The Flatwoods Monster

The Flatwoods Monster, also known as the Braxton County Monster or the Phantom of Flatwoods, is an alleged unidentified extraterrestrial or cryptid reported to have been first sighted in the town of Flatwoods in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States on September 12, 1952.

About 7:15 p.m. on that day, some youngsters were playing football on the school playground. Suddenly they saw a fiery UFO streak across the sky and, apparently, land on a hilltop of the nearby Bailey Fisher farm. The youths ran to the home of Mrs. Kathleen May, who provided a flashlight and accompanied them up the hill. In addition to Mrs. May, a local beautician, the group included her two sons, Eddie 13, and Freddie 14, Neil Nunley 14, Gene Lemon 17, and Tommy Hyer and Ronnie Shaver, both 10, along with Lemon’s dog. 

There are a myriad of often contradictory versions of what happened next, but UFO writer Gray Barker was soon on the scene and wrote an account for Fate magazine based on tape-recorded interviews. He found that the least emotional account was provided by Neil Nunley, one of two youths who were in the lead as the group hastened to the crest of the hill. 

Some distance ahead was a pulsing red light. Then, suddenly, Gene Lemon saw a pair of shining, animal-like eyes, and aimed the flashlight in their direction. The light revealed a towering “man-like” figure with a round, red “face” surrounded by a “pointed, hood-like shape.” The body was dark and seemingly colourless, but some would later say it was green, and Mrs. May reported drape-like folds. The monster was observed only momentarily, as suddenly it emitted a hissing sound and glided toward the group. Lemon responded by screaming and dropping his flashlight, whereupon everyone fled.

Various descriptions of the entity exist. Most agree that it was at least 7 feet (2.1 m) tall and that it had a black face which appeared to glow from within, and a black body. Witnesses described the creature’s head as elongated, non-human eyes and as either being shaped like a sideways diamond, or as having a large circle shaped cowling behind it. The creature’s body was described as being inhumanly-shaped and clad in a dark pleated exoskeleton; later being described as a shadow. Some accounts record that the creature appeared to have “no visible arms” due to its incredible speed. Others describe it as having long, stringy arms ending in long, claw-like fingers, which protruded from the front of its body.