After my 2019 road trip, I hit the Mothman Festival with my friends for our last travel of the year. Funnily enough, plans for this trip were made during our road trip when we stopped at our friend’s house in Tennessee for the 4th of July.

The Legend Himself

We first heard about this West Virginia festival through one of our favorite shows, BuzzFeed Unsolved. One of my friends and I had already seen the episode, so we introduced our other friend to it. From there, we spontaneously decided we’d go to the next Mothman Festival in September in Point Pleasant.

Our friend that joined us after recently being introduced to the show signed up for a 5K run during the festival. While she ran the three miles, my other friend and I walked the route. We stopped to take in the historical murals, statues and colonial homes along the way. Of course, we made a photo stop to take a picture with the legend himself. If you find yourself in Point Pleasant and take a photo with the Mothman statue, make sure you take a gander around the back. 😂

The festival itself truly brought the show to life for us. We followed in the footsteps of the hosts of BuzzFeed Unsolved, trying everything they tried. From the Mothman cookies at the local cafe to the monster-inspired pizza at a restaurant just on the edge of town.

We took a hayride during the festival as well that took us through the forest where the Mothman had been sighted. It included a cheesy skit with actors portraying Men in Black who kept telling us to turn around. All around, it was a lot of fun going on the hunt for the famous cryptid.

Point Pleasant Explorations at the Mothman Festival

We walked around the small town of Point Pleasant before and after the festival. But I think my favorite moment was finding the old bunkers where the stories say witnesses have spotted the Mothman. Although we approached them in the daytime, I could easily understand how eerie it would be at night. Something about those woods felt like a scene from a horror movie.

I wouldn’t mind returning to the Mothman Festival some day for another fun outing. And I would like to explore West Virginia further for its history and nature.

You can find more of my Wanderlust posts here.