TNT Area
The abandoned World War II ordnance works north of Point Pleasant where the first Mothman sightings were reported in November 1966.
Field Guide Entry
Origin Story
The site began as the West Virginia Ordnance Works, a $45 million U.S. Army munitions plant built in 1942 on roughly 8,300 acres north of Point Pleasant. At its peak it employed around 3,500 workers loading TNT for the war effort, and nearly a hundred concrete "igloo" bunkers were sunk into the ground across the property to store explosives out of sight from the air. The plant closed in 1945, and the land was later split between farmland, an industrial park, and the McClintic Wildlife Management Area. On the night of November 15, 1966, two young couples, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette, were driving through the abandoned bunker complex when they reported a tall, gray, man-shaped figure with glowing red eyes rising up near the old power plant building and chasing their car at speeds topping 100 mph. They reported it to the Mason County sheriff that same night, and the story reached the local paper within days.
Evidence & Claims
The bunkers themselves, along with the ruined North Power Plant building, quickly became fixed in the legend as the creature's home base; most of the sightings reported in the following thirteen months placed the figure in or around this stretch of the old ordnance works. Witnesses in the area also described hovering lights, dogs behaving erratically, and car radios cutting to static. The igloos still stand today, overgrown with vines, and the TNT Area remains the single most visited site tied to the Mothman story, drawing self-guided hikers year-round and hayride tours during the annual Mothman Festival.
Skeptical Explanations
The leading mundane explanation is misidentification of a large bird, most often a barred owl or sandhill crane, whose eyes can flare red when caught in headlights at close range. Skeptics also point to the setting itself: a decaying wartime munitions site, already locally rumored to be strange, gave witnesses a frame that turned a brief, frightening glimpse into a consistent monster description almost immediately.
Visiting Information
Open to foot traffic as a wildlife management area; parking is along WV Route 62. Hunting season can affect access, so check ahead.
Approximate Area
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The marker represents a general area, not an exact site.
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Nearby Mysteries
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