In 1952 five children were playing football in a small town called Flatwoods, WV when a strange object appeared above them. Streaking across the sky, they watched it crest a nearby hill, slowly and then descend just over the top of the ridge. What followed after their sighting has become one of the most infamous local legends ever recorded. That night, seven area residents encountered a hovering, mechanical monstrosity that was described by area newspapers as “glowing” “Frankenstein-like” and breathing fire.

 

The event helped shepherd in the 50s obsession with flying saucers and alien lifeforms and the “Green Monster” (one of three names given to the creature) has become a pop-culture figure in the decades to follow. In the years since their brush with the “Flatwoods Monster”, witnesses have seen their story evolve from a terrifying, true-life event to little more than a fable. Now, two of the original witnesses will set the record straight on just what it was they saw that warm, September evening in The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear.

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The Flatwoods Monster, also known as the Braxton County Monster, the Phantom of Flatwoods, or simply the Green Monster was a frightening tale that would be told time and again by those who witnessed the event, and friends and neighbors would speak of it in whispers. The story would live on, passed down through the generations, and become part of the oral folklore that is so unique to our mountain culture and heritage like the Rosewell UFO crash incident. 

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Although the Monster has never reappeared, Flatwoods celebrated its 50th anniversary with a community festival in 2002. An annual convention is now held in Flatwoods. Over the years the Flatwoods Monster has developed a sizable following, taking its place alongside Mothman, Batboy, and other West Virginia legends of the bizarre. A museum dedicated to the subject is now located on the Main Street of Sutton.