Beingsingular
The Flatwoods Monster
Also known as: Braxton County Monster, The Green Monster, Phantom of Flatwoods
- First known report
- Flatwoods, West Virginia, September 12, 1952 — minutes after a fireball crossed three states, a group including six boys and Kathleen May climbed a hill to find a pulsing red light and the figure.
- Relative frequency
- singular — one night, one place; but iconically permanent (it is on West Virginia license plates and in videogames)
Physical description
A singular apparition: 3 m tall, a spade- or ace-of-spades-shaped cowl around a red-glowing face, a dark metallic green 'dress' or casing, small claw-like hands, gliding motion, hissing sound and a nauseating metallic mist. Seen once, by seven witnesses, for seconds.
Skeptical reading
Joe Nickell's reconstruction is one of skepticism's cleanest wins: the fireball was a documented meteor, the pulsing light an aircraft beacon, and the monster a barn owl perched on a limb — cowl face, claws, gliding launch, hiss — inflated by darkness, mist, and terror. The case remains a masterclass in how a real 90-second perception becomes a permanent legend.
Famous cases
- flatwoods-1952