“Batman” of Houston, Texas, 1953

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This “batman” may be a modern pterosaur. Before quoting the story from Big Bird (nonfiction cryptozoology book), by Ken Gerhard, I’ll make an observation about night sightings of glowing flying creatures in general. When a bioluminescent barn owl or a ropen (or perhaps another flying creature that glows) gradually turns off its glow at night, what is a likely result? If the night is very dark, a person observing that reduction of glow would probably see the form of the flying creature for a short while but when the glow is completely out, then there would be nothing visible; in other words, the creature would literally disappear from view, even though it was still there in the dark.

From Page 64 of Big Bird

[An] incident, which occurred in Houston’s historic Heights neighborhood during the early morning hours of June 18, 1953, involves an entity that has become known as the Batman. . . . Hilda Walker, Howard Phillips, and Judy Meyers, were sitting on the porch . . . a huge shadow passed over their heads, landing in a nearby pecan tree. . . . The shadow appeared to resemble a tall man donning a kind of paratrooper uniform, but with bat-like wings attached. [It] seemed to be encased in a grey halo of light, which faded out slowly as the mysterious figure vanished in front of their startled eyes.

I have not interviewed any of the eyewitness nor read the original newspaper article, so my idea is speculative, but it could have been a large bioluminescent flying creature.

Two Glowing Pterosaurs in the Caribbean

 . . . between about 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m., her daughter called her to come out to the balcony to “see something weird.”

The lady told me, “The minute I stepped onto the balcony, I knew exactly what she wanted me to see. Off in the distance were two very, very large, pink/orange flourescent birds flying behind each other. They looked like the flying dinosaurs . . . They would fly towards the ship, then back out to sea, then fly together in tandum then make a sharp right, away from the ship and disappear into the night. Then they would return. We witnessed this activity for about fifteen minutes.”

Marfa Lights

The cryptozoological possibility seems weird, but there are similarities with the ropen lights of Papua New Guinea, and there the lights are said to be nocturnal flying creatures described like giant Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs: long-tailed ropens.

American Ghost Lights (those that are bioluminescent owls)

Prosecution: What exactly do you do for a living?

GL: Every night I look for food.

Prosecution: Why at night?

GL: It’s what my family’s always done. It’s all we know.

Prosecution: But not always totally in the dark, is it?

GL: No, sir. Sometimes I glow. It runs in the family.

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large image of the back cover of the 3rd edition of Live Pterosaurs in Ameridca

From the title page of Live Pterosaurs in America (third edition):

Reports of huge flying “pterodactyls” in American skies have floated around the internet for years; but before about 2005, details were scarce. When an eyewitness was named, the interviewer was often anonymous; even when an eyewitness was credible, and the account published in a newspaper, the story was ridiculed, discouraging others who had also seen strange flying creatures. Where could eyewitnesses go? What a predicament for them! Who would believe their reports?

Jonathan Whitcomb is a modern pterosaur expert