Cryptids: License plate celebrates West Virginia’s weird history
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Sometimes West Virginians just want to celebrate what is WEIRD and wonderful about our state. After all, something's got to distract us from the perpetually sluggish economy and bottom-of-the-barrel rankings in report after report.
Fortunately, there is plenty of weird to celebrate, and that includes our beloved cryptids. Mothman, Braxie, Sheepsquatch, Bigfoot, Batboy, Veggie Man, the Webster County Werewolf, the Grafton Monster, Ogua -- Let's not even get into the reason we don't respond when we hear whistling at night. They're unusual, all right; and they're ours.
The late Jesse Corlis, a West Virginia artist who understood what treasures our legendary cryptids are, designed a license plate featuring them all. He did not live to see it made available to Mountain State drivers, but it is a tribute to the work he put into his art that within two days of the plate's availability, more than 1,000 had been sold.
"As a huge fan of West Virginia's rich folklore, I couldn't be more excited to see legendary cryptids like Mothman and Braxie the Flatwood Monster featured on our new license plate," said Transportation Secretary Stephen T. Rumbaugh. "This design not only celebrates our state's unique culture and storied heritage on every road we travel, but it also serves as a lasting tribute to the incredible artistic legacy of Jesse Corlis."
That's important, too, as these hills and hollers tend to produce their fair share of incredible artists and musicians. We've got to be proud of and celebrate them, as well.
Division of Motor Vehicles officials who used Corlis' depiction to help us make traveling companions of our cryptids are to be commended for developing this specialty plate. It's a fun reminder this state has a lot of stories to tell ... some of them stranger than others.