Van Meter Visitor

For five terrifying nights in October 1903, the small Iowa town of Van Meter was besieged by something that defied explanation. A winged creature, roughly the size of a man, moved through the darkness emitting a blinding light from a horn on its forehead. The town’s most respected citizens—the bank cashier, the doctor, the hardware store owner—all saw it. They shot at it repeatedly, but bullets seemed to have no effect. When the creature finally fled into an abandoned coal mine on the town’s outskirts, it was not alone: a second creature emerged to meet it. The townspeople sealed the mine entrance and the visitors were never seen again. No satisfactory explanation has ever been offered for what terrorized Van Meter in the autumn of 1903.

In October 1903, Van Meter was a small but prosperous community of approximately 1,000 residents, located about 25 miles west of Des Moines. The town sat atop a network of coal mines that had driven its economy for decades, though many were by then abandoned or played out. This was an era when small-town America prided itself on respectability and rationality. The witnesses who would report the Van Meter creature were not marginal figures or sensation-seekers—they were the pillars of the community: businessmen, professionals, and civic leaders. Their willingness to publicly describe what they had seen, knowing they risked ridicule, lent the accounts unusual credibility.

According to documented accounts, the events unfolded over five consecutive nights, beginning on Monday, September 28, 1903 (some sources date it to early October).

The first witness was U.G. Griffith, a respected implement dealer (seller of farm equipment) in Van Meter. In the early morning hours, Griffith was awakened by a brilliant light shining into his building. Stepping outside to investigate, he spotted the source: something perched atop a downtown building. By Griffith’s account, the creature was roughly human-sized with large bat-like wings folded against its body. Most striking was the source of the light—a blunt, horn-like protrusion from the creature’s forehead that glowed with brilliant intensity. The light was bright enough to be mistaken for a spotlight or fire. When Griffith raised his rifle and fired at the creature, it leapt from the rooftop and flew away into the darkness. The implement dealer’s shot appeared to have no effect whatsoever. Griffith reported his sighting the next day, but was met with skepticism. That changed quickly.

The following night, Dr. A.C. Alcott, one of Van Meter’s most prominent physicians, had his own encounter. Around 1:00 AM, Dr. Alcott spotted the same or a similar creature perched on a telephone pole. The description matched Griffith’s account precisely: a winged figure with a glowing horn on its head. Dr. Alcott was armed. He fired five shots at the creature at relatively close range. The thing seemed completely unaffected by the bullets, showing no sign of injury or even disturbance. After Dr. Alcott emptied his revolver, the creature simply flew away. The doctor’s willingness to confirm Griffith’s story—and his account of shooting at the creature without apparent effect—escalated public concern significantly.

On the third night, bank cashier Peter Dunn was working late when he heard sounds from the exterior of the Van Meter Savings Bank. Investigating, he discovered the creature attempting to enter or examine the bank building. Dunn observed several details that previous witnesses had not mentioned: the creature left three-toed footprints where it walked; when its wings were spread, they measured at least 8 feet across; the horn emitted light in pulses or flashes rather than continuously; and an overwhelming, terrible stench accompanied the creature—“a smell like death” that lingered even after it departed. Like previous witnesses, Dunn was armed. Like previous witnesses, his shots had no apparent effect. The creature eventually flew away.

On the fourth night, hardware store owner Sidney Gregg became the fourth witness when he spotted the creature moving along a downtown street. Gregg’s account corroborated all previous descriptions while adding new details about the creature’s locomotion—it seemed capable of walking on the ground as well as flying, and moved with a strange, hopping gait when earthbound. By now, the town was in an uproar. Four of Van Meter’s most respected citizens had independently described the same impossible creature. Armed men began patrolling the streets after dark.

The fifth night brought the events to a climax. O.V. White, another businessman, spotted the creature near an old abandoned coal mine on the edge of town—a mine that had been closed and partially sealed years earlier. White ran to alert other townspeople. An armed posse quickly formed, including several previous witnesses. What happened next would be the most dramatic—and strangest—episode of the entire affair. As the posse approached the mine entrance, the winged creature emerged from the darkness. But it was not alone. A second creature appeared beside it—identical in every respect to the first. Both creatures faced the armed townspeople, their horn-lights blazing. The posse opened fire. According to the accounts, they fired multiple volleys at point-blank range. The creatures showed no signs of injury. After several exchanges of gunfire that accomplished nothing, both creatures turned and retreated into the mine shaft, descending into the darkness. The terrified but determined townspeople made a decision: they would seal the mine. Working through the night and into the following day, they blocked the entrance with timber, rock, and debris. Whatever the creatures were, they would remain entombed underground.

After the mine was sealed, Van Meter experienced no further sightings. The creatures—whatever they were—did not re-emerge. Life returned to normal, though the events would be remembered and discussed for generations. The sealed mine remained undisturbed. No one was willing to reopen it and face whatever might still be inside.

Based on the combined eyewitness accounts, the Van Meter Visitor displayed the following characteristics: Body: Roughly human-sized, described as standing approximately 5 to 5.5 feet tall; Wings: Large, bat-like wings with an estimated span of 8 feet or more; capable of true flight; Horn: A blunt, horn-like projection from the forehead that emitted brilliant, pulsing light; Feet: Three-toed, leaving distinctive footprints; Smell: An overwhelming, nauseating odor variously described as sulphurous, rotting, or “like death”; Locomotion: Capable of both flight and walking/hopping on the ground; Durability: Apparently invulnerable to gunfire; bullets had no visible effect.

What distinguishes the Van Meter case from many cryptid encounters is the quality of its witnesses: U.G. Griffith: Successful business owner, no history of eccentricity; Dr. A.C. Alcott: Town physician, educated professional; Peter Dunn: Bank cashier, entrusted with the community’s finances; Sidney Gregg: Hardware store owner, established merchant; O.V. White: Local businessman. These were not itinerant workers, children, or individuals seeking attention. They were men with reputations to protect who had nothing to gain—and considerable standing to lose—by claiming to have seen an impossible creature. Their willingness to publicly describe what they had seen, knowing they risked ridicule, lent the accounts unusual credibility.

Van Meter has embraced its strange history: The Van Meter Visitor Festival: The town holds an annual festival celebrating the 1903 events, complete with monster-themed activities and historical presentations; “The Van Meter Visitor” (2013): Authors Chad Lewis, Noah Voss, and Kevin Lee Nelson published a book-length examination of the case, drawing on historical records and interviews with descendants of original witnesses; Documentaries and Media: The case has been featured in multiple television programs and documentaries examining unexplained phenomena; Tourism: The Van Meter creature has become a point of local pride and attracts curious visitors interested in the paranormal.

The most haunting aspect of the Van Meter case is its conclusion. The mine into which the creatures retreated remains sealed. The historical records do not indicate that anyone ever reopened it to investigate. Whatever descended into that mine in October 1903—whether creatures from another world, unknown animals, or figments of collective imagination—they remain there still, theoretically. The darkness beneath Van Meter, Iowa, keeps its secrets.

Sources

• Wikipedia search: “Van Meter Visitor”
• Internet Archive — Cryptozoology texts — Digitised cryptozoology literature
• Chronicling America — Historic US newspapers (1690–1963)