THE 59TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FLATWOODS MONSTER

In 1952 a group of 4 boys were playing football near the Flatwoods school in Flatwoods West Virginia when they saw this strange object fall on a hill not far from them.   Being curious they decided to go see what it was.  Along the way they were excited and stopped and told Mrs. Kathleen May what they had seen.  Mrs May, her two sons, and the other 4 boys proceeded to go investigate.  As a child I can relate to this because I was taught if I ever got into trouble to go find an adult, so it doesn't surprise me that the boys went to Mrs. May's house.  Reaching the top of the hill, Mrs. May remarked that, the night was foggy and there was a mist in the evening air."  "The air had a metallic smell which burned our eyes and noses." A dog was reported to have ran ahead of the group only to return with his tail between his legs, frightened by something.  Topping the hill, they could see a "glowing, hissing" object about 10 feet in diameter, about 100 yards away. Now completely dark, the night was shattered by two lights, about a foot apart. One of the boys had a flashlight, and when he turned it on the two distant lights, a creature ten foot tall appeared.." a bright red face, bright green clothing, a head which resembled the ace of spades, and clothing which, from the waist down, hung in great folds".  Suddenly, the creature began to "float" toward them, sending the group running back down the hill to the May house, where they quickly called the Sheriff. The boys also called some of their schoolmates, and when the Sheriff arrived, the scene of the event was full of locals, who had to see the creature for themselves. Reporter A. Lee Stewart, of the "Braxton Democrat," began interviewing witnesses of the unusual event. He would later state that all of the observers were extremely frightened by what they had encountered. Stewart, accompanied by one of Kathleen May's sons, made their way back to where the creature had been spotted. Approaching the sight, Stewart was overwhelmed by an odd smell, but saw nothing unusual. Returning to the exact spot the next morning, Stewart could observe "skid marks" where some object had been.Sheriff Carr believed that the group had actually seen a meteor, or comet come to earth. Reaching the top of the hill, they had seen some local animal's eyes shining through the dark, which they mistook as a monster. This explanation, though plausible, did not explain all of the eyewitness reports. The night of the monster, and the next night brought new revelations of unusual things. A resident of Birch River testified that he had seen a "bright, orange" object circling overhead the Flatwoods area. A woman and her mother stated that they also had seen the tall creature, about eleven miles from the spot of the first sighting. Well known investigator John Keel would make observations from the Flatwood incident also. Keel found one more couple, who had observed the monster, and had also seen unusual objects over the area. The case was also investigated by naturalist Ivan Sanderson, who took soil samples, and eye witness reports. His findings were not made public. The 1952 events of Flatwwoods remained a mystery..... until a man by the name of Frank Feschino happened to take an interest in the case some 19 years ago.  Who would do that, dedicate this many years to studying this one case that had disappeared into history?  Why?  And why was this not a big story?  At the time it was, it was one of the top 10 stories in the world in that year.  How can this be, I never heard of it?  Over his many years of research and speaking with many eyewitnesses, some have passed on now, Frank was able to piece it all together.  Not only what happened in Braxton County West Virginia that night, but what had happened across the whole state and other parts of the country.  Thousands would witness the event, yet according to our military and government it was nothing more than a meteor.  Really?  Fortunately Frank was able to talk to some in the military who claimed otherwise....this is a story that needs to be told and remembered. for more info go to www.flatwoodsmonster.com