From Mothman to Modern Folklore

I started with “Mothman: the omen of Point Pleasant” and followed it into science, psychology, mythology and media literacy.

1. Mystery
   Mothman: the omen of Point Pleasant
   This is the door they chose.
2. Science
   The Silver Bridge collapse
   Every Mothman story bends toward December 1967. The creature is folklore; the bridge collapse is brutally real - so your brain went to look at the bridge.
3. Psychology
   Eyewitness psychology: confident and wrong
   After the collapse, memories of the previous year reorganized around it. That retroactive editing is a documented feature of memory, not lying.
4. Mythology
   Folklore after tragedy
   Eyewitness psychology: confident and wrong keeps the historical evidence in view; Folklore after tragedy changes the example while preserving the useful thread.
5. Psychology
   Mass psychogenic illness is real
   A community processing fear together doesn’t just share stories - sometimes it shares symptoms.
6. Media Literacy
   Media literacy: brakes for the brain
   The brain jumped; the bridge went unrecorded.