Mothman is a folklore creature said to have been seen around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, between November 1966 and December 1967. The first newspaper report, in the Point Pleasant Register on 16 November 1966, described a man-sized bird-like figure, and national press soon spread the story. Despite its name, the original descriptions were of a bird, not a moth. The most likely explanations are ordinary animals: sandhill cranes or herons passing through during migration, or barred owls being misidentified in the dark. The legend grew much bigger when John Keel's 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies linked the sightings to paranormal events and to the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967. Today the town holds an annual festival devoted to the creature.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.