Those who saw the thing were terrified. Those who investigated were convinced that it had been there. But what it was and where it came from constitute the mystery of the Flatwoods monster.

It was just getting dark on that warm September evening in 1952 when the five youngsters stopped their play to watch the strange spectacle overhead. Outlined against the sky over the nearby mountains was a disc-shaped object which was spurting little streams of sparks. It wobbled a bit, moved on hesitantly and dropped slowly down toward the mountaintop, where it settled among the trees.

Whatever it was, it did not resemble any plane the youngsters had ever seen. They realized that this was some sort of emergency and they scattered to their respective homes to report. Eddie May, 13, and his brother Fred, 12, ran to the nearby house where their mother operated a beauty parlor in the little West Virginia community of 300 population.

The boys told their mother excitedly that they and their companions had seen a plane or a flying saucer land on the foothill that towered above the town.

Mrs. May was skeptical, of course, but the skepticism disappeared when she stepped outside to see for herself. There, dimly visible several hundred yards away near the top of the hill, was a slowly pulsating red light. Something was on the ground there, just at the children had said…but what was it? Mrs. May sent the boys running to the nearby home of Gene Lemon, 17, a member of the National Guard.

Armed only with a flashlight, Lemon led the party up the hill. In addition to Mrs. May and her two sons, the group also included 14-year old Neil Nunley, and a pair of ten-year olds who had also seen the object land, Ronnie Shaver and Tommy Hyer

The experience they encountered in the ensuing minutes put the little community of Flatwoods on the front pages of the world's newspapers.

Lemon and the Nunley boy were about fifty feet ahead of the rest of the party as they hurried up the brush-covered hillside.

They noticed a light mist which drifted before them and as they got closer they detected a pungent, irritating odor about it. Near the top of the hill, where the unpleasant odor was strongest, they spotted a glowing red object which pulsated slowly…like a faintly glowing mass of red coals, they said. For the moment they forgot about the irritating aroma that swirled about them. Lemon and Nunley reached an old gateway from which they could see the red object clearly…a thing about 25 feet in diameter and perhaps six feet high…Should they approach it? As they paused, Mrs. May and the other boys joined them.

The attention of the entire group was directed to this strange glowing thing on the ground about seventy-five feet away and, for a moment, none of the group noticed the other object, hardly twently feet away, among the bushes to their left.

The dog that had accompanied the party growled and bristled and the entire group turned to see what was wrong. Gene Lemon flashed his light among the bushes. Mrs. May screamed.

Whatever it was, it was alive…and it was a giant by human standards. The flashlight showed the head and shoulders of a creature slightly less than ten feet tall. It appeared to be wearing a helmet of some sort, projecting from a dark blue-green or greenish-gray body which reflected the flashlight beams like rubberized silk.

The most awesome part of the scene was the thing's face…almost round and blood red…with two greenish-orange eyes which glowed in the flashlight beams as do the eyes of certain fish and some wild animals. But this was neither fish nor wild animal.

The thing moved. Its lower extemities were concealed by the brush and weeds…but all agreed that it didn't walk…it seemed to slide its feet, if it had any. There was a hissing sound, and a powerful sickening odor pervaded the scene.

Lemon's dog fled. Lemon dropped his flashlight. The entire party of seven panicked and raced pell-mell down the hillside. Once safely away from the scene of their terrifying experience they phoned the Sheriff at nearby Sutton, West Virginia. He and a deputy were miles away on another call to check on a report that a plane had crashed…possibly the same object that had been seen at Flatwoods. Someone notified Lee Stewart, Jr, editor of the Braxton newspaper…He reached Flatwoods about thirty minutes after the incident had occurred and found Mrs. May hysterical…the boys in a state of shock.

Finally Gene Lemon led another armed party back to the hill-top. The strange, sickening odor was still there…but the monster and the huge pulsating red object were gone.

Not without a trace, however, for, in the soil where the horrible thing had stood, the searching party found unexplained skid marks…which may have been the only earthly trace of the Flatwoods monster.