Cryptids and UFOs in West Virginia

Creatures reported in West Virginia

Flatwoods Monsteraka Braxton County Monster, Phantom of FlatwoodsA towering figure with a spade-shaped hood seen after a fiery object fell from the sky in 1952.Grafton Monsteraka Grafton monster, Headless monster of GraftonA tall, pale, headless-looking figure seen by a Grafton newspaperman in 1964.Sheepsquatchaka Sheep Squatch, Boone County white beastA woolly white, horned beast reported in West Virginia hollows in the 1990s.White Thingaka The White Thing, White Thing of West VirginiaA white, shaggy, dog-like beast of West Virginia folklore said to scream like a woman.Mothmanaka The Bird, Red-eyed winged manA winged figure with glowing red eyes seen around Point Pleasant in 1966 and 1967.Indrid Coldaka Grinning Man, Smiling ManA smiling man in a shiny suit who stepped out of a UFO in West Virginia in 1966.Men in Blackaka MIB, Men in blackPale, oddly behaved men in black suits who warn UFO witnesses to keep quiet.Vegetable Manaka Veggie Man, Grant Town Vegetable ManA thin, plant-like humanoid a West Virginia man said grabbed him in 1968; only told by a known hoaxer.

Famous cases

1. 1952Fisher farm encounter
   Flatwoods Monster · Flatwoods, West Virginia
2. 1964Cockrell sighting
   Grafton Monster · Grafton, West Virginia
3. 1965"The White Thing" folk tale collected
   Sheepsquatch · West Virginia
4. 1965Ruth Ann Musick prints the tale from her Fairmont students
   White Thing · Fairmont, West Virginia
5. 1966TNT area chase
   Mothman · Point Pleasant, West Virginia
6. 1966Derenberger roadside encounter
   Indrid Cold · Near Parkersburg, West Virginia
7. 1967Silver Bridge collapse
   Mothman · Point Pleasant, West Virginia
8. 1967Point Pleasant visits
   Men in Black · Point Pleasant, West Virginia
9. 1968Jennings Frederick's claimed encounter
   Vegetable Man · Grant Town, West Virginia
10. 1995Mid-1990s wave of sightings
    Sheepsquatch · Kanawha Valley, West Virginia
11. 2024First Grafton Monster Festival
    Grafton Monster · Grafton, West Virginia

UFO files

• 68 US Air Force Project Blue Book files from West Virginia, 1947 to 1969
• 11 FAA pilot reports of lights and objects over West Virginia, 2007 to 2024
• Saw a strange light? Check whether it was a planet

Encounters and mysteries

• The Flatwoods monsterFlatwoods, Braxton County, West Virginia, USA, 1952After a light fell from the sky, a group in Flatwoods said a towering, hooded figure with a glowing face hissed and glided toward them.

From the old newspapers

Strange creatures, sea serpents and mystery airships reported in West Virginia papers before 1927.

1. 1886A 40-foot snake in the Buzzard Den cave
   Milton
2. 1896A feathered monster shot in Lincoln County
   Hamlin
3. 1896The catawampus of Doe Gully tunnel
   Great Cacapon
4. 1897Sistersville signs an affidavit
   Sistersville
5. 1897A travelling salesman saw it four times
   Wheeling
6. 1897A wild woman who leaps fences like a deer
   Elkins
7. 1907A huge eagle tries to carry off a boy
   Confluence

All 7 newspaper reports from West Virginia

Places to visit

• Mothman MuseumPoint PleasantThe world's only museum devoted to the red-eyed Mothman, with witness accounts, news clippings from 1966 and 1967 and a pile of Mothman memorabilia. It sits a f...
• Flatwoods Monster MuseumSuttonBraxton County's visitor centre doubles as a shrine to the 1952 Flatwoods Monster, with early sketches, an original 'Home of the Green Monster' sign and plenty ...
• West Virginia Bigfoot MuseumSuttonA small family-run museum a few blocks from the Flatwoods Monster Museum, with local footprint casts, a full-size Bigfoot figure and a binder of West Virginia s...
• Mothman FestivalPoint PleasantHuge crowds fill downtown Point Pleasant for speakers, vendors, food trucks, live music and hayrides. It is the biggest cryptid party in the country.
• West Virginia Bigfoot FestivalSummersvilleHosted by the West Virginia Bigfoot Museum. After years in Sutton it moved to Veterans Memorial Park in Summersville for 2026.
• Mothman StatuePoint PleasantBob Roach's gleaming stainless-steel Mothman, about 12 feet tall with spread wings and red eyes, has stood downtown since 2003. Everyone takes the photo.
• The TNT Area (McClintic Wildlife Management Area)Point PleasantOld WWII explosives works north of town, still dotted with concrete igloos, where four young people first reported Mothman on November 15, 1966.
• Flatwoods Monster Chair TrailFlatwoodsFive 10-foot chairs shaped like the 1952 monster are spread from Flatwoods through Sutton to Gassaway. Photograph all five for a "Free Braxxie" sticker.
• Mothman Museum TNT Area ToursPoint PleasantGuided tours of the TNT area where Mothman was first seen, sold through the Mothman Museum. They sell out early in spring.

More about visiting in West Virginia · Events and festivals

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