I grew up with an active imagination - an imagination that came in the form of a sweet, honest, Democrat hillbilly cop who loved the idea of Bigfoot, UFOs, and all things strange and unexplainable. My imagination was my dad and he passed on that love and wonder of all things weird and paranormal to me.I can remember bringing home a copy of John Keel's The Mothman Prophecies from the local library. I was 12 and fascinated that some strange creature, something from another dimension or planet had come to warn the citizens of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, about the collapse of the Silver Bridge, that odd "Men in Black" were trying to cover up the truth about the creature, and that UFOs were seen in the area for 13 solid months.
Then? Upon seeing my reading material? My father told me about another West Virginia monster - the Braxton County Monster, a.k.a. the Flatwoods Monster. Oh, my imagination ran wild. My girl scout troop camped in that area one summer and I waited for some Bigfoot-type creature with glowing, red eyes to step out of the forest and scare the piss out of me.
Turns out, the Braxton County monster wasn't a monster at all - more like an alien in a rocket-propelled space suit, if the witnesses are to be believed. The Braxton County monster was seen the night of September 12, 1952 and I'm sure that if my father hadn't been in Korea, he would have driven the 71 miles from Charleston to Flatwoods to check out the scene. Immediately. He was that kind of guy.
But like any other story involving purported aliens/UFOs and West Virginians, the press got it wrong. It wasn't a furry, man-sized ape, it was something from beyond our atmosphere, something that will never be seen again.
What brought on this bit of West Virginia monster-hunting nostalgia? I picked up a copy of The Braxton County Monster: The Cover-Up of the Flatwoods Monster Revealed by Frank C. Feschino, Jr. It's a wonderful account of that one night in Flatwoods, West Virginia and when you hear the recollections of the young boys and mother who encountered this thing, who have nothing to lose or gain in telling their story, you can't help but believe them.
And I can't help but feel my dad, looking over my shoulder, reading the book with me and smiling.
