User:Panyd/Flatwoods

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Flatwoods Monster

Artist's impression of the Flatwoods Monster
Similar entities	Mothman
Folklore	Urban legend
First attested	September 12, 1952
Other name(s)	Braxton County Monster Phantom of Flatwoods
Country	USA
Region	West Virginia

Incident

At approximately 7:15pm on the 12th of September, 1952, a group of children saw as UFO cross the sky above them. It appeared to land over the hill they were playing on, by Bailey Fisher farm. They ran to the home of Kathleen May, who came out to investigate the incident. May, four teenagers, and two ten year olds, were the only witnesses to the following incident.

According to interviews with the witnesses, as they approached the landing site, they saw a pulsing red light in the distance. One child saw shining, animal-like eyes, and shone a flashlight towards them. Witnesses described seeing a monster, which glided towards them, causing them to flee after only looking at the creature for 1-2 seconds. They later reported that there had been a pungent mist in the area, and that some of the group had felt nauseous after their encounter.

Flatwood Monster's Appearance

Witnesses described seeing a towering "man-like" figure with a round, wed "face" surrounded by a "pointed, hook-like shape". The creature's body was reportedly colorless, or green, and May reported that the body had folds.

The create then let out a hiss and glided towards the group, which caused them to flee.

Investigations

The initial incident was the subject of numerous contemporary investigations. Donald Keyhoe noted the the Air Force sent two men in civilian clothes to interview locals. Grey Barker, from Fate magazine, tape-recorded the accounts of all witnesses soon after the events. Ivan T Sanderson also wrote about the events contemporaneously.

Many later investigations created conflicting reports. In his write-up for the Skeptical Enquirer, Joe Nickell criticizes two writers for incorrectly recalling events.

Conventional explanations

The UFO investigators who came to the scene soon after the event found many other witnesses who could corroborate the original UFO sighting. However, residents told subsequent investigators that they were aware even at the time that it was a meteor. Donald Keyhoe reported that the Air Force had sent two men to investigate the incident and they had reached the same conclusion. The pulsing light described by witnesses closely matches the description of a plane beacon, of which there were three in the area.

A local reporter also claimed to have discovered signs of a craft having landed on a field near the road, noting that there were skid marks and a gummy deposit (later re-described as 'oily'). A local man later claimed these were a result of him driving to the site in his 1942 Chevrolet pickup the night before.

The noxious odor was attributed to a local variant of grass, and the nausea experienced by the children is now thought to have been psychosomatic.

Both the Air Force and Skeptical Inquirer came to the conclusion that the monster itself was likely a barn owl based on the initial description of the witnesses.