The Flatwoods Monster

The Flatwoods Monster

On the evening of September 12, 1952, a group of Flatwoods residents climbed a hill to investigate a bright object they’d seen land. What they encountered at the top – a towering creature with a blood-red face, glowing eyes, and a dark hood – sent them fleeing in terror. The Flatwoods Monster became one of the most famous creature encounters of the UFO era.

The Sighting

The Beginning

At approximately 7:15 PM, brothers Edward (13) and Fred May (12) were playing outside. They saw a bright object streak across the sky, and it appeared to land on a nearby hilltop. They then ran to get their mother, Kathleen May.

The Group Assembles

Kathleen May gathered her two sons, Neil Nunley (14), Ronnie Shaver (10), Tommy Hyer (10), and National Guardsman Eugene Lemon (17), along with Lemon’s dog.

The Climb

The group headed up the hill, led by Lemon with a flashlight. The dog ran ahead, and a strange mist and pungent odor surrounded them. The dog began barking frantically before running back past the group in terror.

The Encounter

What They Saw

At the hilltop, Lemon’s flashlight revealed a large pulsing ball of fire – the craft – and a tall figure nearby. The creature was approximately 10 feet tall, possessing a round, blood-red face, large, orange-glowing eyes, a dark, pointed hood or head shaped like an ace of spades, and a dark body that appeared to float above the ground. Claw-like hands were also observed.

The Creature’s Action

The monster made a hissing sound, began gliding toward the group, emitted a foul, metallic odor, and caused immediate physical symptoms in witnesses.

The Flight

The group fled, running down the hill in panic. Lemon reportedly vomited from the smell, and they reached Kathleen May’s home, where they called the sheriff. Several were shaking uncontrollably.

Physical Effects

Immediate Symptoms

Witnesses experienced nausea and vomiting, throat irritation, convulsions (in Lemon’s case), swelling of the throat, and these symptoms lasted for hours.

Lingering Effects

In following days, some had throat problems for weeks, the dog died within days, Lemon was hospitalized, and Kathleen May experienced nose and throat issues.

The Site

Investigation of the hilltop revealed a large area of flattened grass, an oily residue, a lingering chemical smell, and skid marks in the earth.

Investigation

Sheriff Robert Carr

The local sheriff responded to the call, visited the site that night, detected a strange odor, found the flattened grass, and took the reports seriously.

A. Lee Stewart Jr.

A local newspaper reporter interviewed witnesses immediately, finding them genuinely terrified. He published the story in the Braxton Democrat, noting their consistent accounts.

The Air Force

Project Blue Book investigated the sighting, attributing it to a meteor and a barn owl, and dismissed the creature sighting. Critics found this explanation inadequate.

The Creature

Physical Description

Witnesses consistently described the creature’s height as 10-12 feet, its face as red and circular, its eyes as large and glowing orange, its head/hood as spade or heart-shaped, its body as dark green or black, and its apparent clothing as a dress or robe. They noted the lack of visible legs and the creature’s floating movement, as well as small, claw-like hands and a metallic sheen to parts of its body.

Movement

The creature did not walk, but rather floated or glided silently, except for hissing, and approached the group before they fled.

The Smell

Described variously as sulfurous or metallic, “like burning metal,” choking and nauseating, unlike anything they’d encountered, and lingering at the site.

Other Sightings

Same Night

Other reports from September 12 indicated multiple people saw the bright object in the sky, a couple in nearby Frametown saw a similar creature experiencing the same symptoms.

Following Days

Additional reports included a woman in Sutton reporting a similar figure, strange lights being seen in the area, and unusual aircraft activity being reported.

The Pattern

The Flatwoods area became a hotspot for UFO reports, associated with strange creatures and part of a wider wave of sightings in 1952.

Explanations

Meteor and Barn Owl

The Official Theory: A meteor was seen that night (confirmed), and the creature was a barn owl in a tree. Fear exaggerated its appearance, and the mist was natural fog.

Problems: Barn owls are 15-20 inches tall, multiple witnesses saw the same thing, the physical symptoms were real, and the flattened grass and residue were unexplained.

Hoax

The Theory: The witnesses fabricated or exaggerated, seeking attention in a small-town setting, and the story grew in the telling.

Problems: Physical evidence was found, witnesses experienced real symptoms, their terror was documented, and the accounts remained consistent for decades.

Genuine Encounter

The Theory: Something unknown landed and was encountered, a being associated with the craft, possibly extraterrestrial, and the creature was exactly what witnesses described.

Support: Multiple witnesses, physical evidence, physiological effects, and consistent descriptions.

Experimental Craft

The Theory: A secret military vehicle, causing the symptoms, and the “creature” was a suited figure, covered up by the government.

Legacy

Cultural Impact

The Flatwoods Monster became an iconic cryptid/UFO entity, known as the “Braxton County Monster” or “Green Monster,” subject of documentaries and books, and part of West Virginia folklore.

Flatwoods Today

The town embraces the legend, with monster statues and murals, an annual festival, a museum dedicated to the sighting, and a tourism industry around the creature.

The Witnesses

The original witnesses maintained their accounts throughout their lives, participated in documentaries, and never wavered from what they saw, though some have passed away still standing by their story.

Analysis

What We Know

Seven people saw something on that hill, they experienced real physical symptoms, physical evidence was found at the site, their terror was genuine and documented, and something bright was seen in the sky.

What Remains Unknown

What actually landed on the hill, what the creature was, why it was there, where it went, and why it exhibited such unusual behavior.

The Question

Seven people climbed a West Virginia hill on a September evening in 1952. They went to investigate a light in the sky. They found something waiting for them. Something ten feet tall with glowing eyes and a face like blood. Something that floated toward them through noxious mist. They ran. They got sick. Some never recovered. The Air Force said it was a meteor and an owl. But owls don’t make people vomit. Owls don’t flatten grass in circles. Owls don’t stand ten feet tall. Something was on that hilltop in Flatwoods. Something that shouldn’t have been there. Something that, seventy years later, we still can’t explain. The Flatwoods Monster. One of the strangest encounters in American history. And the seven witnesses never forgot what they saw.

Sources

• Wikipedia search: “The Flatwoods Monster”
• Project Blue Book — National Archives — USAF UFO investigation files, 1947–1969
• CIA UFO/UAP Reading Room — Declassified CIA documents on UAP
• Internet Archive — Cryptozoology texts — Digitised cryptozoology literature
• Chronicling America — Historic US newspapers (1690–1963)