Twilight Encounter

UNUSUAL SIGHTING IN L'AQUILA – OCTOBER 26, 2026

I would like to share a rather unusual episode that happened to me on Monday, October 26, around 5:43 PM, in L'Aquila, Abruzzo. I would like to gather opinions, compare notes with other people and understand if anyone has ever observed something similar.

I was near my home, during one of my usual evening walks. It's a route I have been taking for years and during which I often photograph the sky, the trees and the surrounding landscape.

That evening I was observing a flock of birds when, in the distance, I noticed a silhouette that was decidedly larger than the other animals present in the sky. It was moving very slowly, almost automatically, so much so that at first I thought it might be a parachute.

After observing it for a few moments, I started walking again, but I kept turning around to follow its movements. At a certain point I noticed something that made me stop again: the silhouette seemed to move slightly and, in correspondence with the head, I could distinguish two small lights.

The first things I thought of were a bat, a buzzard or some other bird of prey. In an area like Abruzzo, characterized by a rather varied fauna, it would not have been so strange to come across an animal I did not know.

Yet, observing it more closely, its appearance seemed decidedly peculiar.

The figure appeared completely black against the twilight sky. It had a build that, as far as I could distinguish from a distance, vaguely recalled that of an adult human being, with the head tucked between the shoulders and some structures that seemed to be legs. The wings, on the other hand, appeared enormous in relation to the body.

The silhouette had a rather rounded and compact shape, almost as if it were covered by a very soft plumage or even a sort of fur. I could not recognize the typical profile of the feathers of a common bird.

Another detail that struck me was its eyes: two small, pale, whitish lights, vaguely reminiscent of the reflection of a cat's eyes in the dark, but with a colder tone.

The way it flew also seemed unusual to me. For long moments it seemed to simply glide, slowly losing altitude, then partially regaining it through a few, very slow and measured wing beats.

In addition, it repeated very wide circular movements several times, apparently making complete turns on itself. After rotating, it would resume gliding and then start again. From a distance it almost gave the impression of searching for or observing something.

I am not able to determine with precision how high or how large it was. The distance was considerable and I did not have sufficient references to make a reliable estimate. It seemed in any case to be well above the electrical cables present in the area.

During the observation I also noticed other birds passing nearby. They were decidedly smaller and some crossed the sky relatively close to the silhouette, without me noticing any particular reactions or changes in their trajectory.

At a certain point I decided to take my phone and take some photographs. It was not easy: I use a rather dated Samsung and the light was fading rapidly. Most of the shots were blurred or show only a small dark dot in the distance.

Some photographs, however, are the ones that struck me the most. In one the eyes seem to have a greenish hue, while in the other you can see a very faint whitish halo around them.

The silhouette continued to lose altitude until it disappeared behind some trees, completely interrupting my view. I remained on the spot for another three or four minutes, but I was unable to spot it again.

I could not say exactly how long the entire observation lasted.

However, the shape of the silhouette and especially the way it moved reminded me of some descriptions of the so-called Mothman, a legendary figure known especially for stories coming from the United States.