winged creatures flying through the sky have long been a staple of folklore, mythology and legend across the world and across time and cultures. In the ancient world, Gods and monsters were depicted with enormous, scaled and feathered wings, whilst in modern times, sightings have become more and more diverse, from thunderbirds, to the mysterious Mothman. Three years before the one of the most famous sightings of a mysterious flying creature in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, there was a sighting almost 4,000 miles away, across the Atlantic in a quiet market town in the south-east of England that bore a remarkable resemblance and whilst it caused far less of a stir, it certainly drew just as much confusion.

SOURCES

Keel, John (1970) Strange Creatures From Time & Space. London Sphere, London, UK.

Keel, John (1975) The Mothman Prophecies. Saturday Review Press, USA.

Bowen, Charles (1974) The Humanoids. Futura Productions, London, UK

Waters, Thomas (2019) Cursed Britain: A History of Witchcraft and Black Magic in Modern Times. Yale University Press. CT, USA.

Point Pleasant Register (1966) Couples See Man Sized Bird…Creature…Something! Point Pleasant Register, 16 Nov 1966, p1. VA, USA

Tombstone Weekly Epitaph (1890) Found On The Desert. Tombstone Weekly Epitaph, 26 April 1890, p.3. Tombstone, AZ, USA.

The New York Sun (1877) Was It An Angel? The New York Sun, 21 Sep. 1877, p2. NY, USA.

The New York Times (1880) An Aerial Mystery. The New York Times, 12 Sep. 1880, p6. NY, USA

The Daily Mirror (1963) Rector Hunts Ghost Of Love Lane. The Daily Mirror, 25 Nov 1963, p25. London, UK.

The Kentish Express (1963) Rector Hunts Saltwood Ghost. The Kentish Express, 29 Nov 1963, p1. Kent, UK. 

Maidstone Telegraph (1963) Ghost Scares Teenagers. Maidstone Telegraph, 29 Nov 1963, p3. Kent, UK.

Maidstone Telegraph (1963) Was Red Ball Of Fire A Flying Saucer? Maidstone Telegraph, 13 Dec 1963, p1. Kent, UK.

The Kentish Express (1963) Ghost A Flying Saucer? The Kentish Express, 13 Dec 1963, p1. Kent, UK. 

Nottingham Evening Post (1903) Buried On An Island. Nottingham Evening Post, 27 Aug 1903, p3. Nottingham, UK.

Folkestone Express, Sandgate, Shorncliffe & Hythe Advertiser (1903) Death & Funeral of Mr W. T. Tournay. Folkestone Express, Sandgate, Shorncliffe & Hythe Advertiser, 29 Aug 1903, p5. Kent, UK.

Girvan, Waveney (1963) World Round-Up. Flying Saucer Review, Vol. 9, No. 6. Nov-Dec 1963. London, UK.

Girvan, Waveney (1964) The Saltwod Mystery. Flying Saucer Review, Vol. 10, No. 2. Mar-Apr 1964. London, UK.

Clarke, David (2016) A New Demonology: John Keel and The Mothman Prophecies. In: Hunter, Jack, (ed.) Damned Facts : Fortean Essays on Religion, Folklore and the Paranormal. Cyprus, Aporetic Press, 54-68.

Arnold, Neil (2023) The Hythe Mothman, Monster, Ghost or UFO? Fortean Times, FT439 Christmas 2023. Diamond Publishing LTD, London, UK. 

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