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SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
That is music from the streets of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, which is hosting the Mothman Festival this weekend. Fans of the mythical creature are flocking to the small town like - well, like moths to a lamp. NPR's Bill Chappell is there.
BILL CHAPPELL, BYLINE: The story of Mothman started nearly 60 years ago. Two young couples said they saw a strange creature as they drove down a rural road late at night.
STEVE WARD: Now, this thing was roughly humanoid, 6-, 7-foot tall, red, glowing eyes and about a 10-foot wingspan.
CHAPPELL: That's Steve Ward, a local historian. The couple said it chased them. Their story quickly spread from local news to international wire services. More sightings were reported, and the Mothman legend was born.
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CHAPPELL: For Point Pleasant, what started as a small, one-day paranormal event can now draw more than 20,000 people. Denny Bellamy is the tourism director here. He says the festival brings in millions of dollars.
DENNY BELLAMY: Our biggest problem starting out was the banks would run out of cash because it was Saturday. They all went home.
CHAPPELL: But now, Point Pleasant's downtown is humming year-round.
HOPE LOVE: I would say Mothman definitely put us on the map.
CHAPPELL: That's Hope Love. She's selling handmade Mothman crafts in a shop called The Flawed Frog.
LOVE: Two months ago, I had someone in here from Taiwan and then someone from Germany, as well.
CHAPPELL: Costumes are everywhere. Summer Maddux is visiting from Sacramento. Here's what she's wearing.
SUMMER MADDUX: I am in a formfitting, curve-hugging, black body suit with a black, hand-painted moth cape.
CHAPPELL: She has red contact lenses, red glasses and moth antennae. The idea, she says, is...
MADDUX: To perfectly embody Mothma'am (ph). This is my expression of Mothman.
CHAPPELL: People also drive out to the site of that famous Mothman sighting. After dark, a hayride carries people through the woods for some spooky scares.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (In spooky voice) Woo-woo.
CHAPPELL: Back in town, I run into Tyler Fields at the Piggly Wiggly. He's here from Ohio with his son and daughter. He's not big on festivals, but he likes this one.
TYLER FIELDS: I think it's great that a lot of different individuals can come together for this type of event. Does it really matter if there was an actual Mothman? No, because everybody believes that something happened and that it's a giant story.
CHAPPELL: And it's a giant Mothman party here in Point Pleasant. Bill Chappell, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARCHING BAND MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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