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The Braxton County Monster: A Strange Machine Or A Barn Owl?
In his 1953 book, “Flying Saucers from Outer Space,” pioneer UFO researcher Donald Keyhoe wrote about his January 1953 telephone conversation with Albert Chop, USAF public liaison. The topic of the conversation was the “Braxton County Monster.”
“The group did see two glowing eyes, PROBABLY those of a large owl perched on a limb.”
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“Underbrush below MAY HAVE GIVEN the impression of a giant figure.”
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“In their excitement they IMAGINED the rest.”
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| “Say wha…” |
In Joe Nickell’s investigative article on the Flatwoods case, he writes the following about the Air Force’s explanation and then adds his opinion:
“I believe this generic solution is correct…Several elements in the witnesses descriptions help identify the Flatwoods creature specifically ‘Tyto alba’, the common barn owl, known almost worldwide.”
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“Considering all the characteristics of the described monster, and making allowances for misinterpretations and other distorting factors, we may conclude (adapting an old adage) that if it looks like a barn owl, acted like a barn owl, and hissed, then it most likely was a barn owl,”
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“And so a spooked barn owl in turn spooked the interlopers and a monster was born.”
Now, let us go back to the first article to appear in the WV press, where the witnesses described the so-called “Monster.” This article appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Sunday, Sept. 14, 1952, “Braxton Co. Residents Faint Become Ill After Run-In with 10-Foot Monster.” Information states: .
“They said it had a black shield affair in the shape of an ace of spades behind it and wore what looked lke a pleated metallic shirt (sic) skirt.”
Here, the black shield affair was actually an outer helmet covering the red head, which was actually an inner helmet. The pleated metallic skirt was in reality the lower torso of the figure that was surrounded by thick pipes.
On September 15, 1952, the next article that described the “Monster” appeared in The Charleston Gazette. The article headline read, “Braxton Monster Left Skid Tracks Where He Landed. (Special to the Gazette).”
The source information for this article came from A. Lee Stewart, Jr. who was a photojournalist and co-owner of the “Braxton Democrat” newspaper in Sutton. He was the very first person to talk to and interview all of the eyewitnesses. The article stated the following:
“SUTTON. Sept 14-The phantom of Flatwoods:
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Left tracks from six to eight feet apart. Wore a suit of green armor. Was 10 feet tall, four feet wide. Had a blood-red face. Sported a black, spade-like cowl, which extended a foot or more above its head. It had claw-like ‘toy’ hands too, and orange-green eyes the size of half-dollars, according to Mrs. Kathleen May…’It lit up like a Christmas tree,’ Mrs. May said, with some sort of interior lighting system.”
When I saw the thing it was at least 20 feet tall and it had gold fingers too !