For many, the Flatwoods Monster is more than just a tale from 1952. It’s a cultural phenomenon that continues to captivate, influence popular culture, and contribute to conversations on extraterrestrial life.
The cryptid (also known as the Braxton County Monster or Phantom of Flatwoods) was allegedly spotted for the first time in a small town in West Virginia and has captured the public’s imagination for decades since.
In this article:
Introduction to the Flatwoods Monster
It all started on September 12, 1952, when several locals reported a bright object blazing across the night sky. The unknown object took a few sharp turns in the sky and eventually landed on a nearby farm.
This first sighting began a series of events that would thrust Flatwoods into the national spotlight.
Flatwoods Monster First Sighting
At 7:15 p.m., two brothers (Ed and Freddie May), along with their friend Tommy Hyer, reported seeing a bright red light streak across the sky and land on the property of a local farmer, G. Bailey Fisher.
They immediately rushed home to tell their mother, Kathleen May, who joined them, along with National Guardsman Eugene “Gene” Lemon and two other boys (Neil Nunley and Ronnie Shaver), to investigate.
When they reached the top of a hill, Nunley said they saw a pulsing red light. As they further approached the landing site, they also encountered a mist and a strange metallic odor.
Suddenly, Lemon spotted a pair of glowing eyes in a tree. The group then saw a terrifying creature about 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide with a red, glowing, round, red face and a green body.
It didn’t appear to have eyes (at least not in the traditional sense), but more like two “portholes” glowing a menacing green-orange light.
The body appeared to be a metallic armored structure lined with thick vertical pipes. It had clawed hands and seemed to be wearing a dark, metal dress.
When it saw them, the monster hissed and glided towards them, causing the group to flee in terror.
Many reported feeling sick afterward, possibly due to the strange mist they encountered.
Despite the lack of physical evidence, the story of the Flatwoods Monster spread rapidly. The sighting was reported to local authorities and made national news.
Other Eyewitness Accounts
What’s interesting is that the Flatwoods Monster sighting was not an isolated incident. In fact, several other eyewitness accounts corroborated the initial report.
The group that first encountered the strange, half-robot, half-humanoid creature consisted of a mix of children and adults, lending some credibility to their claims.
Plus, they all described a similar entity: a significant, metallic figure with glowing eyes and a hissing sound.
Following the initial sighting, other residents in the area reported seeing strange phenomena.
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For example, Bailey Frame, from nearby Birch River, saw a bright orange ball hovering over the area for about fifteen minutes before it veered off toward Sutton.
Additionally, a woman and her mother in Weston, five miles north of Flatwoods, encountered a similar creature a week before the main event. They also reported a noxious odor, and the younger woman needed hospitalization due to the fright she experienced.
Another notable sighting happened the evening after the initial encounter, about ten to fifteen miles southwest of Flatwoods.
A couple reported a 10-foot-tall creature emitting a foul odor approaching their stalled car, only for it to retreat into the woods as a luminous, pulsating sphere ascended into the sky.
Interviews and Investigations
Local reporter A. Lee Stewart, who interviewed the witnesses shortly after the encounter, noted the consistency in their descriptions.
Stewart himself ventured to the sighting site (armed with a shotgun), but he couldn’t find any physical evidence of the landing or the encounter.
However, he remarked:
Those people were the most scared people I’ve ever seen. People don’t make up that kind of story that quickly.
Kathleen May and Eugene Lemon were invited to New York to speak about their experience on CBS’s show “We the People” on September 19, 1952, just a week after the sighting.
Their national television appearance helped build credibility for their alleged encounter and fueled public interest in the phenomenon.
Gray Barker (a UFO researcher and Braxton County native) also investigated the sightings. He later became a prominent figure in UFO lore.
However, despite his public persona as a devoted UFO researcher, those close to Barker revealed a different story.
His sister, Blanch, and close friend, James W. Moseley, disclosed that Barker was privately skeptical of UFO claims and primarily wrote about them for financial gain.
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Barker himself referred to his paranormal writings as “kookie books” in correspondence with fellow researcher John C. Sherwood.
Barker’s first major foray into UFO literature was his article “The Monster and the Saucer,” which was published in Fate magazine in January 1953 and described the Flatwoods Monster sighting.
This publication marked the beginning of Barker’s career as a UFO writer. He later founded The Saucerian, a magazine focused on UFO sightings and extraterrestrial encounters, which continued to captivate readers throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
Barker’s work—despite his personal disbelief—played a significant role in embedding the Flatwoods Monster into UFO mythology.
Donald Keyhoe (a pioneer UFO researcher) also wrote about his conversation with Albert Chop from the USAF, who speculated that the witnesses probably saw a large owl and imagined the rest.
Speaking of the U.S. Air Force, they also investigated the alleged sighting.
The U.S. Air Force Investigation of the Flatwoods Monster
The U.S. Air Force’s investigation into the Flatwoods Monster was part of its larger UFO research initiative, Project Blue Book (a project designed to investigate and explain sightings of unidentified flying objects), which ran from 1952 to 1969.
Since the bright light was reported by multiple witnesses across several states—including Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia—the Air Force dispatched investigators to look into the claims.
However, according to their reports, the USAF investigators believed it was a meteor.
Furthermore, the creature—described by witnesses as having a spade-shaped head and glowing eyes—was later concluded by the Air Force to be a barn owl perched on a tree limb, with the underbrush below creating an illusion of a larger entity.
Skeptics (such as Joe Nickell of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry) supported the Air Force’s owl theory but acknowledged the powerful impact of hysteria and environmental factors on the witnesses’ experiences.
Despite these conclusions, many remained skeptical of the USAF findings.
The witnesses were adamant about what they saw, and the officials’ explanations did not satisfy everyone.
Theories and Possible Explanations
The Flatwoods Monster sighting on September 12, 1952, has sparked numerous theories over the decades:
Extraterrestrial Entity
One of the most popular theories is that the Flatwoods Monster was an extraterrestrial being. This idea is supported by the sighting of a strange, glowing object in the sky just before encountering the creature.
Many believe that the creature could have been an alien, a being in a robotic suit, or a spacecraft that crashed landed in West Virginia.
The extraterrestrial hypothesis is also strengthened by the timing of the sighting (occurring when UFO sightings were widely reported and public interest in extraterrestrial life was at its peak).
Points supporting the extraterrestrial entity theory:
- Glowing object: Witnesses reported seeing a bright, glowing object streaking across the sky, which they believed to be a UFO.
- Strange appearance: The creature’s unusual appearance—10 feet tall with a spade-shaped head and glowing eyes—did not match any known terrestrial animal.
- Witness accounts: Six boys, a mother, and a National Guardsman, Gene Lemon, all reported seeing the creature. The consistency in their descriptions can add some credibility to this theory.
Misidentified Animal
Another possible explanation for what the group saw that night is that the Flatwoods Monster was actually a misidentified barn owl.
Joe Nickell—a noted skeptic and investigator with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry—proposed that the creature’s glowing eyes and spade-shaped head could be attributed to a barn owl perched on a tree limb.
The bird’s eyes could reflect light, creating the impression of glowing eyes. At the same time, the surrounding foliage and shadows might give the illusion of a larger entity with a pleated, skirt-like appearance.
This explanation is further supported by the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book, which investigated the sighting and concluded that the bright light in the sky was a meteor and the creature was likely an owl.
Despite these rational explanations, the witnesses’ elevated state of anxiety and fear could have distorted their perceptions, leading them to describe the creature in more fantastical terms.
Points supporting the misidentified animal theory:
- Owl characteristics: The creature’s “glowing eyes” and “spade-shaped head” could be explained by the light reflection from an owl’s eyes and facial features.
- Foliage and shadows: The foliage below the owl might have created the illusion of a larger creature with a skirt-like appearance.
- Witness perceptions: The anxiety and fear experienced by the witnesses could have led to exaggerated descriptions.
Hoax
Some believe that the Flatwoods Monster sighting was a hoax or a result of exaggerated storytelling.
It’s no secret that the 1950s saw heightened interest in UFOs and extraterrestrial life, fueled mainly by the Cold War and numerous reported sightings of mysterious objects in the sky.
So, we believe it’s plausible that the story of the Flatwoods Monster was either a deliberate fabrication to attract attention or a result of the witnesses embellishing their experience over time.
Not to mention that Gray Barker (who played a significant role in popularizing the Flatwoods Monster legend) was later exposed to have fabricated many UFO stories for financial gain.
Points supporting the hoax theory:
- Lack of concrete evidence: No physical evidence of the creature or a UFO was ever found, and no further sightings occurred after the initial incident.
- Era of UFO hysteria: The 1950s were marked by a fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrial encounters, making it plausible that someone might stage a hoax to capitalize on this interest.
- Consistent stories: While the stories from witnesses were consistent, the possibility of embellishment or exaggeration over time cannot be ruled out.
Natural Phenomena
The most scientifically grounded theory involves natural phenomena. On the night of the sighting, a meteor was observed across several states, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
This meteor likely accounted for the bright flash seen in the sky by the witnesses. Additionally, the red pulsating light could have been from an aircraft navigation beacon.
The physical symptoms reported by the witnesses (such as nausea and throat irritation) might have been psychosomatic responses to their fear and anxiety.
The U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book supported this explanation, concluding that the witnesses had misinterpreted natural phenomena, possibly influenced by their heightened emotional state.
Points supporting the natural phenomena theory:
- Meteor explanation: The bright flash seen in the sky was identified as a meteor observed across multiple states on the night of the sighting.
- Navigation beacon: The red pulsating light might have been from an aircraft navigation beacon.
- Psychological factors: The witnesses’ heightened state of anxiety and fear likely distorted their perceptions.
The Flatwoods Monster in Popular Culture
Despite its many controversies, the Flatwoods Monster has left a significant imprint on popular culture.
Its unique appearance and mysterious origins have made it a popular subject in various forms of media, from video games to television shows:
“Monsters and Mysteries in America” (2013)
- Episode: “Monsters of West Virginia”
- Network: Destination America
- Reviews: While the series overall had a mixed reception, this particular episode included segments on the Flatwoods Monster, which some viewers found less compelling compared to more focused documentaries.
“Paranormal Witness” (2011)
- Episode: “The Abduction”
- Network: Syfy
- Reviews: The episode includes a segment on the Flatwoods Monster. The series had mixed reviews, with some episodes being more popular than others. This episode did not stand out as particularly noteworthy among the fans of the show.
“UFO Hunters” (2008-2009)
- Episode: “Alien Fallout”
- Network: History Channel
- Reviews: The show generally received mixed reviews. While it covered a wide range of UFO-related topics, including the Flatwoods Monster, some viewers and critics felt that the investigations were not thorough enough and the evidence presented was not convincing.
“Alien Mysteries” (2013)
- Episode: “Flatwoods Monster”
- Network: Discovery Channel Canada
- Reviews: This series also received mixed reviews. The episode on the Flatwoods Monster was criticized for its dramatizations and lack of depth in investigation.
“The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear” (2018)
- Network: Small Town Monsters
- Reviews: This documentary received more favorable reviews for its balanced storytelling, creative visual style, and in-depth investigation, making it stand out from other documentaries on the subject.
In video games, the Flatwoods Monster has appeared in titles like Amagon and Space Harrier II. It also features in the popular Fallout 76 video game, set in a post-apocalyptic version of West Virginia.
The creature has also appeared in anime, in an episode of “Sgt. Frog.”
As for music, the Flatwoods Monster graces the cover of the album “April Fools” by The Scary Jokes.
The Flatwoods Monster Museum
In Flatwoods, the monster’s legend is kept alive at the Flatwoods Monster Museum (208 Main Street). The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
The museum offers a comprehensive look at the event, featuring newspaper clippings, eyewitness accounts, and artist renditions of the creature.
These exhibits provide a detailed narrative of the 1952 sightings, from the initial glowing object in the sky to the terrifying encounter with the creature.
In addition to historical artifacts, the museum showcases the broader cultural impact of the Flatwoods Monster, including memorabilia like books, movies, and video games that have featured the legend.
Visitors can purchase souvenirs such as shirts, stickers, and shot glasses to remember their visit.
Is the Flatwoods Monster real?
From our perspective, the balance of evidence suggests that the Flatwoods Monster was more likely a combination of natural phenomena, misidentification, and heightened emotions rather than a genuine extraterrestrial encounter.
Yeah, some may still refuse to believe it. Still, the scientific explanations provided by Project Blue Book and researchers (like Joe Nickell) offer plausible accounts that align with the witnesses’ descriptions under stress and fear.
However, the mystery remains an intriguing part of West Virginia folklore, capturing the imagination of those fascinated by the unexplained.
