Loren Coleman was just 12 when he was drawn to his life's work. It happened when he saw a schlocky 1958 horror movie called "Half Human," about an abominable snowman terrorizing the Japanese countryside.

The movie was a certified flop, but it started Coleman down a 40-year path of trying to document and analyze the many human sightings of things as weird as, or weirder, than abominable snowmen. While most of us scoff or snicker at such things, the premise of "Half-Human" caused Coleman to make a serious study of such reported creatures as the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch and Mothman.

So maybe it's appropriate that Coleman, who is 54 and lives in Portland, is getting a heavy dose of national attention these days. It turns out that after years of studying things that most of us laugh about, Coleman's expertise is being sought after by the mainstream media including radio stations, magazines, documentary film crews and movie producers.

"The Mothman Prophecies," a Sony/Screen Gems film starring Richard Gere and set for national release Friday, is based on sightings of a 6 1/2 to 7-foot-high winged creature in Point Pleasant, W. Va., in 1966 and 1967. The sightings came just before a bridge collapse in that town, which killed 47 people and led to speculation about paranormal activity.

The producers and the media have turned to Coleman repeatedly as one of the few experts on Point Pleasant's Mothman and other Mothman-like sightings in recent history. It helps that his latest book, "Mothman and Other Curious Encounters," (Paraview Press, $14.95) was released earlier this month.

"In researching the subject, his was a name that kept coming up," said David Grabias, the maker of the documentary "Search for Mothman," which premieres Wednesday on the FX cable network, and will likely be shown again. "It's a story where it's hard to find people who are authoritative and credible and somewhat objective, and that's why I turned to Loren."

Coleman lives a sort of double life. He's known in Maine for his work as a consultant to school systems and health care organizations in the areas of teen suicide and youth violence. He did research in those areas for the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine until recently, and now does his work as a private consultant. It's this work that pays his bills.

But Coleman is also a nationally-known researcher and author in the field of cryptozoology, the study of unknown or undiscovered animals. Outside of other people who are interested in cryptozoology, not many people are familiar with Coleman's work, or cryptozoology itself, for that matter.

Enter "The Mothman Prophecies," which has been advertised on TV, in magazines and at the movie theaters. Because the media has a huge appetite for movie hype, Coleman has gone from an investigator of fables (in the minds of many) to a bona fide expert - all in a Hollywood minute.

Coleman, while not formally hired by Sony/Screen Gems, has done more than 40 radio and magazine interviews as part of the current "Mothman" publicity frenzy. He appeared at a news conference in Hollywood, and is featured prominently in the documentary, which Sony helped to make.

The movie is actually based on a book of the same name by John Keel, a friend of Coleman's who went to Point Pleasant shortly after the first Mothman sightings. Keel has been interviewed as well for various "Mothman Prophecies" publicity pieces.

Coleman's book differs from Keel's in that Coleman is not as interested as Keel in theories of UFOs or paranormal activity. Coleman says he he is first and foremost a cryptozoologist, so his book is more about the earthly possibilities behind what people saw, or might have seen, in Point Pleasant.

He has documented the facts of the sightings, and interviewed the people who saw something, in a methodical, journalistic way.

"He's really the foremost expert on Mothman next to John Keel," said Marc Weinstock, vice president of marketing for Sony/Screen Gems. "He knows the story and he can speak to it well. Because of that, he's being sought out for interviews."

So what exactly is Mothman? Well, from talking to people who say they saw it in Point Pleasant, it is a black creature with red eyes, the size of a large man, with wings. The drawing on Coleman's "Mothman" book, made from witness descriptions, looks like a giant black owl with cape-like wings.

Coleman says he had been working on a Mothman book for years, but decided to finish it when the movie publicity started coming out. The book, "Mothman and Other Curious Encounters" came out in early January and is available only by ordering at book stores or online.

In the book, Coleman writes about the Point Pleasant sightings, which began in November of 1966 and lasted for 13 months. Some people in the small town on the Ohio border simply said they saw it, either standing still or flying. Others say they felt its presence. Others reported premonitions of some impending disaster. In his book, Coleman lists the details of 26 specific sightings of Mothman or a similar creature during 1966 and 1967 in the small town.

Then on Dec. 15, 1967, Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant collapsed during end of the day rush-hour, and 47 people were killed. The bridge collapse happened at a time when bridges were not inspected regularly, and Coleman said there were engineers who explained structurally what had worn out inside the bridge (an eye-bar pin) and why it had collapsed. So the bridge collapse itself isn't that mysterious, though the Mothman sightings leading up to it are.

Coleman concentrated his book on putting Mothman in context, such as talking about other sightings of giant winged creatures over the years. These so-called Mothman sightings, Native American sightings of "thunderbirds" and other evidence may point to some giant bird that hasn't been discovered yet, Coleman thinks.

What Coleman doesn't do in his book is to focus on the UFO and paranormal speculation that plays a large part in the "Mothman" movie.

"In all my investigations over the years I've found that 80 percent of these are misidentifications or hoaxes, but there are some with at least a kernel of truth," said Coleman, sitting in the work room of his apartment, just a few blocks from USM. The room is filled with skulls, monster models and other creature clutter. "What I try to do with any of these is present data, and if you present enough data, there might be some acceptance of what happened."

As for Mothman, all Coleman can say for sure is that many people say they saw something like a large winged creature. And that there are at least some similarities between their descriptions and various descriptions of other sightings recorded in newspaper accounts over the years, as well as descriptions from people Coleman has interviewed.

"This is only the second book on Mothman, and what I wanted to do is reclaim him for cryptozoology," Coleman said.

That being said, Coleman lacks hard proof that Mothman exists, which is the basic knock many scientists have on cryptozoology.

In the field of cryptozoology however, Coleman is well respected for his meticulous research of sightings and for his analysis and perspective.

He has written several other books on the subject, including "Mysterious America" (Paraview, 2001) and "Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature" (Simon & Schuster) 1999, with Jerome Clark.

"I think everyone has to read a Loren Coleman book if they are going to be involved in cryptozoology. He's very well respected," said George Eberhart, senior editor of American Libraries Magazine and the author of a forthcoming book on cryptozoology.

Coleman admits that he spends more time on cryptozoology, which doesn't exactly pay much, than he does on his consulting work. Being regarded as a Mothman expert hasn't made him richer, but it has gotten some publicity for his book.

It also has made his cryptozoology seem cooler to his sons - Malcolm, 15, and Caleb, 11. After all, their dad has now written a book about something that is being made into a Hollywood movie.

But for Coleman, the best thing about the "Mothman Prophecies" movies is that it may do for others what the horrible John Carradine movie "Half Human" did for him.

"I hope that because of the movie and my book, Mothman will resurface as an important cryptozoological subject," said Coleman. "Like Big Foot or Loch Ness."

• Story originally published by:
Portland Press Herald / ME | Ray Routhier - Jan 20.02

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