#cbj edit

In Slavic tradition, much stress was placed on proper burial rites upon an individual’s death to ensure the soul's purity and peace as it separated from the body. The death of an unbaptized child, a violent or an untimely death, or the death of a grievous sinner (such as a sorcerer or murderer) were all grounds for a soul to become unclean after death. A soul could also be made unclean if its body were not given a proper burial. Upyrs are reanimated corpses possessed by unclean souls that kill living creatures to absorb their life essence. The Upyr drains each victim of blood, then, using its ironlike teeth, gnaws into their chest so that it may consume the heart. In fact, the teeth of the Upyr are possibly its greatest assets, as it uses them to chew through the ground that has frozen solid in the winter months so that it can escape its own grave.

In West Virginia folklore, the Mothman is a legendary creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 12, 1966, to December 15, 1967. On November 12, 1966, five men who were digging a grave at a cemetery near Clendenin, West Virginia, claimed to see a man-like figure fly low from the trees over their heads. This is often identified as the first known sighting of what became known as the Mothman. Shortly thereafter, on November 15, 1966, two young couples from Point Pleasant, told police they saw a large black creature whose eyes "glowed red" when the car headlights picked it up. They described it as a "large flying man with ten-foot wings" following their car. After the December 15, 1967, collapse of the Silver Bridge and the death of 46 people,the incident gave rise to the legend and connected the Mothman sightings to the bridge collapse.