A quick walk up Main Street is enough to learn who this US river town's most famous resident is: His name is on signs, and there's even a museum devoted to him.
And the sculpture in the middle of town shows his enormous wings and glowing red eyes.
More than 40 years after the first reported sighting of the mysterious creature later called "Mothman," residents in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, have embraced his legend. They've helped to turn this town into a destination for people in search of an offbeat tourism experience.
But while there's no local consensus on whether the stories are true, most agree that Mothman is good for business.
"It's helped the town," said Ruth Finley, who owns the 106-year-old Lowe Hotel on Main Street along with her husband. "People come because of Mothman and they stay at the hotel, they go to the restaurants."
Every September, Point Pleasant hosts the weekend-long Mothman Festival, which draws about 2,000 people a year to this town of about 4,500.
Walking along Main Street, conventioneers can have their picture taken near the statue, drink a "Mothman Frappachino" and drop into the Mothman Museum.
Inside, they can look over everything from accounts of Mothman sightings to props from the 2002 Richard Gere film The Mothman Prophecies, which helped boost interest in the creature.
The first sighting was reported on Nov. 15, 1966. Others later came forward to say they had seen a gray creature about 2.1m tall with bright red eyes and wings like a bird.
The sightings ended on Dec. 15, 1967, the day of the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which linked Point Pleasant to Ohio.
Forty-six people were killed, and ever since people have speculated on whether the sightings were connected to the tragedy. (AP)
沿著此河濱美國小鎮主要街道繞一圈就會發現誰是最有名的居民:他的名字被刻在牌誌上,甚至還為他成立了一間博物館。
鎮中心的雕像展示著他巨大的翅膀和發亮的紅眼睛。
距首次有人通報看見這個後來被稱做「天蛾人」的神秘生物已超過四十年了,維吉尼亞州「歡樂鎮」的居民已欣然接受這個傳說;他們協力將這個城鎮打造成追求另類旅遊經驗的遊客的目標。
儘管當地對於這些故事是否屬實沒有定論,但大多數人都同意「天蛾人」是個不錯的賣點。
「這有助於城鎮發展,」主要街道上已有一百零六年歷史的羅威飯店老闆娘茹絲.芬利說:「旅客為了天蛾人而來,他們投宿飯店,也到餐廳吃飯。」茹絲.芬利和先生一同經營飯店。
每年九月,歡樂鎮都會舉辦為期一個週末的「天蛾人節」,每年都吸引約兩千人到這個人口約四千五百人的小鎮參觀。
沿著主要大街走,參觀遊客可以和天蛾人雕像近距離拍照,來上一杯「天蛾人咖啡冰沙」,然後拜訪天蛾人博物館。
在博物館內,他們可以欣賞從天蛾人目擊報導到二OO二年李察:吉爾所主演的《天蛾人》電影道具等各種相關物品。《天蛾人》為天蛾人打響知名度。
一九六六年十一月十五日,首次有目擊者通報天蛾人出沒,後來其他目擊者也站出來說他們看到一個約兩百一十公分高,有著會發亮的紅色雙眼和像鳥一樣的翅膀的灰色生物。
最後一次有人目睹天蛾人是在一九六七年十二月十五日,這天也是連接歡樂鎮和俄亥俄州交通的「銀橋」倒塌的日子。
這場意外造成四十六人喪生,有人也猜測這場災難和天蛾人有關。(美聯社/翻譯:袁星塵)
A: K-pop supergroup Blackpink is finally touring Taiwan again. B: I can’t believe we’re going to Blackpink’s concert at the Kaohsiung National Stadium over this weekend. A: The group has caused a global sensation since it went international in 2020. B: And the four members — Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa — have achieved success as solo artists. A: Seeing them live will be like a dream come true. A: 韓流天團Blackpink終於又來台巡演啦。 B: 真不敢相信我們這週末要去她們在高雄國家體育場的演唱會。 A: 該團自2020年進軍國際,便持續造成全球轟動。 B: 而4位團員––Jisoo、Jennie、Rose、Lisa––單飛也很成功。 A: 這次能去她們的演唱會真是美夢成真! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
A: Is K-pop still popular now? B: Sure! The 110,000 tickets for supergroup Blackpink’s two shows to be held this weekend were all snatched up within three minutes. A: Apart from Blackpink, what other K-pop stars are visiting? B: I-dle’s Taiwanese member Yeh Shu-hua, King of K-pop G-Dragon, and Super Junior are all coming soon next month. A: Super Junior’s 2009 hit “Sorry, Sorry” boosted this Korean “Hallyu” to a peak. Let’s go experience SJ’s magic again. A: 韓國流行音樂還是很受歡迎嗎? B: 當然啦,光是天團Blackpink本週末兩場演唱會,11萬張門票3分鐘內就被秒殺! A: 除了Blackpink,還有哪些韓國歌手最近會來台? B: I-dle的台灣成員葉舒華、韓流天王G-Dragon權志龍、Super Junior下月也都將來台。 A: Super Junior 2009年金曲《Sorry, Sorry》曾將「韓流」推上高峰,我們再去重溫一下SJ的魔力吧。
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