The viral ‘Mothman’ sighting in Kansas City is ripping TikTok apart, and the creature is most likely not what you think it is

A bizarre TikTok video claiming to show the “largest living moth” in Kansas City has exploded online, but some viewers are convinced it’s actually the return of the legendary Mothman. The strange footage was posted by the account @crime.stories39, gaining an incredible 16.3 million views in just two weeks, as per Daily Dot.

The video shows a dark, vaguely moth-shaped figure that is clearly human-sized, clinging to the middle of an outside wall late at night. As the person filming gets closer, you can see a creepy detail: a pair of eyes is visible on the back of its hairy “head,” right beneath two things that look like either antennae or horns. You can hear the cameraman ask, “Is that a moth?” The caption, however, confidently claims that “The largest living moth has been sighted in Kansas City, leaving the city’s residents completely helpless.”

Now, let’s get real for a second. This creature is definitely not a moth. First, there have been zero official news reports about a giant insect terrorizing Kansas City, which you’d expect if something this size was roaming around. Second, if you look at the actual facts, the largest known species of this insect is the Atlas moth. While that moth is certainly big, sometimes the size of a small bird, it’s native to Southeast Asia. It’s also nowhere near the size of a grown person, so the video’s claim just doesn’t hold up.

Despite the obvious factual issues, the comments section is having a field day, either playing along or genuinely believing the sighting

Very few people think it’s an actual moth. The suggestions for its true identity are much more dramatic, ranging from a demon or the Devil to Baphomet or even the monster from the movie Jeepers Creepers. Of course, you have to consider the practical possibility that this is just a hoax, like the one tying mysterious disappearances with national park caves. Some viewers insist that the figure is simply a person in a costume holding onto the bars over a window. The eerie eyes could have easily been edited into the footage after it was filmed.

Regardless of the truth, other TikTokers are going viral simply by reacting to the footage as if it were 100 percent real. Dedicated reaction accounts are having a great time criticizing the person who filmed it for not immediately running away. One user, @thoka.2, posted a response that gained over 7.1 million views. He complained that the cameraman showed zero common sense.

“You have the survival instincts of a fish,” he said. He added that if you see a creature like that latched onto a wall, staring back at you, and you don’t try to run, it’s over. “Heck, right now you’re probably possessed,” he concluded. Another popular reaction TikToker, @callumskillen1, agreed that it’s probably just a costume. “You’re telling me moths get that big?” he asked. “I never knew that.” He stated that, in his opinion, “It looks like someone dressed up in a costume hanging from the wall.”

While casual viewers are debating costumes and demons, the conspiracy accounts are fully committed to the idea that this is the long-awaited return of the Mothman. The original Mothman sightings are usually associated with West Virginia, but accounts like @hiddentruthhunter are trying to link the myth to the Midwest. Perhaps this one is sillier than people finding handwritten notes inside their mac and cheese, but it has still captured the internet’s attention all the same.