Linda Scarberry came home from the
hospital on December 23, 1967, bringing with her Daniella Lia Scarberry, her
brand-new daughter. She and her husband, Roger, lived in the basement apartment
in the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Parke McDaniel. It was a modest but
comfortable home and, like Mary Hyre's office, had been a focal point for strangers
ever since Linda, Roger, and another couple had seen the "Bird"—the
preposterous winged man of Point Pleasant—the year before.
Now there was a steady flow of
friends and neighbors stopping by to look at the new baby, one of the few
joyous occasions that bleak December. When Jack Brown's noisy white car pulled
into the McDaniel driveway he was welcomed as so many reporters, monster
hunters, and UFO researchers had been before him. He 'announced himself as a
friend of Mary Hyre, Gray Barker, and John Keel and entered the house hauling a
large tape recorder which he set up on a kitchen table. It became immediately
obvious that he was unfamiliar with the machine and didn't know how to thread
or operate it.
The McDaniel family was used to
reporters and tape recorders, and answering the same tiresome questions. But
Brown's questions were not just tiresome. They were vague, detached, and
unintelligent. He obviously knew nothing whatsoever about the complex subject
of flying saucers, and he was totally disinterested in the legendary
"Bird." His main interest seemed to be me—my present whereabouts and
the nature of my relationship with Mrs. Hyre.
Not surprisingly, he asked the
McDaniels how they thought Mary Hyre would react if someone ordered her to stop
reporting flying saucer sightings.
Friends and neighbors dropped by all
evening to view the new baby. Although the baby was the center of all
attention, Brown totally ignored the child, not even bothering to show polite
interest. When Tom C., a next-door neighbor, was introduced Brown extended his
thumb and two forefingers for a handshake. He said he was from Cambridge, Ohio,
a small town just outside of Columbus, Ohio. Later a reporter for the Columbus,
Ohio, Dispatch arrived and in the course of their casual conversation it became
apparent that Brown had never heard of the Dispatch, one of the state's largest
newspapers, and, in fact, did not even know where Cambridge was.
His general demeanor made everyone
uncomfortable. His inability to converse intelligently and his hypnotic,
piercing gaze bothered everyone. Despite the growing coolness, he lingered for
five hours, leaving about 11 P.M. Early in the evening he denied knowing me
personally. Later on he said he and I were good friends. He seemed surprised
that I had not rushed back to Point Pleasant after the bridge disaster. Perhaps
he expected to find me there.
Among other things, he said
"Gray Barker told him that a UFO had been seen over the SilverBridge just
before it collapsed. Later when I spoke to Barker about this incident he denied
emphatically knowing Brown or anyone matching his description. Gray had phoned
me the night of the disaster and mentioned hearing a radio interview in which a
witness reported seeing a flash of light just before the bridge went down.
Afterward it became clear that this was a flash caused by snapping power cables
strung along the bridge.
Jack Brown
was never seen again. He did not turn up in other UFO flap areas. He just got
into his white car and rattled off into the night, joining all the other
Smiths, Joneses, Kelleys, and Frenches who seem to serve no purpose except to
excite the latent paranoia of the UFO enthusiasts and keep one set of myths
alive.
-The Mothman Prophecies (1975) pp. 11
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