The Mothman Prophecies
New York: Saturday Review Press / E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1975.
First edition, first printing. Signed by John A. Keel on the front free endpaper and inscribed with Keel's usual whimsy: "To Jon -- The secret of the universe is on page 380." [xii], 269 pp. Bound in publisher's black paper-covered boards over black spine cloth lettered in silver. Very Good+ with light edge toning to boards and modest staining to head and tail of spine cloth and upper edge of textblock. Bookseller ticket to front pastedown and minimal offsetting from same, light toning to contents. In a Very Good unclipped dust jacket with narrow stains along upper and lower edges, indentations to front panel, 2 small chips to laminate on rear panel, and light wear, toning, and soiling.
Fortean investigator and author John Keel's best-known book, an engaging exploration of a series of hair-raising events in 1966 and 1967 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The otherworldly creature spotted by many residents was first dubbed "The Bird," and then, mimicking a villain on the campy TV show Batman, "Mothman." Following a so-so film adaptation in 2002, Mothman has became an internet celebrity and an annual festival is devoted to it in Point Pleasant. The bookseller ticket is that of Samuel Weiser, a renowned Manhattan bookseller specializing in the occult and esoteric.
Price: $5,000