Reports from the Void: 'It Had the Body of a Human, But It Had Wings'

On October 18th, 2020, The Singular Fortean Society received the following email from a witness who said they’d seen a creature that “had the body of a human, but it had wings”:

I was out back at my house in Levittown, Pennsylvania, just hanging out with my friends. We had been out back for hours already, it was getting late. Me and my two friends were sitting on the porch in a triangular shape, me and my one friend had our backs to the house and my other friend with glasses had her back faced towards the backyard.
We’re all talking, just having a good time talking about funny memories, and out of the side of my eye, I could see something on the fence and it was getting bigger, climbing over. I couldn’t help but look at that point, and I saw a wide, long, pitch-black silhouette crawl over the fence. Not only did I see it, I heard its body scrape against the fence. It sounded scaly like a lizard. It was big, at least six feet.
So, I heard it come over the fence and plop into the grass in the side of yard. I could hear it crawling closer in the grass. I could hear the movement of it, but the bushes in my back yard that line the patio blocked my view. Plus, it was like 2 a.m.
We ran inside and we heard a screech. I’ve never heard anything like it. It sounded like a mixture of a monkey and a bird, maybe? I went out front to see the noise and I saw it flying in the distance towards the darkness. It had the body of a human, but it had wings. They were like pointy and it was big. it was a good distance away and I could still see it pretty good. I hope I never see it again!

Investigator Tobias Wayland sent a list of follow-up questions to the witness, but never received any response.

Sightings of flying humanoids, especially those involving what has come to be known as ‘Mothman,’ often describe a black, winged creature with humanoid characteristics. Often in those sightings, a feeling of fear, similar to what was hinted at in this email, is described by witnesses. Sometimes, too, a loud screech is reportedly heard during the sighting experiences. Although uncommon, at least one other witness, a man in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, described the skin of the winged humanoid he witnessed as being similar to a “reptile of some sort.”

Many associate reports of ‘Mothman’ with Point Pleasant, West Virginia, roughly 500 miles east of Levittown, although dozens of reports have also come from the Lake Michigan region. The closest report to Levittown of a flying humanoid taken by the Singular Fortean Society was in Parsonsburg, Maryland, about 160 miles to the south.

Reports from the Void is a repository to share those stories for which we do not have enough information to make a full report. This is usually because of little or no communication from the witness following their initial submission. The Singular Fortean Society will always provide as much information as possible regarding any correspondence during our attempts to speak with those involved.

This series is meant only to present you with the full breadth of the information sent to us, and makes no judgments towards the veracity of any stories shared within it.

To report your own encounter with the impossible, reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

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