The Flatwoods Monster

On the evening of September 12, 1952, a group of Flatwoods residents climbed a hill to investigate a bright object they’d seen land. What they encountered at the top - a towering creature with a blood-red face, glowing eyes, and a dark hood - sent them fleeing in terror. The Flatwoods Monster became one of the most famous creature encounters of the UFO era.

The Sighting

The Beginning

At approximately 7:15 PM:

• Brothers Edward (13) and Fred May (12) were playing outside
• They saw a bright object streak across the sky
• It appeared to land on a nearby hilltop
• They ran to get their mother, Kathleen May

The Group Assembles

Kathleen May gathered:

• Her two sons
• Neil Nunley (14)
• Ronnie Shaver (10)
• Tommy Hyer (10)
• National Guardsman Eugene Lemon (17)
• Lemon’s dog

The Climb

The group headed up the hill:

• Lemon led with a flashlight
• The dog ran ahead
• A strange mist and pungent odor surrounded them
• The dog began barking frantically
• It ran back past the group in terror

The Encounter

What They Saw

At the hilltop, Lemon’s flashlight revealed:

• A large pulsing ball of fire (the craft)
• A tall figure nearby
• The creature was approximately 10 feet tall
• It had a round, blood-red face
• Large, orange-glowing eyes
• A dark, pointed hood or head shaped like an ace of spades
• A dark body that appeared to float above the ground
• Claw-like hands

The Creature’s Action

The monster:

• Made a hissing sound
• Began gliding toward the group
• Emitted a foul, metallic odor
• Caused immediate physical symptoms in witnesses

The Flight

The group fled:

• Running down the hill in panic
• Lemon reportedly vomited from the smell
• They reached Kathleen May’s home
• They called the sheriff
• Several were shaking uncontrollably

Physical Effects

Immediate Symptoms

Witnesses experienced:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Throat irritation
• Convulsions (in Lemon’s case)
• Swelling of the throat
• The symptoms lasted for hours

Lingering Effects

In following days:

• Some had throat problems for weeks
• The dog died within days
• Lemon was hospitalized
• Kathleen May experienced nose and throat issues

The Site

Investigation of the hilltop revealed:

• A large area of flattened grass
• An oily residue
• A lingering chemical smell
• Skid marks in the earth

Investigation

Sheriff Robert Carr

The local sheriff:

• Responded to the call
• Visited the site that night
• Detected a strange odor
• Found the flattened grass
• Took the reports seriously

A. Lee Stewart Jr.

A local newspaper reporter:

• Interviewed witnesses immediately
• Found them genuinely terrified
• Published the story in the Braxton Democrat
• Noted their consistent accounts

The Air Force

Project Blue Book:

• Investigated the sighting
• Attributed it to a meteor and a barn owl
• Dismissed the creature sighting
• Critics found this explanation inadequate

The Creature

Physical Description

Witnesses consistently described:

• Height: 10-12 feet
• Red, circular face
• Large, glowing orange eyes
• Spade or heart-shaped head/hood
• Dark green or black body
• Appeared to be wearing a dress or robe
• No visible legs (floating movement)
• Small, claw-like hands
• Metallic sheen to parts of the body

Movement

The creature:

• Did not walk
• Floated or glided
• Moved silently except for hissing
• Approached the group before they fled

The Smell

Described variously as:

• Sulfurous or metallic
• “Like burning metal”
• Choking and nauseating
• Unlike anything they’d encountered
• Lingered at the site

Other Sightings

Same Night

Other reports from September 12:

• Multiple people saw the bright object in the sky
• A couple in nearby Frametown saw a similar creature
• They experienced the same symptoms

Following Days

Additional reports:

• A woman in Sutton reported a similar figure
• Strange lights were seen in the area
• Unusual aircraft activity was reported

The Pattern

The Flatwoods area became:

• A hotspot for UFO reports
• Associated with strange creatures
• Part of a wider wave of sightings in 1952

Explanations

Meteor and Barn Owl

The Official Theory

• A meteor was seen that night (confirmed)
• The creature was a barn owl in a tree
• Fear exaggerated its appearance
• The mist was natural fog

Problems

• Barn owls are 15-20 inches tall, not 10 feet
• Multiple witnesses saw the same thing
• The physical symptoms were real
• The flattened grass and residue were unexplained

Hoax

The Theory

• The witnesses fabricated or exaggerated
• Small-town attention-seeking
• The story grew in the telling

Problems

• Physical evidence was found
• Witnesses experienced real symptoms
• Their terror was documented
• The accounts remained consistent for decades

Genuine Encounter

The Theory

• Something unknown landed and was encountered
• A being associated with the craft
• Possibly extraterrestrial
• The creature was exactly what witnesses described

Support

• Multiple witnesses
• Physical evidence
• Physiological effects
• Consistent descriptions

Experimental Craft

The Theory

• A secret military vehicle
• Caused the symptoms
• The “creature” was a suited figure
• Government covered it up

Legacy

Cultural Impact

The Flatwoods Monster became:

• An iconic cryptid/UFO entity
• Known as the “Braxton County Monster” or “Green Monster”
• Subject of documentaries and books
• Part of West Virginia folklore

Flatwoods Today

The town embraces the legend:

• Monster statues and murals
• Annual festival
• Museum dedicated to the sighting
• Tourism industry around the creature

The Witnesses

The original witnesses:

• Maintained their accounts throughout their lives
• Participated in documentaries
• Never wavered from what they saw
• Some have passed away still standing by their story

Analysis

What We Know

• Seven people saw something on that hill
• They experienced real physical symptoms
• Physical evidence was found at the site
• Their terror was genuine and documented
• Something bright was seen in the sky

What Remains Unknown

• What actually landed on the hill
• What the creature was
• Why it was there
• Where it went

The Question

Seven people climbed a West Virginia hill on a September evening in 1952.

They went to investigate a light in the sky.

They found something waiting for them. Something ten feet tall with glowing eyes and a face like blood. Something that floated toward them through noxious mist.

They ran. They got sick. Some never recovered.

The Air Force said it was a meteor and an owl. But owls don’t make people vomit. Owls don’t flatten grass in circles. Owls don’t stand ten feet tall.

Something was on that hilltop in Flatwoods.

Something that shouldn’t have been there.

Something that, seventy years later, we still can’t explain.

The Flatwoods Monster. One of the strangest encounters in American history.

And the seven witnesses never forgot what they saw.