Nickell’s report includes the detail that when the creature approached, Lemon, “responded by screaming and dropping his flashlight,” at which point everyone fled. The creature hissed and glided quickly toward the witnesses, the group then turned and fled in terror. A strange, sickening mist hung in the air. The creature’s hands were twisted and clawed, and what seemed to be its eyes glowed an eerie orange color. Lemon shined his flashlight up the hill, and the group witnessed a terrifying sight-a ten-foot-tall creature, with a head shaped like a spade and what appeared to be a dark, metal “dress”. Upon reaching the site of the crash, the group saw a pulsing red light. Here’s how Braxton County described the scene that unfolded at what has since often been described by the legend’s true believers as a UFO crash site: The May brothers’ mother, Kathleen May, accompanied them on the excursion, calling on 17-year-old Eugene Lemon to assist, bringing with them the May family dog, Richie. They decided to investigate what they saw, stopping along the way at the May brothers’ home. The group of boys was comprised of brothers Edward and Freddie May, Neil Nunley, and Tommy Hyer. Local children who were playing on the field of Flatwoods Elementary School saw a bright light streaking across the sky, which then appeared to crash into a hillside farm. 12, 1952, at about 7:15 p.m., which was just before dark. The story began in the hills of central West Virginia, on the evening of Sept. The Flatwoods Monster is an alleged ET or cryptid that was sighted in the town of Flatwoods, West Virginia on September 12, 1952.īut after visiting the site and interviewing original witnesses, Nickell came to the conclusion that what had petrified people was not an extraterrestrial or cryptid, but a female barn owl protecting her chicks, and the light in the sky wasn’t a UFO, but a meteor. The creature, they believed, came from a UFO that had crashed nearby. The creature has become known in popular culture as the Flatwoods Monster, described by those who saw it as an ominous, towering apparition with glowing eyes, claws, and a terrible, high-pitched, hissing squeal. Years earlier, another such “monster” story had its origins in Flatwoods, a small town in West Virginia’s Braxton County. Mothman originated in Point Pleasant in 1966. In 2000, Nickell conducted an on-the-ground investigation of another similar cryptid legend. Nickell has also identified another famous West Virginia monster, Mothman, as likely being a barred owl. He’s also the author of dozens of books on his various investigations, and was a key figure in disproving the otherworldly properties in such high profile cases as, for example, the Shroud of Turin and the “ miraculous” spiral staircase at Loretto Chapel in New Mexico. A PhD in English focusing on literary investigation and folklore, he worked as both a magician and a detective for the private detective firm Pinkerton. Nickell has a long, storied history as a career skeptic. “They have owls,” he said flatly in a phone interview with Snopes. Joe Nickell, a long-time paranormal investigator and senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, said there’s a good reason for that. West Virginia has the distinction of being home to several famous cryptids, a term that refers to strange animals that are alleged to exist without any evidence (think Bigfoot).