On the evening of September 12, 1952, a small town in West Virginia was thrust into the national spotlight after a group of locals claimed to witness a terrifying creature descending from the skies. Flatwoods is a quiet town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Braxton County, West Virginia in the town of Sutton which is the capital of Braxton County. In the early 1950s, it was a close-knit, rural community with little reason to expect anything out of the ordinary—until the night of September 12. Known today as the Flatwoods Monster or the Braxton County Monster, this mysterious being has since become a fixture in American UFO lore and Appalachian folklore. The events that unfolded in the small community of Flatwoods, West Virginia, remain one of the most puzzling and eerie tales in the annals of alleged extraterrestrial encounters
At approximately 7:15 p.m., two brothers, Edward (13) and Fred May (12), along with their friend Tommy Hyer (10), witnessed a bright object streak across the sky and land on a nearby hill that was part of a farm owned by local farmer G.Bailey Fisher. Alarmed and curious, the boys ran to the home of Kathleen May, the brothers’ mother, to report the strange occurrence. Mrs. May quickly assembled a group to investigate, including the boys, a local National Guardsman named Eugene Lemon, and two other children: Neil Nunley and Ronnie Shaver.
Armed with a flashlight, the group ascended the hill where the object was said to have landed. As they climbed, they noticed a pungent, metallic odor in the air and saw a pulsating red light in the distance. Their family dog,named “Richie”, reportedly agitated, ran ahead and soon came back whimpering.
As they neared the light, the group claimed to see a towering figure, standing roughly 10 to 12 feet tall. The creature appeared to be hovering slightly above the ground. Descriptions varied, but the consistent elements included: A spade-shaped head or hood, reminiscent of an ace of spades. A round, red “face” with glowing eyes. A metallic body with vertical pleats or folds, possibly robotic. Clawed or mechanical arms extended in front of it. A mist or noxious odor that made several witnesses ill. Terrified, the group fled back down the hill. Lemon reportedly fainted, and others vomited later that night, claiming it was due to the creature’s strange gas or presence.
The local newspaper, The Braxton Democrat, quickly picked up the story, and within days, national news outlets were reporting on the bizarre sighting. Headlines across the country referred to the encounter as evidence of a possible alien visitation.
The U.S. Air Force investigated the case as part of Project Blue Book, the government’s official UFO research program at the time. Their conclusion was skeptical: The bright light was explained as a meteor. On the night of September 2,1952, a very bright meter was observed in three states: Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The red pulsing light on the hill may have been an aircraft navigation beacon. There were flashing red light beacons from aircrafts that were from the area of the sightings, possibly lighting certain parts of the landscape below in red light.. The creature sighting was dismissed as a misidentified barn owl, perched in a tree with shadows; with the foliage and lighting conditions creating an optical illusion that made it appear monstrous and extremely large in size. Panic set in when the huge figure “with a red face” and “eyes that glowed orange” which “made a hissing sound” and “glided toward the group”. The noxious smell was attributed to grass and soil disturbed by the witnesses or possibly to hysteria. Despite these explanations, many locals and UFO researchers were unconvinced. The physiological effects experienced by some of the witnesses—nausea, throat irritation, and psychological trauma—were not so easily dismissed. The witnesses experienced throat irritation, vomiting, nausea that persisted for days. Some other researchers believe the toxic gas could have been gas that was seeping out of abandoned coal mines that were right in the area or possibly even from marsh gas, which is known as swamp gas or bog gas. This gas is a mixture of methane and smaller amounts of hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and trace phosophine, and produced naturally in certain types of marshes, swamps, and bogs.
Over the decades, several theories have been proposed to explain the Flatwoods Monster: Extraterrestrial Visitor: Proponents of this theory suggest the creature was an alien entity whose craft crash-landed or made a brief stop in the hills of Flatwoods. Robotic Scout: Given its seemingly mechanical nature, some believe the monster was a robotic probe sent by an alien intelligence. But no proof of a spacecraft there was ever found. And no proof of an extraterrestrial there was ever found. Mass Hysteria and Misidentification: Skeptics argue the entire event was a classic case of mass hysteria, triggered by a meteor sighting and fueled by fear and imagination. Cryptid: Others have speculated that the monster is a previously unknown creature native to the Appalachian wilderness, although this is a minority view, and no type of proof was ever offered.
Despite the controversy surrounding the incident, the Flatwoods Monster has become a local and national legend: A museum and festival in Flatwoods celebrate the creature. The museum displays include unique collections and artifacts, historic items, memorabilia books, et cetera. Museum souvenirs for sale include such monster imaged items as shirts, stickers, shot glasses, and lanterns. The museum admission is free of charge. The festival includes world renowned speakers, remote broadcasting podcasters, amazing vendors, costume contests, and other things. The monster has appeared in video games, such as Fallout 76, and “Everybody’s Golf 4” and in various TV documentaries and books. Local businesses sell memorabilia, and the town has erected welcome signs featuring the creature’s distinctive silhouette. The Braxton County and Visitor’s Bureau constructed a group of five tall chairs resembling the monster to welcome visitors near the townhall and to serve as landmarks and visitor attractions. The Visitor’s Center rewards visitors who photographs all 5 chairs with “Free Braxie” Stickers. The Flatwoods Monster Museum and the Braxton County Visitors Bureau (Center) are physically interconnected and act together as a unit. The Visitor’s Center has area brochures and travel information for tourism.
Whether an alien visitor, a misunderstood owl, or something stranger still, the Flatwoods Monster remains one of America’s most intriguing unexplained phenomena. Over 70 years later, the mystery endures—fueled by the sincerity of the witnesses, the strange physical symptoms, and the eerie atmosphere of that fateful night in 1952. In the annals of UFO and cryptid lore, the Flatwoods Monster of West Virginia stands tall—both literally and figuratively—as a chilling reminder that sometimes, the truth really is stranger than fiction.
