A Familiar Shiver of Recognition

There was a lot of hype when "The Mothman Prophecies" movie came out. This included the historical (if not hysterical) tale of the "real" incident that took place in the small West Virginia town of Point Pleasant in 1966. The actual event was followed up in 1975 by John Keel's book called "The Mothman Prophecies."

Since this history is treated so well elsewhere (especially in "Fortean Times" FT156) there is no real point in re-hashing all of that here.

The fact is that Keel's book became as much a part of the "real" tale as the accounts of the West Virginians who experienced them firsthand.

As all movies based on "true" stories or novels do, this one takes a certain amount of artistic liberty in telling the story. The movie takes place in modern times and Richard Gere's "John Klein" is loosely modeled after Keel.

Klein is a respected Washington Post journalist who finds himself thrown into a perplexing experience. Driving south on I-95 to Richmond, he somehow finds himself in Point Pleasant, West Virginia at 2:30 in the morning with no recollection of how he got there. Then, a long series of anomalous events occur, full of synchronicities and ominous omens.

This is not a horror tale in the classic sense. There are no overt manifestations of supernatural monsters or evil creatures from the Inferno entrapping hapless humans to suck their blood or dismember the bodies. This is not a slasher flick.

Instead, it's a mind-phuk flick.

The comparison has been successfully made to Hitchcock. The drama and confusion and ensuing terror take place within the mind of Klein as he tries to apply all of his practical analytical skills to make sense of the phenomena he is personally experiencing. Since so much of what we call "Reality" is based on consensus, he shares this confusion with the trusted local small-town cop who originally confronts him in his investigation.

The developing plot is assisted by the fact that Klein has not yet recovered from the brain cancer death of his beloved wife. The local cop is beautiful and single. Her name is Connie and she immediately brings to mind the lovable small-town cops in the movie "Fargo."

As he struggles to make sense of what is happening to him, he leans on an "expert" in the field. Dr. Leek is a discredited ex-Physics professor living in Chicago who has seen it all before. In his own case, Leek's experience led to the loss of his career and his family. He ended up spending four years in a psychiatric institution.

Naturally, Leek is gun shy about getting involved in anything like that again. But Klein is persistent.

Dr. Leek, being another classically-trained professional, attempts to give Klein that perspective that can help to lead to a consensus of the "reality" that is occurring in Point Pleasant. For a madman, Leek speaks eloquently about the issues involved.

Most people consent and are content to lead a naive existence, believing in that "reality" they were taught in their school days. The institutions of modern Western society reinforce that "reality" at all costs. To do otherwise, they say, would lead to chaos.

As all honest physicists will admit, real "reality" is not so simple. Philosophers tend to share with Artists the recognition that "reality" may not be what it seems. Reality is somehow a product of one's perceptions and interactions with other persons' perceptions. This leads to something Philosophers call "Consensus Reality."

Events that don't fit into our consensus of how "Reality" is supposed to behave are called anomalies. These can include events that don't fall within the known rules of time and space. An example of these are Time Paradoxes.

Klein experiences phone calls from people who are supposed to be dead already. He also experiences phone calls from someone who knows things he can't or shouldn't be able to.

All of these things could be the result of someone or something playing a horrible monstrous prank. Dadaists and certain other twisted cults glory in the creating of these kinds of hoaxes. Sometimes these can lead to modern Urban Legends.

On the other hand, it is the anomalies that have been the most intriguing in the History of Science, leading to monumental and insightful breakthroughs into our conception of true Reality.

Professor Thomas Kuhn is often credited with pointing out the value of anomalies. According to Kuhn, the quest to understand and explain anomalies has historically led to what he calls "Paradigm Shifts." An existing Paradigm is a conception of a consensus reality. An anomaly is something that doesn't fit within the existing Paradigm. When an explanation for an anomaly overthrows a currently accepted Paradigm, a new Paradigm takes it place that better explains the real phenomena.

That's the "real" issue that this movie is all about.

Have you ever experienced deja vu? Have you ever had a dream that somehow presaged something that later on took place in your real life?

Those who are content in their belief of what their reality is will be uncomfortable with this movie. Those who have an open mind to the remaining mysteries of our existence will experience that familiar shiver of recognition and will delight in it.

Especially those who have experienced themselves anything like John Klein experiences in "The Mothman Prophecies."