Cryptids come and go in the library. The Book Wyrm. Purple Paper Eater. Magazine Guy. But none is more mysterious than THE MOTHMAN. All this week we celebrate the Mothman with programming to bring you closer to the Sacred Flame.
Some believe the Mothman to be a West Virginia creature that haunts the Point Pleasant area. Standing six to seven feet tall, the winged red-eyed creature chases cars down the highway as an omen for death or a warning from a past disaster. While this Mothman may be the stuff of West Virginia legend, the true library Mothman has no equal.
Librarians have been reporting Mothman sightings as far back as the Library of Alexandria. Alexander the Reader, a Greek librarian, once claimed "the big bastard hovered around the torches for hours dancing for all to see." Later sightings include Trinity College where the Irish students called it "Éirinn na Lasrach" or "Erin of the Flame," a small winged creature that would chase ginger students away from fireplaces, and Library of Congress's "Jefferson's Bug" a six foot winged creature who would stand behind the stacks in the dark basement and run when the lights were turned on. In the 1920s, librarian and folklorist William Bleecher tied together all the myths about creatures near library lights and flames and coined the term "Mothman" in his seminal work "Uncataloged: The Oddities and Mythologies of Libraryland."
Whichever legend you believe, know that the staff of this library has seen and been seen by the Mothman. He haunts the stacks after hours and keeps the rat population down. He's also one reason we do not allow off leash pets and unaccompanied children in the library. Those dark corners are his domain and he will take your loved ones.
Join the Friends of the Banned Library!
Join the Friends and maybe the Moth Man will not come for you! $1 a month to keep the library going. Patreon.com/bannedlibrary
Events at the Library
Story Time - Mothman stories and sing-a-long
All week we will be reading stories about the Mothman, including Who's that Mothman by Ernie Banks, One Mothman, Two Mothman, Red Mothman, Hungry Mothman by Mr. Zeus, and The People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Songs will include original arrangements by our children's librarian and songs such as "Murder Murder Murder Here Comes Mothman" and "We Are the Champions."
Mon-Fri, 12pm, 3pm, 5pm
Mothman Costume Contest
Come dressed up as the Mothman to scare and delight other members of the public! If enough of you show, he may appear!
Tuesday Sept. 29, 4pm
Mothman and You
Local historian and professor at Banned Community College Prof. Steve Hystarion will be on hand to tell us the history of the Mothman, starting from the time library director Wendy Harker beat the creature with a poker in the stacks in 1932 to the infamous Story Time Massacre.
Wednesday Sept 30, 1pm
Cooking with Mothman
Our Tech Services Librarian Marge will be on hand to show you the best recipes for a happy Mothman and tell stories about all the times she has spent with the creature in the dark cold backroom of the library.
Wednesday Sept 30, 6pm
Mothman Makerspace
We're gonna fire up the 3D printers and sewing machines for Mothman crafts!
Thursday, Oct. 1, 4pm
Reading Mothman Omens
Reference librarian Eric will break out the old texts to let us understand what it means when you see the Mothman. Generally, it's about death, but whose and when? Come to the library and find out!
Saturday, Oct. 3, 10am
Zoo Visit: Big Ass Bird or Mothman?
Local zookeeper Amy Ironbar will come to the library and bring a few feathered friends along with them! They will explain how to spot signs a Mothman has been around, including footprints and scat.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2pm
Teen Movie Night: Moth Man (2023)
Five teens go off into the woods to smoke and drink and hold hands, but they get more than they bargained for when their parents tag along. A surreal psychological horror about the nature of grief, intergenerational trauma, and teen pregnancy.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 5pm
Adult Movie Night: Mothman Omens (2004)
In this thriller, small town lawyer Dave Bannon takes on the case of Roger, a teenager accused of killing all the garbage men in town. However, the child may not be telling the whole truth.
Saturday, Oct. 3, 7pm
Doctors and Gerbils, the New Frontier
Come down to the library to hear about the latest discoveries coming from Banned General Hospital: Gerbil Therapy. Promoted by proctologist Dr. Arthur Mebegone, this new therapy could save lives and provide a little extra in your later years.
Sunday, Oct. 4, 12pm
Next week is Hot Air Balloons at the Library!
Make Your Own Hot Air Balloon - Tuesday, Oct. 6, 4pm
Ride in a Hot Air Balloon at the Library - Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1pm; Saturday Oct. 10, 10am and 2pm; Sunday Oct. 11, 12pm
Target Shooting with Hot Air Balloons - Wednesday, Oct. 7, 6pm
Video Game Competition: Hot Air Balloon Racing 2023 - Thursday, Oct. 8, 4pm
Teen Movie Night: Over the World in 88 Days (1967)
Adult Movie Night: Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)
Circulation Station
What we've been reading/watching
Avengers/Defenders War (1973) - The battle is on as the cast of the Avengers and Defenders rush to get the Evil Eye to save the Black Knight but do not see the hidden villain Dormamuu until it is too late!
The Uncool by Cameron Crowe (2025) - A damn good look at the 1970s rock music and journalism scene by someone who was there. Join the writer and director as he reviews his life writing for Rolling Stone when he was just 15 years old.
Almost Famous (2000) - The original version of Crowe's memoir (above), a look at a 15 year old boy joining a rock band on the road and writing for Rolling Stone.
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (1996) - Death and his granddaughter strive to save the holiday season of Hogwatch! Read our breakdown of it here.
The Weight (2026) - Ethan Hawke stars as a prisoner tasked by warden Russell Crowe to smuggle a bunch of gold across Depression-era Oregon wilderness. Read our breakdown of it here.
Resident Evil (2026) - A lone medical courier must fight his way through an infected hellscape in his glorious goopy and tentacle filled movie. Read our breakdown of it here.
Josie and the Pussy Cats (2001) - A fun and silly movie with an adult tone (there's a lot of cat references, ahem). Bonkers and weird in the best way.
Follow the library on Letterboxd and Goodreads for what we're watching and reading!
Tech Serv's Stewpot
Could be a recipe or a random rant from a crazy person shoved in the back of the library and left alone too long!
I met the Mothman during my second year here at the library. Been hearing things for months. Scuttling sounds in the back shadows, doors closing when no one was around, that kinda shit. Then one day I left out my lunch on the desk and went to wash my hands cause they was covered with book glue and I came back and there he was. Six foot nothing, green skin with some scales here and there. Big leathery wings he wrapped around himself like a trench coat. I yelled at him to drop my philly cheesesteak and he did. Ran off into the rafters and the shadows looking down at me with those red eyes. Like the eyes my momma used to sew into my dresses. Anyway, we dated for about a year but I couldn't be tied down like that. He understood.
To make a philly cheesesteak, you need bread first. Good bread, something that will withstand the wet stuff. Take some meat, thin sliced sirloin is best, and lay it on the hot pan with some pepper and salt and onions and peppers. Let that sit for a minute until the edges start to cook. Then flip the whole thing over and let those onions cook for a minute in the steak juice. Chop all that up to about bite size. Then the cheese. Don't give me shit, I like slices of pepper jack. Some like provolone. Put the bread over the cheese and let that sit for a minute or two for the meat to cook all through and the cheese to melt and the bread to get a good steam. Then flip the whole thing over at once. Add toppings, I like a little A1 and honey mustard. Some like cheeze whiz. Pickles and lettuce and stuff are okay. Enjoy your life and put whatever you want on a sandwich. It may attract a beast of a lover.