The Grinning Man

In October 1966, a man with an impossibly wide smile and unsettling features appeared to witnesses in New Jersey. Weeks later, similar encounters occurred in West Virginia during the Mothman wave. One witness claimed the figure identified himself telepathically as “Indrid Cold,” stating he came from a distant galaxy. The Grinning Man became one of the strangest figures in American paranormal history - neither ghost, nor alien, nor human, but something altogether other.

The Elizabeth, New Jersey Encounter

October 11, 1966

The first documented sighting:

• In Elizabeth, New Jersey
• Two boys: James Yanchitis and Marvin Munoz
• Walking home at night
• Near the New Jersey Turnpike

What They Saw

The boys encountered:

• A tall figure standing by a fence
• Over six feet tall
• Wearing a sparkly green coverall
• No visible nose or ears
• Small, beady eyes
• An impossibly wide grin

The Chase

The figure:

• Started walking toward them
• Moved strangely, gliding
• Didn’t appear threatening but terrified them
• They ran
• It didn’t follow far

Their Description

The boys described:

• A face that was “weird”
• The smile was too wide
• The skin was smooth, almost featureless
• The eyes were tiny and dark
• The overall impression was wrong

The Point Pleasant Connection

November 1966

During the Mothman flap:

• Point Pleasant, West Virginia
• A wave of strange sightings
• The Grinning Man appeared here too
• Connected to the wider phenomena

Woodrow Derenberger

November 2, 1966

A sewing machine salesman:

• Driving home on Interstate 77
• A vehicle pulled alongside him
• Forced him to stop
• A figure emerged

The Encounter

Derenberger reported:

• A craft that looked like a “kerosene lamp chimney”
• A man stepped out
• About six feet tall
• Wearing a dark coat
• His face was smooth
• He had a permanent, fixed grin

The Communication

The figure:

• Spoke without moving his lips
• Communicated telepathically
• Asked questions about the area
• Said his name was “Indrid Cold”
• Said he came from “a country less powerful than yours”
• Was friendly but unsettling

The Message

Indrid Cold allegedly said:

• He was visiting, not invading
• He meant no harm
• He would see Derenberger again
• He was studying humanity

Subsequent Encounters

Derenberger’s Continued Contact

After the first meeting:

• Derenberger claimed ongoing contact
• Multiple visits from Indrid Cold
• Telepathic communications
• Eventually claimed to visit Cold’s home planet

The Story Expands

Derenberger reported:

• Cold came from a planet called Lanulos
• In the Genemedes galaxy
• He had a wife named Kimi
• The beings there lived simply
• They were observing Earth

His Book

Derenberger eventually wrote:

• “Visitors from Lanulos” (1971)
• Detailing his ongoing contacts
• Describing Indrid Cold’s world
• His claims became increasingly elaborate

Other Witnesses

Multiple Reports

During 1966-1967:

• Several people reported similar figures
• In both New Jersey and West Virginia
• Consistent descriptions
• The grin was always noted

Connie Carpenter

A witness in Point Pleasant:

• Saw a figure similar to the Grinning Man
• Near the Ohio River
• The same fixed grin
• The same unsettling presence

John Keel’s Investigation

The Researcher

Journalist John Keel:

• Investigated Point Pleasant phenomena
• Interviewed Derenberger and others
• Connected the Grinning Man to Mothman
• Wrote about it in “The Mothman Prophecies”

His Assessment

Keel believed:

• The phenomena were connected
• Indrid Cold was part of a larger pattern
• Something genuinely strange was occurring
• But he was skeptical of the “space visitor” narrative

The Pattern

Keel noted:

• The Grinning Man appeared during high strangeness
• Similar figures in other flaps
• The telepathic communication pattern
• The unsettling but non-threatening nature

Who Was Indrid Cold?

Theories

Extraterrestrial

• A visitor from another world
• Here to observe
• The Lanulos story is true
• He’s simply an alien being

Interdimensional Entity

• Not from space but another dimension
• Appearing during “window” periods
• Part of the general strangeness
• Not literally from a planet

Psychological Phenomenon

• Mass hysteria
• Shared delusion
• Cultural contamination
• People seeing what they expect

Hoax

• Derenberger fabricated or exaggerated
• Seeking attention
• The other witnesses misinterpreted

Something Unknown

• None of the above
• Genuinely unexplainable
• A phenomenon we don’t have words for

The Grin

Why the Smile?

The most consistent element:

• Every witness noted the grin
• Impossibly wide
• Fixed and unmoving
• Neither friendly nor threatening
• Simply wrong

Psychological Impact

The grin seems:

• To trigger uncanny valley responses
• To suggest something imitating humanity
• To create dissonance
• To be unforgettable

Similar Reports

Other “grinning” entities appear in:

• Various paranormal accounts
• Different cultures and times
• Suggesting an archetype
• Or a common type of being

After Point Pleasant

Derenberger’s Life

Following his claims:

• He faced ridicule
• His marriage suffered
• He struggled with the attention
• He maintained his story
• He died believing in Indrid Cold

The Legacy

The Grinning Man became:

• A fixture of paranormal literature
• Connected to Mothman lore
• A subject of ongoing interest
• An archetype of high strangeness

Cultural Impact

In Media

Indrid Cold appears in:

• “The Mothman Prophecies” (book and film)
• Various paranormal shows
• Horror fiction
• Video games

Modern Interest

The figure remains:

• A subject of paranormal research
• A popular character in weird lore
• An unsolved mystery
• A strange icon

Analysis

What We Know

• Multiple people saw a figure with an unusual grin
• In two different states
• During a period of intense paranormal activity
• At least one claimed ongoing contact
• The descriptions were consistent

What We Don’t Know

• What the Grinning Man actually was
• Whether Derenberger’s later claims were true
• Why the figure appeared when it did
• What it wanted
• Where it came from

The Question

A man with a grin too wide stood by a fence in New Jersey.

Weeks later, another grinning figure stepped out of a strange craft in West Virginia.

He said his name was Indrid Cold. He said he came from far away. He said he was just visiting.

Was he an extraterrestrial? An interdimensional traveler? A manifestation of something stranger still? Or just a strange episode in a period of mass strangeness?

The Grinning Man appeared when Mothman was in the skies and the Silver Bridge was about to fall.

He smiled his impossible smile.

He spoke without words.

And then he was gone.

Woodrow Derenberger spent the rest of his life telling stories about a planet called Lanulos and a being named Indrid Cold. Was he lying? Was he deluded? Or did something genuinely contact him during that November night in 1966?

The Grinning Man remains one of the strangest figures in American paranormal history.

Neither ghost nor alien nor cryptid.

Just that smile.

Too wide.

Too fixed.

Too wrong.

And after all these years, still unexplained.