Flatwoods, VA (1952)
Flatwoods, VA (1952)
The Flatwoods Monster is described to be 10 feet tall, with a head shaped like a spade, wearing what appears to be a large green metal dress. It's described as having glowing orange eyes, and spindly, twisted arms with clawed hands. Also present around the monster was a thick, fog-like mist that induced nausea, throat irritation, and vomiting. These effects are known to linger for multiple days after initial contact. The creature is supposedly able to move extremely quickly, gliding towards targets with a strange hissing sound.
The first sighting of the Flatwoods Monster was in the town of Flatwoods Virginia, when, on September 12, 1952, a group of local youths playing at their school's playground saw a bright light flash past them and land in a nearby hillside on a local farm. The group consisting of Edward May, Freddie May, Neil Nunley, and Tommy Hyer rushed to Edward and Freddie's home, where they told their mom, Kathleen May what they saw. Kathleen called a national guardsman that lived in the town, Eugene Lemon, and the group set out to go investigate. When they arrived to the site of the crash, they saw a pulsing red light. A tall creature stood before them, silhouetted by the eerie glow of the red light. The crew noted a bizarre fog that lingered near the creature, which caused immediate nausea to those present. As Eugene shined his flashlight up at the monster, he met with its glowing gaze. It began to quickly glide towards the crew with a hissing sound. The group dispersed and fled the scene, finding shelter where they could. Thankfully, nobody was injured, killed, or captured by this creature, but all had felt the lingering effects of the strange mist for the next few days. When the group reached safety, one of them contacted the local authorities, who found nothing at the scene of the incident.
Soon after this first sighting, another one was recorded in the town of Heaters, 5 miles away by Audra Harper. Audra was walking with her friend to the local store, and the pair took a shortcut through the woods. They saw an orange glow in the distance, but wrote it off as a neighbor fox hunting. They looked away, and when they looked back, the glow was gone, replaced by a massive silhouette of what looked to be a man with a spade-shaped head. The pair fled, evading the monster.
One more notable sighting was in 1955 from George and Edith Snitowsky. The pair were driving home one night in Strange Creek, a town 20 miles south of Flatwoods. They were driving with their baby in the backseat, and as they were traveling through a rural area, their car suddenly died. The couple tried to restart their car, and while deliberating on what to do, a hazy mist rolled in that smelled of sulfur. From there, a large creature emerged from the woodwork, crossing in front of their vehicle before disappearing into the woods again. After the creature and the bizarre mist were gone, the couple were able to restart the car and drive to safety.
The most conspiratorial explanation is that the group on the night of the original encounter came face to face with a real alien. The eerie pulsating light witnessed by the crew could be from a space ship, and the mysterious fog is noted to have many similarities with mustard gas. This means it could be some sort of a device or defense mechanism from said alien. But, there is also a logical explanation for what could have been witnessed that night, which aligns with a series of coincidences, paired with the heightened anxiety of the original group. The pulsating red light the crew witnessed was likely from a nearby airfield, that was situated near the farm. This would give the eerie glow the crew witnessed and provide the lighting needed for a bizarre silhouette. As for the glowing orange eyes, it's believed that the group encountered a barn owl sitting in a tree. When the flashlight is shined up at the owl, it would reflect back in a yellowish-orange tint. A barn owl would also explain the quick, gliding movements, and spindly arms, especially if the crew startled the owl and it flew towards them. The rest of the shape of the creature is believed to have been the silhouettes of the woodwork and foliage. This also makes sense considering the "dress" of the monster was distinctly described to be green. Because tensions and emotions were high, this has led people to believe that the group had a distorted perception of the night. Being a group of kids, it makes sense, but they also had a member of the national guard with them.
But even with this explanation of the original night, it still leaves a few questions. What about the fog? What about the corroborating stories within 20 miles of the original incident? As for the fog, it could have just been a result of area they were in, and symptoms of hysteria from the group feeding off each other's fear. As for the corroborating stories, I'm not sure.
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