Mothman, There's No Need To Be Down

"In which Chelsea talks about the conspiracy that Avril Lavigne is dead and Cristina talks about a cryptid in the Chicago area that may or may not be Mothman."

Presented by: Chelsea
Category: Conspiracy

Content warning: Mentions of suicide.

Much like Paul McCartney, both before and after her, there is a subset of fans who believe Avril Lavigne is dead. The story goes that, shortly after her releasing her first album in 2002, her grandfather, whom she'd been very close to passed away. She is said to have fallen into a deep depression and killed herself as she was beginning work on her second album.

Either her family or her records producers or both decided they still wanted to make money of her success and groomed a lookalike, possibly her publicity double, named Melissa to take on the roll and carry on her career. They point the fact that she used to wear pants and now likes dresses, pimples on her face, the alleged idea that "Girlfriend" is radically different from "Sk8r Boi" and lyrics as proof.

The theory was eventually revealed to be a deliberate hoax that got out of hand, as always happens, and Lavigne has had to deal with fans asking about it ever since.

Takeaway: Don't question celebrities about conspiracies. Don't assume you know anything about anyone's mental health.

Presented By: Cristina
Category: Cryptid

While the stacked and caked cryptid known as Mothman is associated with West Virginia in the 1960s, the creature continues to be sighted throughout the world today. More recently, in Chicago, IL.

There were over 50 sightings in the city in 2017 alone, but sightings had been going on for sometime. The creature is described the same as always. Mothman stands 6 feet tall with dark fur, glowing red eyes and a 10-foot wingspan. The big variation is that some of the sightings in this spree described the creature as having red wings.

Notable sightings include two roommates who saw the creature in 2011 in peeping in through their window of their fifth floor apartment. The witnesses felt like they were prey. In 2017 a woman walking her dog in the park also saw the creature, who characterized it as being like bird person from Rick and Morty with bat-like wings. She was too scared to take a picture. Three couples that same year saw it over Lake Michigan. Another group saw it shortly there after.

The usual explanations of birds are put forward, failing to take into account that no living bird gets that tall and few have a 10-foot wingspan.

Takeaway: Mothman only wants to be your friend.