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Mrs. Kathleen May with drawing of apparition that was shown on TV.THE PHANTOMOF FLAT WOODSHere is a condensation of detailed studymade by expert few days after the event.BY HOLT BYRNEFormer editor of the Braxton Centralseen by Mrs. Kathleen May and her two sons, Eddie and Freddie; Ronny Shaver, Tommy Hyer, Gene Lemons and Niel Nunley atop a hill in back of the Bailey Fisher property in Flatwoods.With all the words that have been written and spoken, the story of “The Phantom of Flatwoods” has not been explained. In all probability it never will.Two things are certain, however:There is no doubt that a meteor of considerable proportion flashed across the heavens that Friday night since it was visible in at least three states—Maryland^ Pennsylvania and West Virginia.likewise, there is no doubt but that what Mrs. May and the young men with her witnessed some sort of “object” of unusual proportions, hideously made up and lighted.SMELLED METALLIC ODORThe story had its beginning at approximately 7:15 p. m. Sept. 12 when the meteor was seen passing over Flatwoods. Four youngsters, who were playing football on the grade school playground at the time, watched the object pass through the skies and noted that it appeared to have dropped on the hilltop of the Fisher farm.They considered the possibility that it was a “Flying Saueer,” and immediately set out to investigate. At the home of Mrs. May they stopped and asked Mrs. May and her two sons to accompany them up the hill to look for the “Saucer.”As the group neared the top of the hill, Mrs. May said the air became foggy and misty and that a peculiar metallic odor which burned their nostrils and hurt their eyes was prevalent.As the group reached the crest of the hill, Mrs. May said she saw a huge ball of fire about 100 yards away, pulsing light and making a slight hissing sound. She and the young men with her all estimated that the ball must have been at least 10 feet or more in diameter. They continued to follow a path around the hill which would have brought them within about 50 feet of (he glowing objectAs they walked along, Mrs. May said that suddenly, to their left and about 75 feet from the glowing object, there appeared two lights resembling powerful flashlights which seemed to be about a foot apart. One of the boys turned his flashlight on the lights and there stood a huge man-like creature which Mrs. May said looked to be about 12 feet in heightand four feet in width.Describing the spectacle, she said it had “a bright red face, bright gfeen clothing, ahead which resembled toe ace of spades and its clothing' from toe waist down hung in great folds.” ' .As they saw the object, Mrs. May said it appeared to be “moving toward us as if it were floating through toe air.” Hie viewers immediately took flight and ran to the May home where a call was made to the then sheriff of Braxton County, Robert Carr.But Sheriff Carr and his deputy, Burnell Long, were answering another call at the time and were down Elk River below Gassa-way investigating a report that a “small Cub airplane” had crashed into a hillside on the south side of the river.iiIT WAS A HIDEOUS SIGHT'ried throughout the country, radio broadcasts were carried on large networks, and hundredsof phone calls were received from all partsof the country.One call came from a scientist in Newfoundland, asking for a description of the creature; another came from a cheese company in Wisconsin asking if it possibly could have been an inflated rubber cow which had been launched about ten days previously as an advertising stunt. Other calls came from Pittsburgh, New York and Washington newspapers.Hundreds of persons came personally to have a look and to talk with those who had witnessed the phenomena. One of the Pittsburgh dailies sent a special writer to cover the event; a minister from Brooklyn, N. Y., cameto talk with Mrs. May and the youngsters to see if their description was the same as one he had visioned in a dream some years ago; Fate Magazine, which deals with true stories of the strange and the unknown, sent Gray Barker, a native of Braxton County to find out what he could about the story.0! all those who came to personally investigate, probably only one was qualified to conduct such an investigation as the story of the “Flatwoods Phantom” presented. He was Ivan Sanderson of New York City, known the world over as a scientist and investigator of strange and unusual phenomena. With his assistant, Eddie Schoenenberger, he arrived in Sutton a few days after the appearance of the monster to make a complete and thorough study of the event.Sanderson, it might be stated, has traveled the world over making studies of the strange, the unusual and the different from ordinary happenings. He is a writer and lecturer of considerable note and is a quite frequent guest on nation-wide television and radio shows.BEGAN INVESTIGATIONAlmost 14 years have passed since that fateful evening of Sept. 12, 1952, when a group of boys and a Flatwoods* Braxton County, • mother witnessed a mysterious “monster” described as being “about 12 feet tall, with a face of fiery red, a green body and a headpiece which looked like the ace of spades.”Years have passed since the story of “The Phantom of Flatwoods” was flashed all over the civilized world by way of toe press andradio to become what the press servicesrated as the No. 11 news story of that year.In that time, especially in recent years, toe story has been more or less forgotten by many, although it is a story which captivated the interest and imagination of persons allover the United States and brought visitors from all parts of toe country to talk with those who witnessed the objeet and to inspect toe ground where it was seen.Millions of words were written by newspapers and magazines of the bizarre “monster”.This call to the sheriff had been made by Woodrow Eagle of Duck, who said that be saw an object which resembled a small airplane crash into the mountainside. A search by the officers faded to disclose any evidence of such an accident. Upon their return to Sutton, the sheriff immediately went to Flatwoods to investigate Mrs. May’s report. But in the meantime, a large number of Flatwoods people had gone to the hilltop to investigate and any possible evidence of toe visit of toe creature had been destroyed.The day after toe incident, Mrs. May said: “It was a hideous sight and I would giveanything I own if I had not seen it.” Her thoughts were echoed by those who accompanied her on the trip up toe hill.Never to toe history of Braxton County has so much interest been centered on an incident as there was on the story of the “Phantom ot Flatwoods.” Newspaper stories Were ear-Upon arrival here, Sanderson and Schoenenberger immediately began a systematic study of toe events. Aerial maps of the area were obtained, a preliminary study of the area where the monster was seen was made and five of the young men who had witnessed the “Phantom” were interviewed. Realizing that a full-scale investigation was warrants!, by persons of qualified status, Sanderson contacted Earl Walter and Bert Ash, members of toe Charleston chapter of the National Speleological Society, who came to Sutton to assist with the investigation.The following morning a thorough investigation of the field where the monster was seen was made by Sanderson and his assistants. The ground was gone over in great detail, covering several acres in as thorough a man-raer as possible. The boys who witnessed toe phenomena were again interviewed and cross-questioned, individually, in pairs, and as a group. Following this, a number of residents tit toe community were interviewed.In the afternoon toe investigators moved on to Gassaway where Anderson Hughes.was interviewed. Hughes pointed out the spot where Woodrow Eagle had said another flaming object, which ne thou^it was a burning plane, had crashed. A boat was obtained with which to cross the river and for four hours the group searched the forested slopes without success. Later, Eagle was contacted and retold his story of the previous evening regarding what he believed was a burning plane which had crashed into the hillside.At Frametown, J. C. Dean was contacted and it was learned that still another aerial object had crashed or landed on a nearby farm. Mr. Dean said this example bad landed on ait overgrown and isolated field at toe top of a hill known as James’ Knob, but that, although seen by toe two young James boys, had not been investigated because it had been regarded as a “fireball.”The following day, Sanderson met with totCharleston chapter of toe National Speleologi cal .Society and was informed by Mrs. Alia Williams that she had witnessed the dis integration of still another fiery object in thlt; air at a height of not more than a fev hundred feet to the West of Charleston. Thi was also witnessed by Mr. and Mrs. Clareno McClane and they affirmed that when tb object disintegrated “a lot of ashes fell tthe ground.”All of these events, Sanderson determinec occurred within a matter of minutes, leadin him to surmise that at least five objects cam over traveling in a straight line from Nortl west to Southeast, at just about five mile opart.” This deduction was made by careful! reviewing aerial maps of the area.hi his preliminary report on the subject, Sai deraoc pointed out that these five objects, star8mSUNDAY GAZETTE-MA11
Newspaper Details
Gazette Mail
Charleston, West Virginia, US
Sun, Mar 06, 1966
Page 31
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CA, USA 07 Apr 2022
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