The Vegetable Man

West Virginia is a pretty weird place! We’ve got Mothman. We’ve got the Grafton Monster. We’ve got the Flatwoods Monster. We even have Sheepsquatch, the Ogua, and a variety of Bigfoot roaming the hills of our state. But, it terms of weirdness, all these pale in comparison to the story of The Vegetable Man.

Sometimes referred to as the Veggie Man, this absolutely eerie West Virginia creature first appeared in Fortean literature in a 1976 newsletter published by West Virginia’s own controversial ufologist, Gray Barker. However, the encounter with the Vegetable Man actually dates back to nearly a decade before.

In July of 1968, a local bow hunter named Jennings Frederick was roaming the woods outside of Fairmont, WV. The U.S. Air Force veteran was hunting woodchucks, unsuccessfully, and was about to head back, when he heard what was described as “high-pitched jabbering, much like that of a recording running at exaggerated speed.”

Just then, Frederick looked up and saw one of the weirdest creatures to ever have been reported in West Virginia, and possibly, the whole country. He described an extremely tall being, well over 7 feet high. Although it was vaguely humanoid in shape, the creature was extremely thin. It’s coloring was a yellowish-green, which in my mind creates a picture of a chlorophyll-based stalk of celery!

Long ears and yellow, slanted eyes were also noted, but the most horrifying feature of the creature seems to be its arms. The arms, which were no bigger around than a quarter, ended in what appeared to be three long, slender fingers tapering off into suction cups.

Frederick observed that he thought the being looked sickly, which was confirmed with a strange, telepathic message he received as the whirring, high-pitched jabbering increased. “You need not fear me. I wish to communicate. I come as a friend. We know of you all, I come in peace. I wish medical assistance. I need your help.”

Frederick didn’t have the opportunity to make sense of what the creature was trying to convey before it reached out and wrapped it’s ‘hand’ around his arm. The suction cups attached to his arm and begin sucking his blood, sending a jolt of pain up his arm. However, as the blood could be seen seeping up through the creature’s arm and body, where it reached the yellow eyes and began to swirl and oscillate. This hypnotic effect seemed to alleviate Frederick’s pain as it ‘fed’ on his blood for the next two minutes.

When the Vegetable Man had finished its vampiric feeding of poor Frederick, it sprinted up a steep embankment and disappeared at a supernatural speed, leaving Frederick’s arm in pain and with several small wounds where the creature had suckled. Before fleeing the scene himself, Frederick heard what he interpreted as the creature’s craft being propelled by a propulsion system.

No one ever saw the Vegetable Man again, and it is understandable why Frederick would wait so long before telling his unbelievably weird story of what seems like a close encounter with an extremely odd creature from another planet.

As an interesting side note, I can confirm that a Jennings Frederick and a Jennings Frederick, Jr. did live in Fairmont, WV. Jennings Frederick, Jr., who went by Skip, did serve in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War and his obituary interestingly notes that he loved art and science, and was known to be able to draw whatever he saw. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2012 at the age of 62.

Further Reading:

Cryptid Wiki—Veggie Man

Vegetable Man: Cryptopia by Rob Morphy. 11 July 2016