UFOs Over Hinton: 1952 UFO Flap Comes to Southern West Virginia

1952 was a HUGE year for UFOs. From July 12 to July 29th, multiple UFOs were seen over the White House and in other areas around Washington, D.C. In September, Flatwoods, WV would experience its infamous monster sighting, after a group of kids went to inspect what they thought was a downed airplane in the hills above town. And, in the small town of Hinton, WV, located in Summers County, there were TWO separate UFO reports that summer that were featured in the local newspaper. 

The first appeared in the Hinton Daily News on Tuesday, July 29th and described a UFO sighting from the previous Sunday. Around 9pm, three witnesses spotted a UFO over the New River. Article transcribed below:

Hinton Daily News. 29 July 1952

Flying Saucer is Spotted Over Hinton Late Sunday

By Tom Pendergast

Have "flying saucers" appeared in the skies over Hinton?

Three local residents reported Monday evening that they saw in the cloudless sky here Sunday night "the strangest big round thing spinning through the air" that was "so bright it almost put your eyes out."

The viewers-Mrs. Howard Hayes, her 13 year old daughter Nedra, and Anna Sue Iddings-said they saw a fast-spinning object whirling "just like a top" appear suddenly about 9pm high above the New River Bridge. Mrs. Hayes, who said she delayed notifying the Daily News because she thought people would think she was "cracy," stated that the flying object left a vapor trail. She added that Fred Ferguson, C&O shopman, arrived on the porch of her lower Summers Street home in time to see the vapor trails and that the "grey-like smoke" trail remained visible for 10-15 minutes. 

Mrs. Hayes, whose home faces the New River, said the group was on her porch at the time and that she first noticed the "thing." She added that she screamed "look!" and all three caught a good glimpse of the object. "The queerest feeling came over me," Mrs. Hayes explained. "I've always wanted to see one of those flying saucers," she remarked, "but I don't ever want to see anything like that again." 

Her description, which matches other reports of "flying saucers" seen throughout the country recently, verified that the objects are extremely fast. "It was faster than an airplane," she said, "and shortly after it went out of sight we heard a noise that sounded like an airplane--but we couldn't see any plane."

Mrs. Hayes said she first saw the object as it whirred high over the New River Bridge "spinning just like a top in a straight line down the river" toward the C&O shops. The "thing" was flying "as high as most of the transport planes that go over Hinton," she asserted, "and from where I was it looked bigger than a washtub. It must have been at least as big as an airplane."

A strange twist to the object's alleged flight was uncovered when Mrs. Hayes reported that it "spun around in a loop above the C&O depot, making complete, sharp circles, and then followed on down the river," toward Sandstone.

Mrs. Hayes said that although the object was moving "very fast" she was able to see that "it" was flat on the bottom, and had a ridge and a round hump on top that looked just like an upside-down saucer. It was spinning around and around, she stated. 

"It was so bright that I couldn't tell what color it was. In fact," she said, "it was so bright that my daughter's eyes became red from watching it."

Mrs. Hayes was not certain how long the object remained visible in flight, and thought it seemed to be following the New River in a straight line. It disappeared in a matter of seconds, she thought. 

No other reports of the incident have been received by the Daily News. 

Hinton Daily News. 25 August 1952

The second UFO sighting to come into the Daily Mail from Hinton in the summer of 1952 happened on Sunday, August 24th, and also included three witnesses. About 1:20pm, Alva Williams, a bus driver for Victory Bus Lines was driving through the Beech Run section near the C&O ballpark. His passengers, Frank Kesler and Miss Buckland, also saw the object, described as being round like a washtub and made from aluminum or some other shiny metal.  However, unlike Mrs. Hayes sighting, this object appeared to be moving rather slowly.

It's kind of interesting that in both of these sightings, the UFO was described as looking like a washtub. It's also interesting that both incidents happened on a Sunday, and involved three witnesses. What's strange is that the movement described is really quite different In both cases, the witnesses seem quite sure that they have seen a flying saucer, presumably from out of this world. But what would cause these UFOs to take such an interest in the small railroad community of Hinton, WV? Were these sightings just hoaxes, or even simple misidentifications inspired by all the news of UFOs around Washington, DC earlier in July...or were UFOs really flying over southern West Virginia in the summer of 1952?