The Frametown Monster

Frametown Monster
Drawing by Frank Feschino

Just one day after Kathleen May, Gene Lemon, and five young boys encountered what would become known as the Flatwoods Monster, the Snitowsky Family had a similar experience. On September 13, 1952, George Snitowsky, along with his wife Edith and their 18-month-old son were traveling along Route 4 between Frametown and Sutton (about 17 miles south of Flatwoods). 

The family, who lived in Queens, New York, was returning from visiting family in Cincinnati. It was around 8pm when their car suddenly stopped on that lonely stretch of highway. After a few attempts at restarting it, George got out of the car to check under the hood, but he couldn't detect what the problem was. The air was filled with a foul odor of sulphur, and as the stench worsened, George got back into the car and rolled up the windows. Edith grabbed the baby from the backseat, as he woke up and began crying. 

The smell was worsening, and George was at a loss as to what to do. According to their map, it appeared that Frametown was the closest town to them, and it was a twelve-mile walk. George didn't want to leave his wife and baby alone for that long at night, so they decided to stay put and hope a vehicle would come by. A vehicle would come by...but it wouldn't be a local citizen driving past in their car!

Noticing a bright light coming from a wooded area nearby, George rolled down the window for a better look. The area had a hazy, purplish tint to it, and as George opened the window, that cloudy haze flooded into the car, making the family gag. The stench was sickening. However, George, overcome with curiosity, followed the light source. The ground sloped downward off the road towards the woods, and George could see a large sphere-shaped object behind the trees, only about 200-300 feet away. The glowing object seemed to be floating, and the closer he got to it, the heat and the stench increased dramatically. He also experienced what felt like small, electrical shocks or vibrations.

Still sick to his stomach, and having vomited a few times, George stumbled back to the car. When he was almost there, he stopped to catch his breath, leaning against a tree. He then heard Edith let out a horrific scream. He turned to look and saw that a strange creature was behind him. Off to the right of the road and illuminated by the glowing sphere, stood a humanoid creature, 8-9 feet tall. The creature had what appeared to be a bloated, reptilian upper body and a solid metallic lower half. 

George ran and jumped in the car. He pushed Edith and baby onto the floorboard and threw himself on top of them, but not before grabbing a large knife out of the glove compartment. The creature approached the car and touched the hood with one of its creepy, forked claw-like hands. It then moved back towards the woods. After a few minutes, George noticed the sphere slowly rise, stopping a few times on its ascent. At around 3000 feet, it swung back and forth like a pendulum and then shot out of sight. The smell and the fog started to dissipate, and the family was able to get the car started.

They headed to Sutton and made a stop at a local truck stop/diner before finding a hotel for the night. As they were leaving the next morning, they noticed the car had a V-shape singed into the paint down to the primer where the creature had touched their car. 

The Snitowsky's decided to keep quiet about the incident and made it back to New York without further ado. However, several years later, George decided to tell his story to Paul Lieb, president of the Flying Saucer Research Institute. Paul wrote a story about the incident, which was published in the July 1955 edition of Male magazine. 

So, what was it that the Snitowsky's saw that night? It is theorized that they saw THE Flatwoods Monster. The area where the strange creature was sighted was an area near Strange Creek known as James Knob. It is believed that after making an emergency landing (after potentially being shot down by our government) in Flatwoods, the monster made its way south. The reason why the creature appeared without its trademark spade-shaped head and was reported as being shorter than the previous witnesses claimed, was that it had taken off the top part of its spacesuit/spacecraft vehicle!

In both incidents, the bottom half of the creature was described similarly, and was accompanied by the same noxious gas that made the witnesses vomit. Personally, I think that the Snitowsky's DID witness the same creature (or a different creature of the same species) as the Flatwoods Monster seen the previous night. Over the course of a few days in mid-September, a strange set of phenomena involving suspected meteors, UFOs, and even a few alien entities were reported in and around West Virginia. Fank Feschino, in his ground-breaking book, The Braxton County Monster: The Cover-Up of the Flatwoods Monster Revealed (2004), goes over the entire conspiracy of just what was going on that late summer day of 1952. I highly recommend checking out his book for a more comprehensive account of how the 'Frametown Monster' would become an integral part of the Flatwoods Monster lore.

Hinton Daily News
13 September 1952

Did Members of the Flatwoods Monster Fleet Make it to Raleigh County?

Source

1952 was a BIG year for ufology, especially here in the Mountain State! By now, most of my readers are going to be pretty darn familiar with the September 12th sighting in Flatwoods (Braxton County) by a group of school boys, National Guardsman Eugene Lemon, and mother of two of the kids, Kathleen May. What they encountered up on a hill on the Fisher farm would forever be known throughout the world of high strangeness and eventually into the mainstream, as the Flatwoods Monster. 

Skeptics will just say that the boys followed a meteor, and were surprised by an owl sitting in the tree branches. And, while its true that reports of a meteor were reported that night over several states (including West Virginia) what they saw was no owl. It was a spade-headed, red-faced monstrosity with glowing yellow eyes, stick-like arms, and what can only be described as a lower half shaped like a pleated skirt. 

Sounds pretty far-fetched, right? Despite the documented physical effects from the encounter and the fact that none of these witnesses had any reason to lie...or to NOT be familiar with what an owl looked like...it's a super strange story. It just doesn't FIT in with more common UFO reports. But because of all that, that's why I think this story has continued to fascinate so many people over the years. However, the story doesn't end in Flatwoods...

Following the Flatwoods encounter on September 12th would come the Frametown Monster incident the next evening, when a couple with a young baby driving along State Route 4 between Frametown and Gassaway had their car engine stall, and witnessed a reptilian creature before finally being able to drive off. There was also the Bashful Billy incident in Wheeling, WV on September 15th where a 'meteor' crashed near the Vineyard Hills housing development, but disappeared...not before the rumors started flying though. I'll be covering both of these cases in future blogs, but for today, I wanted to focus on two reports from Raleigh County that came out in the days following the Flatwoods sighting.

Flatwoods Monster

The first sighting comes just the day after the initial Flatwoods encounter, on Saturday September 13th. Around 11pm, 16 year old Franklin Smedley and two other boys witnessed what looked like gallon-bucket sized orange objects flying over an area of Raleigh County called East Gulf. Franklin initially saw two of the objects, which moved faster than any airplane he'd ever seen, but didn't say anything because he didn't believe in flying saucers. However, when four more of the objects showed up, he alerted his friends, and all three got a good look at the objects.

The next morning, Smedley's father would tell the tale of the flying saucers during Sunday school. It was then that Mr. Shelby Deaner felt brave enough to confirm that he and his wife had also seen the objects the previous night. The couple was out watching for meteors, but shortly after going inside to get ready for bed, Mrs. Deaner looked out the window and alerted her husband. They both saw two orange objects at the same time the boys' had seen them and noted that they appeared to be moving at least twice as fast as an airplane that had passed overhead thirty minutes earlier.

The Smedley/Deaner report of East Gulf was documented in the Tuesday, September 16th edition of the Raleigh Register and reported without bias. However, an article appearing a few days later in the same publication would be a little more...tongue-in-cheek. It shared the story of Mrs. Earl Hutchinson of Skelton who reported 'something shiny' seen in the sky near the Greenbrier Dairy (Interesting side note: My grandfather was working at the Greenbrier Dairy at this time!) This thing didn't zoom across the sky like the Smedley/Deaner objects. Rather, it hovered. Mrs. Hutchinson initially believed it was a man with a parachute, as the object appeared to swing back and forth and jump up and down. That article expresses the idea that maybe the Flatwoods Monster was en route to Beckley to meet up with some other monsters? (Check out my Beasts of Beckley blog!)

So just what was going on in mid September of 1952? Why were all of these UFO/Monster sightings reported across the state within just days of each other? It simply could have been monster mania brought on by a recent meteor shower and a series of misidentifications and hoaxes. Or, it could be something else. In his book, The Braxton County Monster: The Cover Up of the Flatwoods Monster Revealed, author Frank Feschino poses a very interesting theory. Feschino believes that there was actually some sort of 'invasion' of the east coast by flying saucers.  In the case of the Flatwoods Monster, perhaps it was either shot down or crashed and subsequent sightings were follow-up rescue missions, other crafts that crashed/were shot down, etc. I can't possibly do this theory justice within a few lines, so definitely check out the book for a better understanding. 

What's important to remember is that the Flatwoods Monster is just the tip of the iceberg. That's the story that everyone seems to know, and for good reason. It has solid witnesses who stuck to their story, a unique creature unlike any other, and has been well-documented and shared throughout the years. But, the Flatwoods Monster was not the only strange thing reported in West Virginia that week! 

Keep your eyes to the skies and your heart and mind open! 

The Raleigh Register
21 September 1952

The Raleigh Register
16 September 1952

Circleville UFO!

The Circleville Herald
28 March 1957

Happy World UFO Day!

If you've followed this blog for awhile, you know I love to post a fun UFO-related story every year on July 2nd in honor of this most esteemed holiday, and this year is no exception. But, this post is coming at you from the past; I'm writing it on June 30th because today I'll be recovering from Spectral Research and Investigation's follow-up investigation of the Gregg-Crites Octagon House in Circleville, Ohio. We absolutely had such a great night there a few months ago, that we had to return. 

It's actually the Octagon House, though, that has inspired today's blog. Well, not the Octagon House, exactly, but the town of Circleville, Ohio. Not only is this unique lil' hamlet full of haunted history and ghost stories...it's also known for quite a few UFO sightings. Strange aerial phenomenon continues up through today, but it all started in February of 1948.

C. Bruce Stevenson was a farmer who lived just outside of Circleville. Everyone who knew him attested that he was an honest, hardworking man who would never lie or make up stories. That's why it came as somewhat of a shock to the locals when in August of 1952, the Circleville Herald ran a story about Stevenson. That summer, the country was abuzz with talk of UFOs. 1952 saw a huge UFO flap across the eastern United States, with reports of flying saucers even flying over the Washington, DC. Skeptics and believers were hashing it out over the validity of visitors from other planets and people from all walks of life were following the events.

That's when Bruce Stevenson decided to share his story that he had been keeping a secret for four years out of fear of ridicule. Back in February of 1948 Bruce saw a UFO over his farm.

It was a cold, moonlit night early in the month, and there was snow on the ground. Bruce awoke around 2am, and while getting a drink of water, looked out the kitchen window and saw what he at first thought were flames. Afraid that one of his farm buildings was on fire, he headed outside in that direction. What he saw was way bigger than any fire.

Bruce reported that a strange craft slowly and silently floated over his tool building, no more than 150 feet away from him. The craft was saucer shaped, with a silvery underbody containing portholes or vents. On top sat an 8 foot tall dome filled with a glowing amber/orange light that dulled slightly when he approached. It was the amber light that he originally mistook for fire. The base measured about 60 feet across and something whirled beneath, making no noise and causing no motion on the base itself.  

After watching the craft for a few moments go over the roof of the tool building and a building containing the farm's hogs, it floated on away and into the night. And, for four years, Bruce stayed tight-lipped about what he saw. When he finally contacted the newspaper, he remained adamant that what he saw was not an air pocket, a reflection, or any other natural phenomenon. On his behalf, the newspaper reached out to Wright Patterson Airforce Base to report the sighting, but they simply acknowledged they had received the letter and never followed up. Bruce's daughter would later tell reporters that a retired military officer DID come to visit her dad after he reported it in 1952. 

Over the years, more people would report strange lights and mysterious craft in the Circleville area. One such witness, Pete Hartinger, has had at least four sightings beginning with his first in 1958. Inspired by his own experiences, as well as the Bruce Stevenson case (which is now regarded as one of the best eyewitness UFO sightings in history), Pete took action. In 1985, he and several others formed the Roundtown UFO Society. The society still meets once a month to study, investigate, and document the UFO phenomenon in Circleville and beyond. 

Dipping into the UFO history of Circleville, OH has made me even more anxious for our investigation, and I'll certainly be keeping my eyes to the skies in addition to huntin' for ghosties. 

For more information on this case, please check out the Project 1947 website. It includes a letter written by the Circleville Herald writer, as well as an essay by Pete Hartinger about the Stevenson sighting! 

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?