POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. (WTRF) — Many have heard the legend of the Mothman, the mysterious, large-winged creature that haunted West Virginia, but do you know how the legend began?

On November 15, 1966, four young people, two couples, were outside Point Pleasant near the former TNT Area when they claim to have encountered the mythic creature, according to Only In Your State.

That area, which comprised more than 8,000 acres, housed an ammunition manufacturing facility during World War II. There are several munitions igloos remaining in the area today. The area is now the McClintic Wildlife Management Area.

The couples claim they saw a large, winged creature with red eyes near the abandoned power plant, a place where the Mothman would be spotted again by others. The Mothman then flew above their vehicle, chasing it all the way to the city limits.

Investigators believed the creature lived inside the old power plant building, but it has since been torn down.

People searched the TNT area for the creature from November 1966 to December 1967, and some people did see it.

In the summer of 2012, one of the munitions igloos exploded, sending concrete and shrapnel into the air. Investigators suspected arson.

Hollywood even recognized the myth with the 2002 supernatural thriller The Mothman Prophecies starring Richard Gere.

The legend of the Mothman is an enduring tale, and there is even a Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant and an annual festival dedicated to the creature.