#1
"THE MOTH WILL BE ANGRY!"

POINT PLEASANT, WV: Just a valley of ordinary neighborhoods. To the north, cornfields. To the south, a placid river.

But a lack of dramatic scenery may not be the only reason the Mothman film is being shot far from the small West Virginia town where the legend was born.

Rumors are flying out of tinseltown that Mothman won't even appear in the movie, which is now scheduled as your standard Hollywood love flick rather than the sci-fi thriller originally hoped for.

"The Mothman is a proud creature," says one Dr. Ardi Sverdgloove, who's come all the way from Scandinavia to investigate the Mothman phenomenon and hopefully stir up a book or movie deal of his own.

"I wouldn't want to be around when he finds out, either," the self-proclaimed "monsterologist" continued about the direction the movie is taking. "Excluding Mothman from the film is an insult. I fear there will be dire repercussions for the town. The Moth will be angry!"


#2
SALEM *WHICH* TRIALS?

POINT PLEASANT, WV: According to this Dr. Sverdgloove, the time is ripe for a "Salem Witch Trial event" here in Point Pleasant.

"All this negative publicity makes conditions perfect for mass hysteria," the would-be author exclaimed. "Why, you could be walking down the street wearing a coat that for some innocent reason is puffy in the back. It is easy to imagine the frightened townspeople running out and tearing your clothes off to see if you are the Moth!"

The Dr. gazed ominously at the quiet collection of storefronts that make up Point Pleasant's downtown.

"We have a similar scourge in my native Norway, a bat creature. But no," the paranormal investigator sniped peremptorily, "we don't call it 'Batman.' You Americans make fun of everything!"


#3
WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T SHOOT!

POINT PLEASANT, WV: As Mothman's fury paralyzes the town, a statement made by monster expert Dr. Ardi Sverdgloove has taken on an eerie, prophetic quality.

"There's bound to be some reaction from the Moth," Dr. Ardi had warned just before boarding a flight back to his native land.

"But remember," he emphasized, "Mothman chases only cars, not people, so no harm should ever be done him. Whatever you do, don't shoot him!"

"It got my 'Stang last night," one devastated hotrod buff blubbered about the string of brutal overnight car assaults that have occurred following Dr. Ardi's departure. Tears welled up in the eyes of another. "Mine too," the lad choked, pointing to a bashed-in '49 Ford Coupe he'd spent the better part of his senior year restoring to near mint condition. "I was just fixing to pin strip her!"

Meanwhile police are urging people to bring their vehicles into the safety of a garage or park them in a well-lighted place until the terror subsides.


#4
BEST LAID PLANS OF MOTHS AND MEN

POINT PLEASANT, WV: Red-handed rather than red-eyed, and most certainly red-faced, Dr. Ardi Sverdgloove has been caught vandalizing our cars. It seems the monsterologist snuck back into town in order to blame Mothman for the car carnage he committed and use it as the basis for a book or movie deal.

Thanks for the nab go to the Weasley brothers, Mick and Burl, in whose auto repair shop many of the battered conveyances were brought for repair. Believing the damage to have been caused by some everyday blunt object rather than supernatural means, the highly experienced pair of mechanics set up an ambush.

"We left an old car on a dark street," Burl explained succinctly. The brothers then hid in an attic nearby, where, after dozing off briefly, they were awakened by a noise.

"I looked out," Mick said, "and something had climbed atop the car. But I couldn't tell in the feeble glow of the streetlights whether it was wing tips or coat tails sticking up when the thing bent over with a sledgehammer. So we held our fire and called the cops instead."


#5
NO ORDINARY MOTH

POINT PLEASANT, WV: With hoaxer Dr. Ardi Sverdgloove locked up tight in jail, everyone felt safe again leaving their vehicles parked on the street.

Until last night.

"This puts a whole new light on things," sheriff Slim Moxley agreed about the vicious overnight assault on a family's minivan.

"That's right!" Dr. Ardi, still holding tight to his dreams of a big book deal, chimed in from his nearby cell. "Just because I was caught destroying cars doesn't mean there's not a Mothman."

"Some strange dust of the type usually associated with moth wings was collected as evidence at the scene," sheriff Moxley noted. "But," he was quick to add, "this residue could always have been left by ordinary moths that just happened by." The even-handed lawman then paused thoughtfully. "But that still wouldn't explain the horribly crumpled fenders."



#6
SILVERY WINGS

POINT PLEASANT, WV: Dr. Ardi Sverdgloove has finally been released from jail after paying restitution for the cars he damaged and promising to return and host a yearly Moth Festival to help buoy up the town's struggling economy.

"Even with all the damage claims," said chamber of commerce president Madeline Beman, "you've got to admit we haven't had this much excitement in Mason County since probably the Civil War."

Apparently the Dr.'s time in the slammer wasn't a total loss.

"I'm heading out on the talk show circuit," he explained triumphantly. But no, the subject won't be moths. "The lucrative self-help field. How I overcame my own criminal past by becoming a well-paid lecturer, etc. Very uplifting!"

As the plane carrying Dr. Ardi lifted off from Point Pleasant's tiny, grassy airpark--this time for real--and disappeared on it's silvery wings into the distance, the town below now seemed strangely quiet and still. Just a strip of quiet neighborhoods. To the north, cornfields, to the south, a placid old river.

The End