The Flatwoods Monster. Also known as the Braxton County Monster or the Phantom of Flatwoods is the name given to a strange entity that was seen a mere 6 decades ago today. The town of Flatswood, West Virginia, has since become synonymous with famous UFO sightings. It has been 60 years since the sighting by several people yet this case still remains as mysterious as it was that fateful day of September 12, 1952.

What we know

On September 12, 1952, Edward and Fred May (brothers) and their friend Tommy Hyer had witnessed a bright object cruise overhead, cutting through the evening sky. All three of the boys saw the object land near local woods, or land that belong to a well known farmer.

Curious, the boys ran home to tell Mrs. May about the strange sighting. Within moments, the boys, Mrs. May and three other young boys (ages 10, 14, and 17) took off to the remote location in which the boys said the object had landed. Upon arrival, the older boy’s dog took off to investigate ahead of them, only to return right away, whimpering and with its tail between its legs. The curious part ventured forth.

Coming closer to the exact spot, they were all surprised to see a large pulsating ball of fire, hovering yards away. Without warning, there was a pungent miasma surrounding the object which instantly made their eyes, nose, and throat burn. While observing the burning sphere, off to the left of the object, two small glints of light caught their attention. When they pointed their flashlights toward the location of the small lights, they all recoiled in horror when an ominous creature, 10 feet tall stood floating above the ground.

The Creature

At 10 feet tall, the strange entity was described as having a red glowing face with a green body. Bulging eyes decorated it’s large bulbous head. The body was anthropomorphic. That is to say that it had a torso, limbs and claw like hands. It wore a large skirt like fabric that appeared to have a greenish tint.

The creature stood tall underneath an Oak tree. Within seconds, the entity emitted a high-pitched shrill and began hovering, or gliding towards the frightened and confused locals. With that, they all took off in a panicked frenzy and ran for cover to the May’s home.

Hours after the encounter with the strange creature in the woods, the boys would become ill, complaining of nose, eyes, and throat irritation as well as nausea and vomiting. Effects of the malodorous mist perhaps.

It has been 6 decades and we still have no reliable explanation as to what really happened that 12th of September in 1952 in the small town of Flatwoods, Virginia. Skeptics theorized that a meteor and a barn owl are the most likely explanations to the locals having seen a “fire ball” and a 10-foot entity in the woods nearby. A plausible, but highly fallible theory. For one, I would think that anyone would know the difference between an owl, no matter what size, and a humanoid entity.

We might never know what happened that night in Flatwoods. One thing is for certain, no one has ever reported anything like that creature that lurked in the Flatwoods.