Mothman (Glow-in-the-Dark) (Mythical Realms by Safari Ltd.)

Mothman is the name given to a flying humanoid creature that was claimed to have been repeatedly spotted in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, from November 15th, 1966, to December 15th, 1967. The string of sightings ceased after the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge that resulted in the death of 46 people. In 1975 author John Keel published his book, The Mothman Prophecies, where he theorized that the appearance of Mothman was connected to the collapse of the Silver Bridge, and that Mothman was an omen of supernatural, interdimensional, or extraterrestrial origin. In 2002, the film adaptation of his book was released. Sightings still occur but they don’t generate nationwide attention like those from 1966 and 1967. In fact, Mothman was sighted more than 20 times in Chicago between April and June 2017.

Eyewitness descriptions of Mothman vary. It has been described as a large bird, complete with feathers, and as a flying humanoid without feathers. But eyewitness accounts generally describe a human-sized, flying creature, with glowing red eyes. Skeptics suggest that Mothman is a large, misidentified bird. Sandhill cranes are a popular suggestion, since they stand over 4’ (1.2 meters) tall and have large red circles around their eyes. Owls, and barred owls in particular, are another possible suspect. Indeed, the famous 1966 eyewitness sketch by Linda Scarberry looks very much like an owl. Since barred owls have an intense red eye-shine and humans are poor at judging size I feel like the owl hypothesis is a strong one.

Today we’re looking at the Mothman by Safari Ltd. The figure was originally produced with a black paintjob, but a glow-in-the-dark version was released as a San Deigo Comic Con exclusive in 2023. Safari also made the figure available for a limited time on their website, which is how I got mine. Since we’re near the anniversary of the first Mothman sighting I thought this figure would be a good choice for my first Monster Toy Blog review.

Safari’s Mothman possesses a blend of human, bat, bird, and moth-like characteristics. The body is humanoid, with a thin build and light furry covering. The hands and feet each have three bird-like digits tipped in silver-colored claws. The wings appear bat-like, complete with “fingers” within the wing membrane, but have a scaly texture like that of moths. Atop the head there is also a pair of moth-like antennae. The face is mostly obscured by hair, but it possesses two large red eyes, and silver teeth can be seen within the slightly open mouth.

The figure is presented in a leaping posture, as if taking off, with one foot pushing off the ground and the other bent up at the knee. The figure is balanced by the tips of its toes and wings. The figure stands 5” (12.7 cm) tall and is about as wide as it is tall.  Since it is a glow-in-the-dark toy the body is entirely white. The glowing feature works to great effect if the toy is kept directly under a light, but it quickly fades, and it does not absorb enough light by simply sitting on a shelf, which is typical of glow-in-the-dark toys in my experience.

Personally, I prefer Mothman reconstructions that are more moth inspired than they are man inspired.  This one is a bit too humanoid and lanky for my liking, and there are other figures that present a more insect-like appearance or are a closer match to the iconic Linda Scarberry sketch. That said, I still like this model a lot, and it brings to mind the Mothman statue that’s on display at Point Pleasant. Although the glow-in-the-dark model might be difficult to find, the original black version has widespread availability, and the Safari Mothman is the only decent mass-produced figure of this monster available.