BBC Bumps Mothman Broadcast
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 10th, 2007
Click image for a fuller size version. “The Curse Continues” © Charles Berlin 2007
The above original Cryptomundo exclusive cartoon* was created by Charles Berlin. It is made in the style of the “four-fold vision.”
But you ought to know that What is Grand is necessarily obscure to Weak
men. That which can be made Explicit to the Idiot is not worth my care.– William Blake, Letter to Dr. Trusler.
Update: I will be on Coast to Coast AM, briefly after 10 PM PDT, 1 AM EDT, tonight (August 10-11) talking a bit about this topic.
On Tuesday, August 7, 2007, Fortean Tim Chapman observed: “BBC1 is scheduled to show The Mothman Prophecies movie this Friday [August 10, 2007]. Given that UK channels tend to be rather peculiarly squeamish about fictional programming that might ’cause distress’ in the light of recent news events, what are the odds on a late schedule change?”
In the wake of the I-35W Bridge collapse, people have reacted strangely regarding Mothman and the Silver Bridge. Spoof.com floated a silly fake story that the US government used an acoustic gun named “Mothman” to bring down the Minnesota bridge. At least two news sites posted the hoax article as real. But truth is stranger than fiction, and continues to be.
Now comes firm confirmation that BBC 1 has changed their programming in the wake of the I-35W Bridge collapse. They have, indeed, pulled The Mothman Prophecies off the air, apparently because the film contains the recreation of the Silver Bridge collapse, although there is no official comment yet. The Mothman film is being replaced with the CIA melodrama, Bad Company, followed later by Scanners.
Guess what movie was shown right before the August 1st collapse? In an ironic twist that I discovered from backtracking the television listings for the week of July 29-Aug. 4, 2007, in the United States, the Mothman movie was screened shortly before the collapse of the I-35W Bridge.
On Sunday July 29th, 2007, the Turner Network TNT, showed The Mothman Prophecies, nationally. Their newspaper listings noted the title of the film, then this: “(2002) Richard Gere, Laura Linney. A reporter investigates strange phenomena in a small town. ‘PG-13’ LAV (CC) (150 min.) (TNT: Sun 3:30 am).”
The Silver Bridge scene is not mentioned in the description.
As remarked upon before, the first “media-acknowledged” Mothman sightings of November 15, 1966, occurred in the TNT area outside of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The “TNT” coincidence is there, nothing more, nothing less.
Meanwhile, for those in the UK who won’t be about to see the film today, here again is the clip of the Silver Bridge scene from the movie:
*Regarding Charles Berlin’s “The Curse Continues,” any resemblance to Loren Coleman and his current research vehicle is anything but purely coincidental. The curse alluded to is the one detailed here, and sometimes discussed at Cryptomundo.
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For recent blogs in the wake of the I-35W Bridge event, see:
Bridge Collapse: Flashback to 1967;
Bridge Name Game: Reeves/McDaniel;
Beyond Mothman: I-35W Blues; and
The Mothman Prophecies: Silver Bridge Collapse.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Well I see I am not the only one here that drives a wagon!
Update: I will be on Coast to Coast AM, briefly after 10 PM PDT, 1 AM EDT, tonight (August 10-11) talking a bit about this topic.
I started a thread on the association the day after the Minn tragedy over at ATS. Seems many, many people are thinking about the same thing.
I’ll be listening tonight Loren.
Who on earth is responsible for the cancelation of this movie? This is getting ridiculous. I video recorded on timer what I ‘thought’ was going to be the movie and I hadn’t checked it. This is the first time I have heard the movie wasn’t on in the end.
I’m pretty mad as I was looking forward to watching it later.
Damn the BBC.
I don’t know what to think about it, but there have been times, before something bad happens some where in the US I have an urge to watch a certain movie. I’m a movie buff. Anyways, once it was with final destination 1, and there was a really bad plane crash, and a few other times similar things where I have an urge to watch a particular movie, and something specific about that movie, like a tragedy happens some where. But I haven’t thought about these odd little “coincidences” for awhile until I saw on the news about the bridge collapsing. I have to say, it made me feel a little odd. I have a tendencies to sense things, but I push it away since I never seem to get any major information, except that something’s going to happen. It’s made me think. And as crazy as it sounds that maybe my movies are my oracle lol. Like the little boy from lady in the water.
For what ever it’s worth, I had to share. I just found this page tonight. was looking for coast to coast, but couldn’t remember the name, found the radio station, etc etc.
I just found it interesting I came across this page, and then to find out that they were going to show the movie that week out there. That’s just weird.
Thanks for the heads-up Loren Coleman!
It was my story on The Spoof! that you refer to:
“In the wake of the I-35W Bridge collapse, people have reacted strangely regarding Mothman and the Silver Bridge. Spoof.com floated a silly fake story that the US government used an acoustic gun named “Mothman” to bring down the Minnesota bridge. At least two news sites posted the hoax article as real. But truth is stranger than fiction, and continues to be”
I sure hope that wasn’t the real reason BBC TV pulled the movie because one of my sons was pretty miffed at not being able to see the film.
As for the Spoof! story being posted on the net as ‘real news’ this is something that keeps happening.
You wouldn’t believe how often!
In February I wrote a story about Britney Spears, head lice, and her shaving her hair. Five days later, the Daily Mail, ITV News and nearly 30 news organizations plus blog sites ran the story as a bona fide news item, credited to a Mail online journalist.
This latest Mothman story caper has brought a little ray of sunshine, so thanks again!
Forgive me for sounding like a crabby old lady, but it sounds like your Mothman is a spirit that showed up right before a disaster and was witnessed doing so. History is filled with this kind of phenomena – it’s not a big deal. Common sense dictates that were there to be a similar type disaster, this creature might come around again.
He might be an old spirit that has an association with bridges, or this country, or mass death – we haven’t had a horrendous lot of that here, as most of our wars are fought on foreign soil, but there could be that kind of association. If he is seen again, maybe we will have the common sense to stay off of bridges and examine the ones in use in the area he is seen, right? I hope so, at least.