08/16/2026
An article by Dave Spinks on the Flatwoods Monster and my history with it.
The 12-foot-tall occupant of a UFO that landed in the small town of Flatwoods, West Virginia on September 12, 1952 was originally called the "Phantom of Flatwoods" by the West Virginia press. Today, this iconic creature is commonly known throughout the world
and UFO circles as the "Flatwoods Monster," the "Braxton County Monster," the "Green Monster," and "Braxxie," by the locals. These are the names of that huge so-called "monster" that landed in its damaged craft on the isolated mountaintop of a farm in their
town that warm autumn night. Shortly after departing its downed craft, this extraterrestrial occupant encountered and terrified a group of curious local residents who went in search of the downed object on the farm. Thus, we have the "monster" of Flatwoods,
which has become a staple in the West Virginia history books.
What transpired that night just may have been one of the most, if not the most prolific series of UFO sightings and encounters involving extraterrestrial beings and craft ever reported. If the previous statement bares any truth, which modern-day research now reveals it does, we must ask ourselves; why do we not hear more about this close encounter case and why doesn’t it get the attention it deserves? The case itself made worldwide news for a short time and just as if a magician had snapped his fingers, it seemed to magically go away after a brief time in the media spotlight back in 1952. Very Similarly, the famous Roswell, New Mexico crash case of July 1947 also made worldwide news and also faded away after a brief time in the media. One thing is for certain, both of these cases stink to high heaven of a massive Government cover-up. Furthermore, both of these high-profile cases only reappeared several years later after hard-nosed investigators such as nuclear physicist Stanton T. Friedman and researcher Frank Feschino, Jr. shined new light on these cases.
I was born in the town of Gassaway, West Virginia, located in Braxton County, only a few miles from the site of the infamous "Flatwoods Monster" incident of Flatwoods. While growing up, I was privy to many of the stories from my family members who went to the
same school as some of the original eyewitnesses involved in the incident. My grandparents lived just over the county line in Nicholas County, West Virginia and many of mom’s cousins also lived in Braxton County. They attended the same schools as some of the
original eyewitnesses and knew them well, which is the connection my family has to the case. On many a night as a youngster, I can remember family gatherings when all us kids were sent to bed while the adults and my older cousins would play cards and enjoy
adult beverages. I would patiently lie awake in bed and anxiously wait for the topic of the "Flatwoods Monster" to come up during their conversations to listen in. When it did, that’s when I would spring into action as if I was a spy in an episode of the TV
show, "Mission Impossible." I would use every stealth technique that a young boy of my age could muster up and attempt to get as close as possible to the adults so I could get a good listen to them. Luckily for me, most of them would be a few sheets in the
wind by the time the "monster" subject came about and they would reveal their true innermost feelings. I remember hearing them tell how scared they were at school because all the kids were talking about the huge "monster" that frightened Mrs. May and the boys.
Of course, we all know how people could embellish a story and add things that never happened but I still absorbed every detail that they had mentioned and sorted it all out later.
Back in the 1950’s, West Virginia was a very poor state and a lot of families lacked indoor bathroom toilets and still used outhouses. I distinctly remember my mom’s cousins talking about how they would often get their butts whooped when they urinated from
the front porch instead of using the outhouse because they feared the "Flatwoods Monster" would get them. I also remember hearing them talk about walking home from school as kids in broad daylight and being scared to death of getting abducted by the "Braxton
County Monster." These conversations both terrified me and intrigued me greatly but I knew it was all real because my mom’s cousins, my mother and my father would often be there talking about the "monster" as well; and my kin folk didn't lie or tell tall tales.
I often overheard my family when they would confirm the reality of these stories and then talk about how hard of a time, they had trying to convince us kids there was nothing to be afraid of. As I grew older, I forgot about many of those stories over a period
of time. It was not until I saw a newspaper article about a UFO sighting, saw a TV show or a news report on the subject matter that my memory was triggered. That is when my interest in the subject would pique once again. As I grew into my teens, I found myself
much more observant of my surroundings, especially in the skies. While growing up on AirForce bases across the country, I became very familiar with various types of aircraft, both civilian and military. I would often build models of jets our country had in
service at the time or build other jets that had since been retired. Furthermore, there were many times I also saw unexplained things in the sky that I knew had to have been either top secret aircraft or something not of this world.
As my interest in UFOs grew over the years, I always found myself looking for more information on the case that had captivated me since I was a kid, the "Flatwoods Monster" incident. As I delved into the case, I discovered there just wasn’t much information
out there other than the writings of a few researchers and some short stories. Authors Gray Barker, John Keel and Ivan Sanderson had written and talked about the subject in some of their books, however you couldn’t get the information from the government like
you can today through the Freedom of Information Act. Back in the day, you had to have some serious contacts or be on the inside so to speak, but I was a just a naïve kid in those days and didn't know how to further my research. It wasn’t until I served on
active duty in the United States Air Force from 1993 until 2001 that I had some personal experiences and UFO sightings myself. These experiences set me on a course to pursue more information concerning the "Flatwoods Monster" incident once I left the Air Force. During
that time though, I had never taken that deep dive into the "Flatwoods Monster" case. It wasn't until the late 1990’s that I had heard through the grapevine that a guy named Frank Feschino, Jr. had been visiting West Virginia and was writing a book about the
"Braxton County Monster." He was conducting a serious in-depth investigation into the case, was interviewing witnesses and was also working with UFO expert and author Stanton T. Friedman. Subsequently, it was right then and there I decided that once I got
back home from my overseas service, I would start digging into the case to see what more I could find. Additionally, I would also try to contact and meet up with Feschino at some point to talk with him.
Since West Virginia was my home area and I was in love with West Virginia History and Folklore, especially when it comes to Monsters, Hauntings and UFO’s, it was something I had to do. Once I returned home from Europe and was discharged from active duty in 2001, I dove headlong into the history of UFO sightings and encounters in my home state of West Virginia. It was at that time I started to discover the endless amount of very credible sightings reported by both my native West Virginians and visitors alike. The sheer number of UFO sightings I discovered throughout the Mountain State was mindboggling. Not only did they number in the tens of thousands, but many sightings also predated the time when man had not yet invented flying machines. Being such a daunting task, I decided to chronicle the best of my investigations and interviews with others I had already documented on various platforms around the world. It was then I realized after more than 15 years of research and investigations that West Virginia had several prolific UFO events that had made worldwide news. For example, there were almost nightly UFO sightings reported during the same time as the well-known 1967 Mothman reports in and around Point Pleasant, W.V. Then we have the famous 1966 Woody Derenberger close encounter and contactee account and of course, we have the terrifying 1952 "Flatwoods Monster" encounter that took place over a couple of days, not one night as most think. These are but a few of the more significant UFO encounters that have taken place since UFO sightings were first documented in West Virginia, the Mountain State.
Meanwhile, I was also investigating other reports of strange creatures such as Bigfoot and was also investigating hauntings on a regular basis. Of course, during those early years, I tried to make contact with Mr. Feschino, but it never seemed to work out for one reason or another. As it turns out, Frank was traveling across the country, was appearing at many UFO conventions and had a very busy schedule. On one occasion I traveled to a book signing event in Flatwoods where Frank Feschino, Jr. was appearing with Stanton Friedman to promote Frank's book and attempted to meet him. However, the line to their table was very long, I was strapped for time and I had to leave before meeting him. Fast forward may years to 2024. I was finally able to contact Frank through the internet then spoke to him over the phone after obtaining his number. Frank and I hit it off well, we became fast friends and it was like we had known each other all our lives. After several more phone conversations, I was invited to his home in Florida for a visit this past summer. Once there, needless to say we talked at length about the "Flatwoods Monster." In person, I was able to see some of the first-hand research and documents he used during his investigation including his well-known "Master Map" and also saw his artwork that had never been seen by the public to date. It was then that I began to realize the amount of time and work that he had put into this case. It was overwhelming! Literally, this man had spent more than half his life researching and investigating this one case!!! When one sees something like this in person, you suddenly realize that 95 percent of the other information out there on the "Flatwoods Monster" case is either stolen from Frank Feschino, Jr. and Stanton Friedmans research or basically just opinion-based information. Frank explained to me how his original book was edited incorrectly, he had been taken advantage of and was subsequently tied up in copyright litigation for several years until he got his "Braxton County Monster" book rights back. Eventually, the case was settled, all of Frank's book copyrights were returned to him and he ultimately published an updated and revised edition book.
Frank also told me that several people had approached him over the years and wanted to produce a movie based on his "Braxton County Monster" book. Yet, due to the many monetary and copyright conditions contained within those contracts, which were not in Frank's best interest, he was advised by his attorneys to not sign them. There were just too many disagreements between Frank and those parties to come to a contractual agreement. Having dealt with similar situations myself over the years and seeing the enormous amount of information this man has compiled over a lifetime; I knew I had to help Frank to get his due respect. After talking with Frank, he also explained that he took some time out away from the spotlight over the past few years while taking care of his aging parents, who subsequently passed away. Then when Covid hit, everything came to a standstill and after Covid subsided, Frank became very sick and had to take care of his severe health issues. With all of these setbacks challenging Frank, he finally overcame them, he is well now and is back on track again continuing his Flatwoods project.
At this point, by utilizing some of my contacts in the movie world and after making a few calls, Frank is well on his way to having a movie made and things are looking good. In my case, knowing the importance of this story, I feel it's my job to keep the "Flatwoods Monster" incident alive, which seems to have been losing ground over the years during Frank's absence. In the meantime, I created the "Flatwoods Monster" Convention 4 years ago with Ron Lanham and Joe Perdue which is now an annual event. It has been well-attended, well-received and very successful. Since meeting Frank earlier this year, I have helped put him back into the spotlight and pulled him back into the fray. He will be attending the "Flatwoods Monster" event every year until, oh, we'll see, hopefully for many years to come.
