The Mothman Prophecies

The best parts of this book are genuinely unnerving. At a certain point, something with so many sightings - and so much strangeness surrounding said sightings - feels hard to dismiss outright, no matter how skeptical you are. And the deeper you dig into the Mothman case, the weirder it becomes. As a story, whether you buy it or not, it's pretty fascinating stuff.

That said, there are better ways to experience this story than with this book. The book feels dated and is honestly a bit of a mess, meandering from incident to incident in a way that lacks any real cohesion. It's not awful, but it's one of those books that's better off summarized than actually read. If you're interested in the subject matter, I'd recommend the Astonishing Legends podcast's fascinating, multi-part series on the Mothman instead - because it covers everything in this book and then some, and in a more organized, engaging fashion.

I can't exactly describe why I'm giving this book 2 stars instead of 1. Perhaps it's a stilted sense of respect to a “classic.” Who knows. The point is, I put this on my “abandoned” bookshelf for a reason.

First, a little backstory. I picked up this book after seeing The Mothman Prophecies movie, which, although sub-par overall, did have some suspenseful moments. Therefore, it seemed logical that the book might carry the same quasi-suspenseful feeling. WRONG.

Keel's manner of reporting-as-a-book doesn't sit well. His method of creating/collecting various reports, stapling them together, and calling the result a book destroys any level of continuity. That wouldn't be so much of a problem if some of the stuff in the book was actually threatening/scary ... but it just isn't. All too often, Keel's descriptions fail to carry any sense of excitement, peril, or true mystery. Do yourself a favor and don't waste time with this one.