POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. (AP) -- The Mothman legend turns 43 this month.

On a November night in 1966, two couples out for an evening drive claim they were chased by an enormous creature that looked like a man with wings on its back.

They managed their escape only after the creature became distracted by a dead dog.

The legend of Mothman has since captured the imagination and has been the subject of a Hollywood movie and an annual festival in Point Pleasant.

The red-eyed creature has been blamed for many misdeeds, including the December 1967 Silver Bridge disaster near Point Pleasant that killed 46.

Mothman Museum creator Jeff Wamsley says the legend has been a good way to attract people to the Ohio River community. Not every community, he says, has such a calling card.

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