The Silver Bridge

by Gray Barker, Allen Greenfield (Foreword), James W. Moseley (Introduction)

Written in 1970 by West Virginia Ufologist Gray Barker, The Silver Bridge was the first book ever written on the mysterious Mothman creature, and still one of the best. Barker was the first researcher on the scene of both the Flatwoods Monster and Mothman cases. In The Silver Bridge, Barker explores the murky psychological depths of life in WV during the Mothman era of the late 1960s. This book was originally printed in small quantities and hence became very rare, fetching enormous prices. Now, for the first time, it is being made widely available to the general public. Inside, one finds many intriguing details about Mothman that previously escaped attention. This 2008 edition features new introductions by noted paranormal researchers Allen Greenfield, James Moseley, and Andy Colvin.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Paranormal, Monsters

154 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

American writer best known for his books about UFOs and other paranormal phenomena.

His 1956 book They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers introduced the notion of the Men in Black to UFO folklore.

Reviews

[Chris Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this version of the Mothman story the author delves deeper into the characters involved. whilst this was enjoyable I was left wondering how much of this detail came from his imagination.

A couple of the tales seemed out of place and not related to the subject, some characters are introduced and left undeveloped, and the main event - the collapse of the bridge - is largely ignored.

[Teressa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Wonderfully Moving Story About Mothman"
To sum up The Silver Bridge in three words is difficult. I found this book to be a work of art. It was wonderfully moving, personal, and enlightening. I wouldn't really compare The Silver Bridge to any other works because this was actually the first book written about the Mothman. It could be compared to John Keel's work on subject matter only. This was a more personal story written by a man with first hand knowledge and he was also a Ufologist. This is the first performance I've had the pleasure of listening to by Michael Hacker. It was flawless. I will look for more from him now and in the future. He made a great story even better. If The Silver Bridge were to be made into a film, my tagline would be 'A story about the Mothman guaranteed to make you think.' This subject is a huge interest of mine. I found this book to be very thought-provoking and added to the mystery of the Mothman. I absolutely loved it. This is a must read or listen for anyone with interest in Ufology or the Mothman.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. Not as weird, as personal, or as frightening as John Keel's take on the whole thing.... but well worth a read whether you can believe in any of it or not (and I'm not completely sure that Gray Barker even did)

[Chris Pritchett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looked into this after the Mothman episode of the Haunted Objects podcast by Greg and Dana Newkirk. I had never heard of this book until then, and I much prefer it as a read (and listen) instead of The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel. Gray Barker is from the area near where it all happened, and tells the story in such a wonderful format. The events all line up as they happened, and as he investigated. I may have also nearly died laughing during one part, as it was a true story from Barker about Keel. While The Mothman Prophecies is good for researching the phenominon, The Silver Bridge does a much better job simply telling the story as it is. Really wish we could have gotten a movie based on it, instead of Keel's work.

[coffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Far and away the greatest book I’ve read about the UFO Phenomenon. A southern gothic docu-fiction that reads as if a UFO investigator attempted to write like William Faulkner. While the writing doesn’t hit Faulkner status, the yarn it weaves hits closer to the truth of the high strangeness of The Phenomenon than any book filled with stats of sightings. Barker writes in a hybrid fiction documentary style, using a West Virginian setting and interviews with Point Pleasant residents plagued by nightmares as the backdrop for his first person imaginings of various events happening before the very real collapse of the Silver Bridge on December 15, 1967

[Derek Dewitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an odd book, supposedly nonfiction but it reads like fiction. And some of it is certainly fiction, or embellishment to such a degree that it should be considered fiction. As a work of pure imagination, it's interesting, but Barker's ambitions as a writer (and self-confidence, perhaps) outstrips his prose talent. As a work of reportage, it is highly unconventional, with details and dialogue that are almost certainly the product of Barker's mind. But it's rather unique in the paranormal/conspiracy world, and as such worth a read. It's short enough.

[C.C. Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book. Though I've studied Mothman and Point Pleasant for years, it's still enjoyable to re-read the accounts.

[Dan Zarfati · Rating 5 out of 5]

That is the parallel book to the Mothman's prophecies, it is almost as good and as important, very interesting book.

[Andrew Ceyton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quit. I really don't understand how these anecdotes of vague experiences have such traction, outside of Keel's writing.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gray Barker's work is second only to John Keel's on the subject of the Mothman, since he was investigating it directly at the time of the events. However, The Silver Bridge comes off more prosaic, almost as a pulpy novel based on the occurrences rather than any substantial treatise or history of the events surrounding Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Mind you, some of the events he chronicled have different points of view than Keel's work, and some of the events I hadn't heard of either. I accredit this to the veils of secrecy both writers (and most paranormal authors) tend to work under to keep their accounts either fresh, unreported, or unbiased.

The style of prose and writing is fine, but there's way too many changes in point-of-view to follow some of the story easily. Many small but strange events are mentioned and then never referred to again, leaving the reader to decide if and where they fit into the grand scheme of things. Very little of the story is actually about the destruction of the Silver Bridge itself, and the final bit involving it it confusing beyond belief, as it chronicles an event I had never heard of in the lore before this book.

Still, I'd have to recommend any cryptozoid fan read this one as a matter of course, so you can really make your own mind up about the Mothman.

[Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

By all respects Gray Barker didn't believe in any of the paranormal cases that he investigated. That may be because, as a good student of English lit he could see where the pieces were glued together, or else because he was personally responsible for a few of the "unexplainable" events himself. It's that temperament that makes The Silver Bridge the better of the two canonical Mothman books (the other being of course John Keel's The Mothman Prophecies). Barker can write a believable Mothman because he knows it's misidentification and so Mothman becomes simply a creature. John Keel overanalyzes. You can respect him for dogged determination, but he goes too far. Gray Barker writes just enough to leave the reader wanting more answers, thus keeping Mothman alive as an object of folklore where he is best situated.

[Anthony Yvonnica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't get it. No start / middle / end. Nothing happened in the book. Boring.