The Mothman Prophecies is a 2002 American supernatural horror film directed by Mark Pellington, and starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney, with Will Patton, Debra Messing, Alan Bates, and Lucinda Jenney in supporting roles. Based on the 1975 book of the same name by parapsychologist and Fortean author John Keel, the screenplay was written by Richard Hatem. The story follows John Klein (Gere), a reporter who researches the legend of the Mothman. Still shaken by the death of his wife two years earlier from a glioblastoma, John is sent to cover a news piece and inexplicably finds himself in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where there have been sightings of an unusual creature and other unexplained phenomena.