The Falkville Metallic Being Photographs (1973)

On the night of October 17, 1973 - at the peak of the massive 1973 UFO wave - Police Chief Jeff Greenhaw of Falkville, Alabama responded to a report of a UFO landing. What he encountered was not a craft, but a being in a shiny, metallic suit standing in the road. Greenhaw photographed the entity four times with his Polaroid camera before it fled at extraordinary speed, outrunning his patrol car. The photographs became iconic images of the 1973 wave, though they cost Greenhaw his career and marriage.

The Witness

Jeff Greenhaw

His position:

• Police Chief of Falkville, Alabama
• Small town in Morgan County
• Population approximately 1,000
• Respected law enforcement officer
• No history of hoaxes or mental issues

The Context

The 1973 wave:

• October 17, 1973 - peak of UFO wave
• 7 humanoid encounters reported that single day across US
• National UFO hysteria
• Pascagoula abduction six days earlier
• Media attention intense

The Encounter

The Call

How it began:

• Approximately 10:00 PM
• Greenhaw received call at home
• Woman reported UFO landing
• In field outside Falkville
• Greenhaw responded in patrol car

Initial Search

What happened:

• Drove to reported location
• Searched area
• No UFO visible
• Began driving back
• Then saw something in road

The Being

What Greenhaw observed:

• Figure standing in middle of road
• Approximately 6 feet tall
• Wrapped in shiny metallic material
• Resembled aluminum foil
• Covered entire body including head
• No visible features
• Antenna-like protrusion on head

Immediate Reaction

Greenhaw’s response:

• Stopped patrol car
• Grabbed Polaroid camera (kept for accident documentation)
• Approached figure
• Being did not respond to questions
• Stood motionless initially

The Photographs

Four Images Captured

The documentation:

• Greenhaw took four Polaroid photographs
• Flash illuminated metallic suit
• Being visible in each frame
• Sequential shots over brief period
• Instant development - no manipulation possible

What They Show

The photographs depict:

• Humanoid figure in reflective suit
• Wrinkled or creased metallic material
• Dark visor or face area
• Standing upright
• Road and vegetation visible

The Flight

What happened next:

• Being suddenly turned
• Began running
• Speed described as “faster than any human”
• Greenhaw pursued in patrol car
• Could not keep up at 35+ mph
• Being disappeared into darkness

The Aftermath

Immediate Response

What Greenhaw did:

• Reported encounter
• Submitted photographs
• Filed official report
• Contacted UFO researchers
• Maintained account

Public Reaction

The response:

• Story gained national attention
• Part of massive 1973 wave coverage
• Photographs published widely
• Debate began immediately
• Greenhaw became known figure

Personal Cost

What happened to Greenhaw:

• Faced ridicule
• Lost job as police chief
• Wife divorced him
• Home burned under suspicious circumstances
• Life destroyed by encounter

Analysis

Photograph Examination

What analysis showed:

• Polaroid format prevents darkroom manipulation
• Whatever was photographed was there
• Reflective material visible
• Humanoid form apparent
• Debate focused on what it was, not if it was there

Skeptical Interpretation

What critics suggested:

• Person in costume
• Hoax perpetrated on Greenhaw
• Someone in aluminum foil suit
• Prank during UFO hysteria
• Deliberate deception

Problems with Skepticism

Counterarguments:

• Speed of being’s escape inexplicable
• Greenhaw pursued at 35+ mph
• Could not catch running figure
• No prankster identified
• What was the motive?

Greenhaw’s Position

His consistent stance:

• Maintained account until death
• Never recanted
• Lost everything due to report
• No profit motive
• Genuine fear visible in accounts

The 1973 Wave Context

October 17 Significance

That single day:

• 7 humanoid encounters across United States
• Peak of UFO activity
• Multiple abduction reports
• Nationwide phenomenon
• Something was happening

Regional Activity

The pattern:

• Southeast especially active
• Multiple Alabama sightings
• Mississippi (Pascagoula)
• Tennessee encounters
• Georgia reports

The Photographs Today

Continued Debate

Status of images:

• Still studied by researchers
• Neither proven hoax nor confirmed authentic
• Whatever is shown was photographed
• Identity unknown
• Part of UFO photographic record

Cultural Impact

Their legacy:

• Iconic images of 1973 wave
• Featured in documentaries
• Discussed in UFO literature
• Represent era’s strangeness
• Question remains open

The Question

October 17, 1973. Falkville, Alabama.

Jeff Greenhaw is police chief of a small town. Population one thousand. Everybody knows everybody. He’s a respected man.

The phone rings. Woman says she saw a UFO land outside town.

He drives out. Searches. Finds nothing.

Heading back, something is standing in the road.

Six feet tall. Covered head to toe in shiny metal. Like aluminum foil wrapped around a human form. An antenna on its head. No face visible.

Greenhaw is a cop. He does what cops do. He gets out. He talks to it. It doesn’t respond.

He has his Polaroid. The one he uses for accident scenes. He takes pictures.

Flash. The metallic surface reflects the light.

Flash. The thing stands there.

Flash. Still motionless.

Flash. Four photographs.

Then it runs.

Not like a person runs. Faster. Much faster.

Greenhaw jumps in his car. Floors it. 35 miles per hour. 40.

He can’t catch it.

A running figure, outpacing a patrol car, disappears into the Alabama night.

Greenhaw goes public. He has to. He’s the police chief. He has photographs.

And it destroys him.

He loses his job. His wife leaves. His house burns down.

The price of honesty.

The photographs are still there. Polaroids don’t lie about what the camera saw. Something was standing in that road. Something wearing a metallic suit. Something that ran faster than any human.

What was it?

A prankster in a costume? Running faster than a car?

Something else?

Jeff Greenhaw knew what he saw. He paid for knowing.

The photographs remain.

The metallic being of Falkville.

Four Polaroid frames.

One ruined life.

One unanswered question.