The Flatwoods Monster

On the evening of September 12, 1952, a UFO was reported to have crashed in the forest by some people living in Flatwoods, a small town in Braxton County, West Virginia. The occurrence was initially sighted by a group of three boys, who witnessed a bright light crossing the sky before supposedly coming to rest upon the property of a local farmer. After relaying the sight to several others, including the mother of two of the boys and her National Guardsman cousin Eugene Lemon, the group set off to investigate, eventually reaching the top of a hill roughly a quarter of a mile away.

Upon aiming his flashlight at a blinking red light ahead of them, Lemon caught a glimpse of a strange creature underneath an oak tree. It was tall and reptilian-like, possessing a spade-shaped head, stubby arms, claw-like fingers, and reflective eyes. The creature made a shrill hissing noise and glided towards them, causing the group to flee. When giving their later accounts of the experience, the witnesses said they had smelt a foul mist which had caused some to experience symptoms of illness, such as nausea.

A subsequent investigation by law enforcement found no evidence of the encounter, although a reporter who visited the site the next day claimed to have discovered marks in the ground and traces of a thick liquid substance. Despite claiming these findings as the potential remnants of an alien spacecraft landing, it is moreso believed that the tracks were left by the driver of a pickup truck, who was also investigating the area.

The incident attracted a fair amount of attention from within the United States, with reports of the encounter being carried across state lines, drawing in many related phone calls as well as UFO writers. One account detailed a similar event having occurred a week prior involving a woman and her adult daughter, the latter of which was said to have been hospitalised for weeks due to her exposure to the noxious gas. The day after the Flatwoods sighting, a similar event took place nearby Frametown, roughly 16 miles from the initial site. A couple was driving with their infant down an empty road when the car came to a stop and a burnt odor suddenly appeared. This was followed by a purple light emerging from the woods around them and the arrival of a tall, reptilian humanoid encased in a cone of metal. The being approached the family in their vehicle before leaving, at which point the car was able to start again.

Logical explanations relevant to the Flatwoods Monster conclude that the initial bright light and alleged spaceship landing were caused by a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere. The creature's unorthodox appearance is most commonly attributed to that of a barn owl, with the exaggerated features thought to be a result of the heightened sense of fear experienced by the witnesses.

The cryptid has experienced a fairly large cultural footprint. A Flatwoods welcome sign, replicated in Fallout 76, reads that it is the "home of the green monster", with a Flatwoods Monster Convention having been held yearly since 2019. Five public wooden chairs bearing the visage of the creature were also built around the Braxton County area as a commemorative tourist attraction, while the nearby town of Sutton is host to a Flatwoods Monster Museum. Additionally, the creature found an audience in Japan through its appearances in manga produced in the '60s and '70s, with contemporary appearances in videogames such as Tomodachi Life and Majora's Mask.