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Flatwoods Monster

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Painted illustration: tall figure with a glowing round face under a spade-shaped hood in a dark West Virginia field with mist
AI rendition based on witness descriptions, not an actual photo.
A Flatwoods Monster chair outside the town hall in Flatwoods, West Virginia, near where the 1952 sighting was reported.
A Flatwoods Monster chair outside the town hall in Flatwoods, West Virginia, near where the 1952 sighting was reported · Don Woods · CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons) · Image source · License

A tall figure with a glowing face and spade-shaped hood, seen after a bright light crossed the sky.

Explained Verdict: Most likely a meteor followed by a startled barn owl in the dark.

Region
North America · US East & Midwest · United States
First reports
12 September 1952, Flatwoods, West Virginia

Key sightings

Best evidence

Witness accounts; investigator Joe Nickell argued the light was a meteor and the figure a barn owl.

Sources