by Alan Caviness
cavinessreport.com
Just as it was getting dark on September 12, 1952, a flaming light was seen crossing the sky into the small community of Flatwoods located in Braxton County, West Virginia. The time was approximately 7:25 pm. Extraordinary reports of an extraterrestrial craft and a strange creature would come from the local town folks, later that evening.
According to investigator and witness testimony over the years:
Twelve-year old Freddie May, his thirteen-year old brother, Edward, and 10-year old friend, Tommy Hyer, stopped playing on the playground at the local elementary school yard and watched as the flaming object slowly streaked across the sky. It appeared to be at low altitude and flying directly over the surrounding hills. The object appeared to slow down, turn, and descend onto a nearby ridge at the G. Bailey Fisher farm not far from the main road that runs parallel to what is now Interstate 79. Tommy Hyer ran with the May brothers to their house where they alerted their mother, Mrs. Kathleen May, to the mystery object's sudden arrival.
Mrs. May accompanied the boys into the oncoming darkness and walked up the hill to the ridge along with other local children, Neil Nunley (14), Ronnie Shaver (10), and Eugene Lemon (17). Eugene's dog also followed them then ran ahead to the top of the ridge. But moments later, the dog came running back with his tail between his legs.
As the party reached the ridge in the early darkness, they noticed a "pulsing ball of light" on or near the ground approximately fifty feet to their right. They also noticed a pungent mist that irritated and burned their noses and throats.
Initial landing site of the mysterious "craft"
Seventeen-year old Eugene Lemon saw two small lights at the base of a large oak tree. Suddenly, a shrill, hissing sound pierced the night and, whatever it was, something began moving across the ground toward the investigating group. Something, perhaps twelve feet tall, with brightly lit red "eyes" came at them then turned toward the red light on the ground not far away. It seemed to be gliding over the ground. Everyone panicked and fled the scene----heading back down the hill to the May home. There was obviously something loose in the woods roaming about----something that had come from an unidentified flying object seen only minutes earlier by several people in and around the area. This object seemed to be a smaller craft, probably an "escape craft" that may have contained an extraterrestrial being.
Wooded area where the "alien" creature was sighted
Mrs. May called Sheriff Robert Carr and Mr. A. Lee Stewart (co-owner of the Braxton Democrat newspaper). Stewart met the group then took 17-year old Eugene Lemon and went to the site on the ridge at the Fisher farm. There, they noticed a sickening, burnt, metallic odor still lingering in the air ("metallic" being like the smell of a burned out vacuum tube in the back of an old-style TV set). Sheriff Carr and a deputy were also searching the general area, independently, at the same time, but reportedly found no evidence, themselves, that night.
Early the next morning, Mr. Stewart returned to the site taking advantage of daylight. He discovered two lengthy tracks on the ground and traces of a thick, black liquid on tree leaves and on the ground. He interviewed, one by one, each of the witnesses.
Several of the group had become ill—Eugene Lemon suffering the worst. In addition to the nose and throat irritations, Eugene experienced vomiting and convulsions. Throat difficulties lasted for weeks.
In the next few weeks, the Flatwoods incident would find its niche in ufology and remained rather obscure for many years. Skeptics worked to place the incident into folklore further complicating matters. But, one day, a few decades later, a man went to the Flatwoods area just to visit a relative. But, during the visit, he learned about the story for his first time. He became intrigued enough to take it upon himself to investigate and talk with some of the local folks. He also did a lot of digging into old newspaper accounts. The more he learned, the less it sounded like local folklore. Something unusual and very odd had definitely happened that night in 1952. Not all of the findings from investigators made sense to the man.
Local resident Destin examines remains of mysteriously charred tree
I met Frank Feschino in 2008 and had an opportunity to chat with him for a good part of the afternoon at the annual "Mothman Festival"----which commemorates another strange UFO-related event that had been reported in another West Virginia town in 1967. While the so-called "Mothman" case was certainly intriguing, I was delighted to find that someone had thoroughly investigated the Flatwoods case, once and for all, and I was astonished to find out from Frank that there was much more to the story than anyone had ever known or could have ever anticipated. Mr. Feschino's exploration of the Flatwoods case went much further than any previous investigation.
Flatwoods Investigator Frank Feschino with Alan Caviness at "Mothman Festival"
For the past year or two before I met Frank, I had been thinking more and more about the Flatwoods mystery, myself. My travels would sometimes take me right by the Flatwoods, West Virginia exit on Interstate 79. I had heard about the case many times but had not seen much information elaborating on what all had happened there in 1952. I remembered an image of an alien creature associated with the event that looked a bit on the sci-fi side. Though uncertain, I was beginning to think that maybe this would be a case worth looking into—despite it having happened a long time ago.
On one occasion in my travels, in 2007, I finally took the Flatwoods exit on Interstate #79 and decided to see what I could find out, if anything, in the short time I had to look around. I happened to pick the right restaurant and the right waitress to ask----if she knew anyone who had seen the famous "Flatwoods Monster" or the UFO that supposedly landed back in 1952.
Next exit Flatwoods, West Virginia
Within minutes, literally, I was able to track down a gentleman, a Mr. Lloyd, who personally knew the people directly involved in the incident and had also personally seen the unidentified flaming object fly over the community and come to rest at the top of a nearby ridge. The gentleman was now at retirement age and had been a child when the event occurred. I was able to talk with him for a short while. The landing site area was within walking distance from where we stood.
It was roughly a year later that I found myself hoping to rub elbows with other UFO investigators at the Mothman Festival located in Point Pleasant, West Virginia where a 1967 event had been reported to also involve a strange creature and local UFO activity. This town was known for the famous "Mothman" creature in which a book had been written and a movie had been made (The Mothman Prophesies). From late 1966 to late 1967, many people in the region had reported a strange flying creature with wings. Also included in the mysterious events surrounding the Mothman sightings were mysterious people (men in black) from unknown origins and a considerable amount of UFO activity during that year. Even more strange, the activity appeared to culminate with a major disaster that hit the town of Pt. Pleasant just before Christmas of 1967 in which a bridge collapsed and almost 50 people lost their lives.
Mothman sculpture featured at Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Strangely, the very researcher at the Mothman Festival I would have chosen for my number one pick to have discussions with that day was actually present----and, as far as I could tell, was the only UFO/Alien researcher there… And, I found myself getting a chance to finally learn about the Flatwoods Incident of 1952 from the one person who could tell me the most. Frank Feschino had recently published a definitive book on the Flatwoods, West Virginia case, and I was able to obtain a copy from him and hear him lecture to a crowd at the festival. I had just heard of Frank Feschino and his new book on the Flatwoods case a short time earlier but did not understand the title of the book. It did not seem to relate to anything concerning the actual Flatwoods encounter. What I did not realize at the time was that the title included some of the most important aspects concerning the Flatwoods event that had happened so many years earlier. While in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Mothman researcher, Jeff Wamsley, introduced me to Frank.
In his book "Shoot Them Down: The Flying Saucer Air Wars of 1952", Frank Feschino unmercifully demonstrated his ability to collect tons of facts----that revealed a convoluted account of what all happened to cause the Flatwoods Incident. This incident was far from a simple event. Frank had spent over a decade-and-a-half collecting evidence. What he had uncovered was shocking. While researching for his book, he was able to get the attention of the well-known ufologist, Stanton Friedman, who realized what Frank was uncovering. Mr. Friedman graciously offered to help Frank dig even deeper. In the end, a powerful reconstruction of events was created.
Early on, Frank Feschino found himself stunned at the content of the interviews he held with some of the original witnesses to the incident of 1952. One interview led to another and some interviews had led him to dig into archived records from many sources. Before long, he had collected enough information to show that the Flatwoods Incident, mired in folklore and obscurity for so many years, had in actuality been but a single part of a complicated set of events that tied in with the huge amount of UFO activity that had been reported in and around The United States during the year of 1952.
Most UFO researchers are aware of the year 1952 as being one of the most active years in the history of UFO activity. The Air Force's official Project BLUE BOOK study of UFOs accumulated the most reports during that year. (My own grandmother told me back in the mid-1960's of a UFO sighting she had in July of 1952.) Researcher Frank Feschino uncovered a heavy military role in the Flatwoods situation that had been withheld from the public the entire time. Stanton Friedman assisted Mr. Feschino in obtaining Freedom of Information requests from government archives.
Frank had studied early investigations into the Flatwoods incident carried out by Dr. Joseph Nickell, a representative of the science community, who had decided that the entire matter consisted of nothing more than a bright meteor accompanied by an infectious hysteria generated by ignorant people with wild imaginations. The only problem is that this had not been an isolated incident. Many other related situations involving strange aerial vehicles had occurred that day----both near and far and very similar in nature. As a matter of documented fact, September 12th, 1952 was not the only day of strange events, and Frank Feschino decided that these other events occurring in various locations on a variety of dates needed to be tied together, if possible, in hopes of better explaining the nature of the Flatwoods event in West Virginia.
Like a typical member of the scientific community back then (as well as today), Dr. Nickell felt content to leave the matter with a "meteor" explanation. This, in spite of the fact that witnesses in Flatwoods had reported seeing the aerial object slow down and make a turn before setting down on the ridge----and the fact that no evidence of a meteor impact was ever found. Nickell never went up to the hill and never interviewed any of the key witnesses. The government eventually claimed they agreed with the explanations of Nickell and other skeptics. But, no skeptical investigators had conducted a thorough investigation of the Flatwoods event.
Pioneer paranormal researchers, Gray Barker, Donald Keyhoe and Ivan T. Sanderson also investigated the Flatwoods event shortly after it happened. Barker lived just a few miles away from the Flatwoods landing site and, like Sanderson, began investigating the matter only a few days after the incident. They both investigated----together and independently----and later determined that an unidentified flying object and a possible occupant had been seen that night in Flatwoods. And, that there were many reports of aerial phenomena across the eastern part of the nation on September 12th, 1952.
Dr. Ivan T. Sanderson, was a great world collector of animals, a writer and a holder of degrees in the fields of zoology, botany and geology. Later, he founded The Society For The Investigation Of The Unexplained. A world class explorer and major contributor to the world's knowledge of various types of life on the planet, Sanderson had eventually come to also study the most unusual types of life forms as well as the rumored ones. He became fascinated with creatures the science community refused to acknowledge and investigated such matters as the Flatwoods Incident. He wrote in his 1967 book, Uninvited Visitors, conclusions regarding the Flatwoods case contradicting the conclusions of Dr. Nickell. Sanderson also claimed that the Flatwoods object's flight path that night could be traced back to Baltimore, Maryland and that other flying objects had been involved, as well, that night.
Donald Keyhoe wrote of the Flatwoods event in his 1953 book, "Flying Saucers From Outer Space". Keyhoe was an aviator and considered to be a leader in UFO research in the 1950's and 1960's. After his investigation, he could not agree with any skeptic explanations regarding the Flatwoods case. An early pioneer investigator, he advocated that the government should investigate UFO phenomena more seriously.
Gray Barker was a native of Riffle, West Virginia, a community only five miles west of Flatwoods. He summarized the event in Fate Magazine, January 12-17, 1953 and began writing magazine articles, afterwards, about unidentified flying objects for various outlets. In 1956, he published the book, "They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers", after determining that the government was intentionally trying to keep UFO information from the public, suppress witnesses and keep the public thinking it was all wild fantasy. Gray Barker devoted two chapters to the Flatwoods event. Later, he also wrote about the 1967 "Mothman" case centering on Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia, 80 miles to the west of Flatwoods.
The military was not ignoring the fact that many people were reporting strange aerial objects in skies around the world. The United States Air Force's main mission was to keep the skies safe and secure for the American people. If unknown objects were roaming freely in America's skies, then the USAF could not claim it was doing its job. World War II was over but the Cold War was in full swing and paranoia was in the air. The military had not ignored the Flatwoods case. Unknown to many people for years, military soldiers were all over the ridge in Flatwoods during the night of September 12th, 1952----after everyone else had gone home for the night.
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