The Grafton Monster

From the Grafton Monster Facebook Page

West Virginia is home to a number of strange and unusual incidents, and quite a few popular 'monsters' of pop culture today got their start here in the Mountain State! Joining Mothman, Veggie Man, and the Flatwoods Monster is a weird, white, headless horror from Taylor County known as the Grafton Monster. 

On June 16, 1964, Robert Cockrell was headed home along Riverside Drive in Grafton. For the most part, Riverside Drive is a straight stretch of road with the Tygart River on one side, and much of the other being either steep cliff or heavy underbrush. At around 11 p.m., Robert had just rounded the last curve and had hit the straightaway. Going about 50 mph with no other car in sight, he flipped on his high beams. The bright lights of his vehicle illuminated something that immediately grabbed his attention. Standing to the right of the road, in the narrow strip of land between the road and the riverbank, white a GIANT white mass.

Standing 7 to 9 feet tall and measuring about 4 feet wide at its widest point, this THING lacked a discernable head, but Robert knew immediately it was some type of living creature. It had seal-like skin, or some type of covering with a distinct sheen to it. Understandably, Robert floored it and raced towards his house. But, by the time he got there, he had calmed down and realized that as a reporter for the Grafton Sentinel, he really should go back and investigate.

Robert grabbed two buddies, Jerry Morse and Jim Mouser, and the three men headed back to the spot where the creature had been seen. Fortunately for them, the monster was nowhere to be found, and it didn't leave any tracks that would have aided in its identification or direction it took off in. What they did find, however, was that quite a bit of the vegetation in that area had been mashed down, like you'd expect to see if a giant creature had been stomping through. 

The three men looked for about an hour and never saw any proof of the monster. What is strange, though, is that intermittently, they would hear a strange whistling sound coming from the river that they just couldn't place. Robert made a decision to keep quiet about the whole incident, but it leaked out and by the next night, dozens of teens ascended on Riverside Drive, armed with such things as mallets and crowbars, to do some literal monster hunting. Robert claims that at least 20 people mentioned that they had seen something similar in the area, and it was even claimed that the creature was spotted in Morgantown and made its way south to Grafton implementing the river system. 

Two newspaper articles appeared in the Sentinel in the following days, but as opposed to being a serious account of Robert Cockrell's experience, these articles were more tongue-in-cheek, focusing on the teen monster hunting aspect, and theorizing that the monster was nothing more than either someone pushing boxes on a handcart, or a combination of boredom fueled by ANOTHER monster sighting from Michigan that was making newspaper headlines across the country. Known as the Dewey Lake Monster, there were a few definite similarities, but it doesn't seem plausible that Michigan's creature would come vacation in West Virginia for the season. Other explanations explored included an escaped polar bear or even someone hauling a refrigerator. 

By July, Robert had reached out to West Virginia's own colorful and controversial UFOlogist, Gray Barker. Barker interviewed Robert and even wrote an article chronicling the account. That article doesn't appear to have ever been published, but it, along with some letters back and forth between Barker and Cockrell, including newspaper clippings, are preserved in the Gray Barker archives, housed on the campus of the Harrison County Public Library in Clarksburg. 

Unlike the Mothman sightings that would hit Point Pleasant two years later and last over a year, nothing more was mentioned about the Headless Horror of Grafton, and the monster faded into obscurity for many years. Lucky for us, the tale was rediscovered and shared to the masses through an episode of Mountain Monster and of course, the creature's inclusion in the popular Fallout 76 video game. 

Today, the Grafton Monster has its own pop culture following and has taken up its rightful place in West Virginia folklore. There's even an annual Grafton Monster Festival held in Grafton, featuring speakers, vendors, and so much more. And, if you ever find yourself on Riverside Drive at night, make sure to turn on your high beams and scan the riverbank. You never know what you'll encounter! 

Articles from the Grafton Sentinel
Gray Barker Archives

Theresa's Note: I may transcribe the newspaper articles, the correspondence between Barker and Cockrell, and Barker's unpublished article at a later date. Instead of making a separate post, I'll probably just update this one, so if that's something you're interested in, please check back! You can also find these documents transcribed in Tony Breeden's Gray Barker's Book of Monsters Volume II. 

Happy Holidays From a UFO Witness!

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is exchanging Christmas cards with friends and family. Although I'm guilty of relying on mass-produced store-bought options, one of these years, I'd love to create my own. When I do, I'll be using the following card as inspiration!

Back in July, I visited the Gray Barker Archives in Clarksburg, WV. West Virginia's (in)famous ufologist saved just about everything, and the collection is not only home to books and film, but also props, newspaper clippings, unpublished writings, and of course, correspondence.

One such piece of correspondence was a Christmas card sent by a man named Jennings Frederick. Does that name ring a bell? Fans of West Virginia folklore and weird history might recognize Frederick as being the man from Fairmont, who, in the summer of 1968 saw the strange creature now known as Vegetable Man!

Frederick would go on to report his experience with Veggie Man, along with his further UFO/unexplained experiences and research, to Gray Barker. Among their correspondence was a hand-drawn Christmas card featuring Santa Claus apparently piloting a UFO. Inside was a sweet holiday sentiment, a small poem, and a note requesting further communication with Barker. 

As Veggie Man becomes more popular among West Virginia's menagerie of strange creatures, I'm so happy that I stumbled upon this interesting little piece of adjacent holiday history. I'm also thrilled that I get to share it with you this Christmas season! But, if you'd like to check it out for yourself, it's available in the Gray Barker archives, open by appointment. 

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

The Skin Creek Sasquatch (1976)

The Mysterious Monsters movie poster.
You can watch the documentary on YouTube!

Sometimes life imitates art. That seems to be the case one summer night when two Braxton County teens, Ronald Stark and Clifford Barnes, were driving to see an outdoor movie called Mysterious Monsters.  The Mysterious Monsters, which came out in 1976, was a documentary style film, hosted by Peter Graves, featuring stories and evidence of the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, and other strange creatures from around the world. Neither boy, however, were prepared for having their OWN unexplained experience that evening!

It was August 17, 1976 at approximately 8:15 p.m. They were leaving I-79 at the Skin Creek exit (if anyone knows where this exit is, please let me know. I've never heard of the Skin Creek area before.) when they spotted an 8-foot tall ape-like creature standing in the road. As they got closer to it, it ran off and disappeared into the brush. 

The Braxton County area is no stranger to monsters. In 1952, it was home to the infamous Flatwoods Monster, a strange, metallic figure with a head resembling a spade, which may or may not have emerged from a downed UFO. However, as previously discussed on Theresa's Haunted History, Braxton County has had quite a few Bigfoot sightings over the years, as well, with many of these creatures all getting lumped under the Braxton County Monster moniker. You can check out my series of articles about that here: The Braxton County Monster Wrap-Up . I guess I'll be adding today's entry to the collection, too!

Anyway, this fun little story comes from a newspaper clipping I came across recently. It's from the Independent, dated 25 August 1976. I came across this clipping during a recent trip to the Gray Barker UFO Files in Clarksburg! I'll be writing about that trip soon, but I wanted to share this lil' tidbit. Out of multiple folders STUFFED with Bigfoot sightings and information, I thought this particular story would be of interest to readers of Theresa's Haunted History. And...it's not the only strange story from that trip that I'll be sharing in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned for plenty of West Virginia Weirdness!

The Independent
25 August 1976

 

August 2022 Paranormal Discussion Group with Tony Breeden

Okay, I'm playing some MAJOR catch-up!! Last March, I was really honored to be asked to present to a new group that had formed in the St. Albans area. As part of the St. Abans' On Purpose Project, a young man named Barry, with the guidance of Angie Breeden, started a monthly Paranormal Discussion Group. Each month, the group would meet to discuss a new topic in the paranormal field, and there were so many awesome speakers with a knowledge in so many different aspects of the field. I attended as many of these meetings as I could, and each one I attended, I tried to feature on my blog. Unfortunately, the latter half of 2022 was a REALLY rough time as my mom's health continued to decline rapidly. So, there were two speakers that I didn't get to give proper credit to.

Tomorrow, I'll post a blog about September's speaker, Joe Perdue, of the WV High Strangeness Collective, but today I wanted to focus on August's speaker, Tony Breeden!

Tony Breeden is a West Virginia author who has written an impressive number of books, both fiction and nonfiction, but is notably an excellent UFO researcher with a unique and refreshing religious slant to the UFO phenomenon. He also knows more about the (in)famous WV UFO researcher, Gray Barker, than any other person alive today! And, it was Gray Barker who was the subject of Tony's presentation.

Gray Barker was a fascinating guy. Born and educated here in West Virginia, he held several different jobs, including working for a string of drive-in movie theaters. His work in the field of ufology, however, is what made him famous. Thanks to him, the world knows about cases such as the Flatwoods Monster and the Grafton Monster. He gave us many publications and books that are staples in any ufologist's library today. But, the man was not without his controversies, and to be completely honest, despite the awesome, well-researched information provided in the presentation, I still haven't made up my mind completely as to whether Barker ever really even believed in UFO's. His pranking of John Keel while Keel was working the Mothman case during the mid 1960's is the stuff of legends, but just scratches the surface of the alleged fraud that Barker may have been involved with over the years. 

There was so much information packed into the presentation that I can't remember everything, and Tony presented it with a delightful mix of authority and humor...which perfectly suited the subject matter! He talked a little about his books, and answered lots of questions from the participants, several of who opened up with some pretty strange stories to share. It was a really fun evening of learning about a weird aspect of West Virginia's history among those who share my passion for the paranormal! 

You can find Tony at his website, TonyBreedenBooks.com or you can find his work on Amazon. You can also follow him on Facebook to see what events he'll be vending at and other information! Also, come join the Facebook page for the Paranormal Discussion Group and see what 2023 will bring!

Greenbrier County UFO Model (1969)

Model by Andre Hooper

On the evening February 19, 1969, US Mail Carrier, Mrs. Helen Scott, along with her two children, was traveling between Neola and Alvon, Greenbrier County, WV. As she was driving, she noticed a flying object in the sky, very high above her. However, after a few moments, the object swooped down and flew alongside her car at ground level for a few moments. It then zipped across a field towards the direction of Little Creek, and out of sight of Mrs. Scott.

Mrs. Scott described the flying object as being 18 to 20 feet in diameter and shaped like two soup bowls put together, with a raised portion on top. Yellow-orange lights surrounded its perimeter, and they brightened and dimmed simultaneously. A red light was seen rotating on top, while a blue light, rotating in the opposite direction, was observed below the craft. She heard no sound coming from the craft, but that may have been due to the fact that her children had become frightened and were screaming. 

Andre Hooper, the nationally known head of Union Carbide's model division, took Mrs. Scott's description of the craft, and created the replica you see above. It took over 50 hours to construct the plastic model of the Greenbrier UFO. It was put on display at the 6th annual meeting of the The Congress of Scientific Ufologists, held in Charleston that June. On Friday, June 20th, the scientists/ufologists met for their meeting at the Daniel Boone Hotel. Saturday was followed up with an event open to the public, featuring vendors and lecturers at the Charleston Civic Center, where Hooper's model was given a place of honor for all to see. 

This event was hosted by UFO Investigators, a local group of well, ufo investigators in West Virginia. Ralph Jarrett, president of the group, worked with researcher Gray Barker to petition the Congress to hold their annual meeting here in West Virginia, which was being considered as being quite the hot spot for ufo activity. Mr. Jarrett also worked at Union Carbide, so presumably that's how Andre Hooper got involved in the field of ufology as well. 

A newspaper article that came out on Wednesday before the event mentioned that the model prepared by Hooper would not only serve as an attraction at the convention, but also a prize as well! It was to be awarded to the lecturer who gave the most outstanding performance at the public event. I couldn't find any follow up as to who actually won and was awarded this unique piece of art from West Virginia's weird and wonderful history and I can't help but wonder if this flying saucer is still out there somewhere! 

Source: The Charleston Daily Mail. 18 June 1969. Article by Charlie Connor

*Want to know more about St. Albans-based UFO Researcher, Ralph Jarrett?*

Ralph Jarrett: West Virginia Ufologist

Ralph Jarrett: West Virginia Ufologist

Mr. J. Ralph Jarrett. Source

James Ralph Jarrett was born on September 11, 1923. In December of 1966, 43 year old Ralph was working as a mechanical engineer for Union Carbide and living at 2523 Winter St., which was located in the River Lake Estates subdivision of St. Albans, WV. That December would be one that would change the course of his entire life. 

At around 1:50 p.m. on Saturday, December 3, Mr. Jarrett and his brother were working on the north side of his Winter St. home. The day was cold, but it was calm, and the sun was very bright. The brother, Hugh Jarrett, was the first to see the unidentified object and alerted Ralph. The two men observed what they described as a wobbling piece of aluminum foil 200 feet above the Coal River. The object was gaining altitude, but Ralph managed to grab his binoculars within 40 seconds of the initial sighting, and further watched the object. He couldn't make out much detail as it was fairly far away, but could tell that it was disc-shaped, and that it reflected the sun. It made no noise and emitted no exhaust.

On Saturday, January 14, 1967, Ralph and his father, Hugh Jarrett Sr., spotted ANOTHER unidentified object. It was another clear day, but the temperatures were much milder on this day. At about 5:50 pm, as dusk was setting and a bright red sun was on the horizon, the two men stepped out into the backyard of Ralph's home. Ralph looked straight up and saw what he described as a brilliant star, brighter than anything else in the sky, moving south very quickly. But, once again Ralph was quicker. This time, instead of running to grab his binoculars, he ran next door and grabbed his neighbor, Donald Reitz, and Reitz's son, Karl, to witness the strange event before the object disappeared over the horizon.

A third sighting took place on Monday, January 23rd. It was a mild, clear night about 7:10 pm and Ralph was walking east in front of his home when he saw a weird light effect in the trees atop a steep cliff, due north behind his home. He thought it may have been a car's abnormally bright taillight, but then he realized he could see both the white light AND the orange-red light at the same time, and further, a car couldn't reach that point on the cliff. 

Jarrett shows a map of recent UFO sightings.
January 29, 1967 edition of Gazette-Mail. 

Around this time, local newspapers reported three additional sightings from the nearby area. On January 19th, Tad Jones had his infamous close encounter with a spherical craft on Interstate 64 near Dunbar. On Tuesday, January 24th, two boys in Nitro's River Dell Acres saw a ball of light on the mountain. And finally, on Wednesday, January 25th at about 6:20 am, Mrs. Robert Drake of Sun Valley Drive, St. Albans saw an oval-shaped, glowing, pulsating object just below the moon and near the crest of a hill about a quarter of a mile away (believed to be the same hill/cliff where Jarrett saw the object). 

Jarrett reached out to all the witnesses, and compiled data about each sighting, plotting all the information on a map, which he sent to the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) in Washington, D.C. He was convinced that if this wasn't the same object, these sightings within such close proximity of each other must be related in some other way. His interest in UFO research would only grow from there.

By February 1967, he had built a simple device to detect magnetic mass, and thus, hopefully detect UFOs. Jarrett stated his theory behind the device in a February 5 article in the Sunday Gazette-Mail. He believed  that such an object to move without noise and exhaust and in such as manner must be utilizing magnetic field, and thus, "a permanent magnet when suspended from its midpoint will align itself with the earth's magnetic field. If extraneous electrical fields are brought within the limits of the magnet, it immediately re-aligns with the fields and will experience movement." 

Jarrett's UFO detection machine. 
February 5, 1967 edition of Sunday Gazette-Mail

Ralph continued to read articles, interview UFO witnesses around the area, and speculate as to what so many people, including himself were seeing in the skies. His interest led him to become president of UFO Investigators, a coalition of UFO researchers and investigators. This group not only investigated UFO sightings, but was instrumental in bringing UFO education to the Kanawha Valley.

The group sponsored a presentation by the infamous UFO researcher from Clarksburg, Gray Barker in April of 1968, and set up a PO Box that people could write to to share their experiences or request further information. One of the more significant events held by the group was the 6th Annual Convention of The Congress of Scientific Ufologists. Ralph, along with Gray Barker, put in a bid to have the convention held in Charleston, WV because, as Ralph states, West Virginia was a 'ufo capital' because the state had more sightings per capita and of a greater variety than any other state in the union. 

The convention was held June 20th and June 21st, 1969. The first night was a closed session, open only to members of the Congress of Scientific Ufologists, and held at the Daniel Boone Hotel in Charleston. The next evening, the event was open to the public, and offered both a 'flea market' where attendees could purchase books, magazines and other UFO-related materials as well as a line-up of various speakers. It was held in the Little Theater section of the Charleston Civic Center and admission cost $1.50. 

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find much more about Ralph Jarrett's involvement in the UFO community past the 1960's. He passed away on August 2, 2007. I'm so glad I recently stumbled upon his name while researching the Tad Jones sighting. Although I've lived within 15 minutes of St. Albans my entire life and have had an interest in paranormal phenomena as long as I can remember, I had never heard of him and his close involvement with West Virginia's UFO history! 

I believe this is the property where Jarrett's three UFO sightings happened.

The Vegetable Man

West Virginia is a pretty weird place! We've got Mothman. We've got the Grafton Monster. We've got the Flatwoods Monster. We even have Sheepsquatch, the Ogua, and a variety of Bigfoot roaming the hills of our state. But, it terms of weirdness, all these pale in comparison to the story of The Vegetable Man.

Sometimes referred to as the Veggie Man, this absolutely eerie West Virginia creature first appeared in Fortean literature in a 1976 newsletter published by West Virginia's own controversial ufologist, Gray Barker. However, the encounter with the Vegetable Man actually dates back to nearly a decade before.

In July of 1968, a local bow hunter named Jennings Frederick was roaming the woods outside of Fairmont, WV. The U.S. Air Force veteran was hunting woodchucks, unsuccessfully, and was about to head back, when he heard what was described as “high-pitched jabbering, much like that of a recording running at exaggerated speed.”

Just then, Frederick looked up and saw one of the weirdest creatures to ever have been reported in West Virginia, and possibly, the whole country. He described an extremely tall being, well over 7 feet high. Although it was vaguely humanoid in shape, the creature was extremely thin. It's coloring was a yellowish-green, which in my mind creates a picture of a chlorophyll-based stalk of celery!

Long ears and yellow, slanted eyes were also noted, but the most horrifying feature of the creature seems to be its arms. The arms, which were no bigger around than a quarter, ended in what appeared to be three long, slender fingers tapering off into suction cups.

Frederick observed that he thought the being looked sickly, which was confirmed with a strange, telepathic message he received as the whirring, high-pitched jabbering increased. "You need not fear me. I wish to communicate. I come as a friend. We know of you all, I come in peace. I wish medical assistance. I need your help."

Frederick didn't have the opportunity to make sense of what the creature was trying to convey before it reached out and wrapped it's 'hand' around his arm. The suction cups attached to his arm and begin sucking his blood, sending a jolt of pain up his arm. However, as the blood could be seen seeping up through the creature's arm and body, where it reached the yellow eyes and began to swirl and oscillate. This hypnotic effect seemed to alleviate Frederick's pain as it 'fed' on his blood for the next two minutes.

When the Vegetable Man had finished its vampiric feeding of poor Frederick, it sprinted up a steep embankment and disappeared at a supernatural speed, leaving Frederick's arm in pain and with several small wounds where the creature had suckled. Before fleeing the scene himself, Frederick heard what he interpreted as the creature's craft being propelled by a propulsion system.

No one ever saw the Vegetable Man again, and it is understandable why Frederick would wait so long before telling his unbelievably weird story of what seems like a close encounter with an extremely odd creature from another planet.

As an interesting side note, I can confirm that a Jennings Frederick and a Jennings Frederick, Jr. did live in Fairmont, WV. Jennings Frederick, Jr., who went by Skip, did serve in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War and his obituary interestingly notes that he loved art and science, and was known to be able to draw whatever he saw. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2012 at the age of 62.

Further Reading:

Cryptid Wiki---Veggie Man

Vegetable Man: Cryptopia by Rob Morphy. 11 July 2016

What Happened to Bandit? A Mothman Story

Raleigh Register 17 November 1966

How does a missing German Shepherd from Doddridge County become entwined with the famous Mothman sightings that plagued the people of Point Pleasant, 120 miles away, for over two years?  To answer that, we need to go back to the night of November 15th, 1966 and wade through quite a bit of misinformation and inconsistencies. In today's blog, I hope to explain the differing accounts of what happened that night, where the information comes from, and hopefully, paint  a clearer, more accurate account of Bandit's disappearance and how his story relates to Mothman lore. 

It was a cold, clear Tuesday night in Centerpoint, a small community in Doddridge County, located about 20 miles from Clarksburg, WV. The Partridge Family---Newell (later known as Merle), his wife, and their six children (4 boys and 2 girls) were at the family farm on Pike Fork. The family pet, a 3 year old, 110 lb. German Shepherd named Bandit, was on the porch outside.

At around 10:30 pm or shortly after, the television started cutting out.  What had been images of the movie, Wild and Wonderful, featuring a white French poodle named Monsieur Cognac, were now replaced by a 'fine herringbone pattern.' The television also started making a horrible, high pitched noise, which was described as almost like a generator starting up. Bandit began howling outside, presumably bothered by the television set's strange, ear-splitting screech.

And...this is where the details of the story start to get a little muddled.

According to newspaper articles from the time of the incident and Gray Barker's book, The Silver Bridge, Mr. Partridge turned the television off and walked out onto the porch with a flashlight.  At about that time, Bandit sprinted off the porch and into the field, headed toward the direction of either a small barn or pump house, around a football field's length away. His fur was bristled, and he acted as if he were about to attack something.  Mr. Partridge called to him, but the usually obedient dog did not return to his master.  When a flashlight was shone in the direction the dog was headed, it picked up what was then described by newspaper accounts and Barker as being two HUGE glowing red eyes, unlike anything Partridge had ever seen before. They looked like two bicycle reflectors. Partridge went to go for his gun, but didn't go after the dog or the thing with glowing red eyes that night.

Bandit never returned home that night, or the following day. At some point within the next few days, Partridge investigated the area.  He could see evidence of where Bandit had ran off the porch and through the grass to the area near the barn or pump house. Once there, he could see the dog's paw prints in the mud, going around in a circle as if it were chasing its own tail, but there were no prints or other evidence to suggest that the dog ran off somewhere.  It was like it had just vanished. 

Tribute to Bandit at the 2016 Mothman Festival.  Seen with one of the Partridge sons. 
Photo property of Loren Colman. 

Meanwhile in Point Pleasant...

Linda and Roger Scarberry, along with their friends, Steve and Mary Mallette, had witnessed a huge, winged humanoid while driving in the former TNT area, just north of Pt. Pleasant. Again, reports differ slightly, but at some point while they were either being chased down the main road back into town at over 100 mph, or when they stopped to turn around, they saw what appeared to be a large, dead dog lying by the roadside.  According to Linda Scarberry, the dog was seen near the old CC Lewis farm, and on the map, pictured below (found in the book, Mothman: Behind Red Eyes), the location of the dog was just north of Tiny's Drive-In along Rt. 62 on the same side of the road as the river. 

After summoning help and heading back to the TNT area less than an hour later, the dog carcass was nowhere to be seen.  All of this occurred around 90 minutes after Bandit disappeared from the Partridge Farm.

The appearance and disappearance of the dead dog apparently made a fairly big impact on the witnesses, because it was included in the news reports that came out about the incident.  That news made it to Newell Partridge and something clicked that made him think that maybe his Bandit could have been that dog. 

Partridge, a building contractor, often called up the local news station, WBOY-TV, in Clarksburg to get weather reports and other information, and developed a rapport with anchor, Pete Lyman. According to Barker, Partridge called Pete on the 17th and asked  him to gather up some information on the recent incident in Pt. Pleasant.  Pete got the feeling that there must be some reason why Partridge would make such an unusual request as opposed to his usual weather inquiries, and asked him whether or not he'd seen something.  Without thinking, Partridge told him about the red lights/reflectors/eyes he had seen and about his missing dog. 

Pete Lyman, standing. 1962. Source

Intrigued, Pete told Partridge that the station had sent a reporter down to Pt. Pleasant who believed the witnesses saw SOMETHING that shook them up, and asked if Partridge would mind if he sent the reporter over to talk with him. In a later interview with Mothman researcher, author, and curator of the Mothman Museum, Jeff Wamsley, Partridge would claim that the next day, he was bombarded. Not only did the reporter come out, but allegedly so did an Air Force Colonel, a detective, and others. The family was pranked and ridiculed, and received weird phone calls of just beeping noises. Partridge wished he had never told anyone what had happened, but he did give an interview with Gray Barker on the 19th, which ended up in the book, The Silver Bridge. 

From what I can gather, Partridge didn't give another interview on the subject until he was interviewed by Wamsley in the 1980's, while Wamsley's band was returning from a gig in the area.  In this interview, which can be found in the book, Mothman: Behind Red Eyes, Partridge shares some additional information, clears up some misinformation he claims Barker got wrong, and makes one fairly startling change to the narrative.  

To begin with, early accounts claim that Partridge's first name is Newell.  However, later on he goes by Merle, and claims that there was a mix-up with his birth certificate, on which Newell was wrongly put instead of Merle. 

Further, the incident with the television apparently didn't end with just turning the set off.  In his interview with Wamsley, Partridge claims that the television tube actually exploded, breaking out the glass and ruining the whole set, which had to be replaced. But, the most significant change to the story involved what was actually seen.

In the interview with Wamsley, Partridge also claimed that he never described the red circles as eyes. In fact, there was nothing living, nor organic about them whatsoever.  He kept emphasizing that what he really saw were flashing, red lights of a mechanical nature. Also, the flattened, worn down area where the dog's prints had been found going around in a circle had previously been blamed on cows.  Now, it was suggested that something 'more than a helicopter' had been out there, flattening the grass in the field. 

Merle Partridge.  Still from Eyes of the Mothman documentary (2011)

Partridge goes on to further explain in this interview that a neighbor about 2 miles away also had the same thing happen with HIS television that night, and for about a week following the incident, things were eerily quiet and devoid of the usual outdoor nature noises. There's also a story that Partridge feels is connected about a neighbor coming to him for help about a week later because his younger son went missing, only to reappear walking down the road in a direction where it would have been impossible for him to come from.

So what is up with the inconsistencies in this story?  Partridge claims that ufologist Gray Barker got a lot of details wrong, and to be quite honest, we now know that Barker could be a little less than truthful when it came to his UFO research.  But were these honest mistakes, misunderstandings, or flat out lies on his part?  And why would newspaper reporters say the same thing about Partridge seeing glowing red EYES at the time of the incident?  They wouldn't have gotten information from Gray Barker, who interviewed Partridge AFTER the newspaper articles came out for his book that wouldn't be published until 1970.

Was Partridge intimidated or threatened by someone to change his story, or did two decades take a toll on his memory?  Was he simply trying to clear up years of misinformation? And if we do assume that the red lights were mechanical in nature and not eyes, does that mean that Mothman arrived in or was accompanied by some sort of craft?  

Over 50 years later, and we aren't any closer to solving the Mothman mystery.  Nevertheless, the body of lore surrounding this elusive winged humanoid continues to grow, as does interest in its story.  Keep checking Theresa's Haunted History Facebook page and blog to stay up to date on West Virginia's favorite cryptid!