An annual festival that celebrates a local legend about a “Mothman” in West Virginia has been called off for the second straight year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Organizers of the Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant announced the festival’s cancellation Thursday. It had been set for next month.
The organizers said in a statement that thousands of people pack the town along the Ohio River during the festival, and that local health officials predict that rising COVID-19 cases could peak around that time.
“We are disappointed, but it was not an easy decision to make, we can assure you of that,” the statement said.
Mothman is a mysterious creature with glowing red eyes that witnesses described seeing in 1966 and 1967. It was the subject of the 2002 film “The Mothman Prophecies.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.