The Summit Snake

AI Image using ChatGPT

This strange story comes to us courtesy of one of my favorite Fortean Historians, Historian of the Strange. Back in July of 1914, Mr. and Mrs. A.W. Brooks of Summit (Wood County), WV were sitting on their porch. They had settled in to enjoy the evening air, when they heard a rustle in the nearby brush. Suddenly, a yellow hoop came shooting out of the brush and began rolling down the hill. Faster and faster it rolled, until it built up enough speed to straighten itself out and FLY through the air. It flew across the valley and landed in a tree about 400 feet away.

This strange creature was dark yellow. It was five inches across at the head, tapering to 1/2 an inch at the tail. Its length measured 30 inches. Instead of wings, it used its tail as a propeller. When questioned by skeptics, the Brooks swore that what they saw was NOT a bird carrying a snake. Others theorized that the creature may have been a dragon. Some rationalized it as a type of lizard with gliding abilities. The Brooks, however, were adamant that they had seen a flying snake and nothing more. 

Ophidiophobia is the official term for fear of snakes, and it's not an uncommon phobia for many. Luckily, that's not something I personally suffer from, but I will say that I'd absolutely be more than a little unnerved to see a yellow hoop roll down the hill, then spread its serpentine body and fly across the valley. The Brooks seemed rather unfazed by the whole incident, and it doesn't seem like the rest of the town cared much, either. As far as I can tell, this incident didn't make it into the local papers. The clipping below, provided by Historian of the Strange, comes from the Tampa Tribune in Florida! 

I can only imagine why a Florida newspaper would be interested in a weird, but not too weird story from a tiny town in West Virginia. It wouldn't have anything to do with the idea that it wasn't likely to be fact-checked would it?  Stay spooky, ya'll---and keep your eyes to the skies in search of flying snakes!

The Tampa Tribune
12 July 1914
Source: Historian of the Strange FB

12 Foot Tall Humanoids in West Virginia

From The Twilight Zone 
"To Serve Man"
This is what I see when I read the description, lol!

In 1897, the little West Virginia town of Ogden was in the midst of an oil and gas boom. Located in Wood County, Ogden quickly became home to numerous drill sites dotting the former farm lands. Tycoons, businessmen, investors...all would descend upon the town in order to try their hand at making a fortune. However, that spring, another type of visitor would also show up.

According to sources, on April 21, 1897 a man witnessed an astonishing sight. This unnamed man observed a well-lit aerial object land nearby. Out of the craft came eight creatures, each 11-12 feet tall with disproportionately large craniums. As luck would have it, these creatures spoke English, and told the man they were there, "exploring the planet." Further, they were observed eating small pills and 'drinking air.'  This crew remained in Ogden for about an hour before taking off again.

Okay, wow. That's quite a story! Unfortunately, that's all there currently is to it. Researcher Albert Rosales included this little blurb about a run-in with giant UFO occupants in his book, Humanoid Encounters and Others Among Us: 1 A.D.-1899. He cites HIS source as a book by Phillip  L. Rife called It Didn't Start with Roswell.  The case was also mentioned in Strange West Virginia Monsters, by Michael Newton, which is where I first heard it and began my (feeble) attempts to track down more information. 

Although all three books recount the exact same details, no more no less, Newton's book did offer a little insight into where this tale may have possibly come from. It seems as if, despite Rife's jumbled notes, the story most likely came from an article in the Parsons Advocate, a newspaper out of Tucker County, WV, located over 2 hours away, all the way across the state from Ogden. The article allegedly appeared in the April 23, 1897 edition, but neither Newton nor myself have been able to get ahold of an archival copy. 

So, I'll have to take Rife's word on it, I guess! But, I think there are some important things to consider when looking at the authenticity of the sighting. If we put away how much like an episode of Scooby Doo this reads as (shady oil and gas tycoons scaring off potential threats to their claims), there is some contemporary precedence for this event. 

While I haven't gotten a chance to read further than the free Google Books preview, Rife's work documents a huge number of both 'ufos' and encounters with the beings inside them dating from late 1896 into 1897. In fact, West Virginia was no stranger to this flap of reported 'phantom airships' that were seeming moving east across the United States during this time frame. 

On April 19, 1897, only TWO DAYS before this weird encounter, witnesses in Sistersville, WV reported seeing red, white, and green flashing lights in the sky. When observed through 'strong glasses,' witnesses could see an 180 foot, cone-shaped craft with fins on either side. It was seen for at least 20 minutes, but seemingly it never landed in that area. (Read Sistersville Phantom Airship)

Sistersville is only about 35 miles north of Ogden, both being right along the Ohio River and accessible via today's Route 2. Was the craft seen in Ogden the same one seen two days earlier only 35 miles north in Sistersville? Or, was the story made up, playing on the sheer number of other newspaper articles from various other locations all reporting weird phantom airships and/or strange humanoid encounters?

There's a good chance we'll never know just how true this story was...but one last thing to consider. Remember how I said Ogden was located in Wood County, West Virginia? Around 70 years later, Wood County would be the location of ANOTHER humanoid from a spaceship encounter...possibly one of the most famous in modern ufo history. In early November 1966, Woodrow Derenberger, returning home to Mineral Wells from a business trip in nearby Marietta, OH would meet a fellow who would call himself Indrid Cold. But, that story is for another day! 

Keep your eyes to the skies!