Flatwoods Monster

September 12, 1952 - On this night in rural West Virginia, seven people had a famous encounter with the Flatwoods Monster.

It all started a little after 7PM when three boys (ages 10, 12 and 13) saw a bright red pear-shaped object pulsating in the sky over the town of Flatwoods. The mysterious light floated over a nearby hill and settled down into a clearing on a local farm.

Two of the boys alerted their mother to the strange object they'd seen. She decided to take the kids to see what all the fuss was about. By this time there were 7 people in their group, including a 17-year-old named Gene Lemon who was in the West Virginia National Guard. Lemon brought along his dog.

As they approached the clearing where the boys had seen the object land, the dog darted ahead of the group but quickly came sprinting back with its tail between its legs. A pungent, noxious odor engulfed the group and caused their eyes and noses to burn. That was right about the time a large ball of fire became visible in the clearing.

Shocked and amazed by what he was seeing, Gene Lemon scanned the surrounding area with his flashlight and noticed a pair of red illuminated eyes peering out from under a nearby tree. Upon closer inspection, the eyes belonged to a 10-foot tall monster with a massive head shaped like an ace of spades.

The creature hissed at the group as it floated away from the tree.

Naturally this was enough to completely freak out the group of late-night UFO hunters. They immediately contacted the Sheriff and the editor of the local newspaper. All the witnesses were interviewed and the Sheriff visited the scene to investigate.

Gene Lemon would claim there was still a "sickening, burnt, metallic odor" in the air when he returned to the location, but it's not clear if any physical evidence was collected.

The case remains one of the most celebrated UFO encounters of all time. Skeptics have dismissed the glowing red object as a meteor, and the monster as simply a barn owl perched on a branch.