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| Prior Major Players in the Flatwoods Affair, all gone now... |
...Or the whole story would have been lost to the hoary mists of official misdirection, nasty naysayers, the usual government cover-ups... and time!
Author and illustrator Frank C. Feschino, Jr. is a skilled artist who studied illustration, commercial art, and photography at Paier College of Art in Hamden, Connecticut. His bona fides were written in academic stone and immaculate… plus, as a student known for a certain perspicacious seriousness, he was highly regarded at this private school.
Trained to his craft by several world-renowned artists including Kenneth Davies, Rudolph Zallinger, Paul Lipp, and John Massimino, he excelled at anatomical drawing and forensic rendering. ...Keep that in mind.
Feschino’s major course
of study at Paier was illustration art. He studied trompe-l'œil style oil
painting, acrylic painting, portraiture, anatomical drawing, and advanced
pencil drawing techniques. All evidence of this can be found in the many compelling
illustrations available, typifying his work. Feschino graduated in 1981, earned his
four-year Fine Arts diploma from Paier College of Art, and then continued to
hone his film, camera, and artistic skills.
It was about this time, then, that Feschino began to investigate the
"Flatwoods Monster" incident! This was while attending Phillips
Jr. College in Florida during the early 1990s. There, he studied Film and Video
production. He was trained by noted Hollywood steady-cam camera
operator, Richard Davis.
Feschino would continue to research the Flatwoods Case for several more years, even writing a groundbreaking book that chronicles his investigation into that famous UFO close encounter case. Truly, his was an explosion of the whole affair. Even the copyrighting Library of Congress took unusual interest before granting his copyright... a curiously suspicious interest...
It is titled, "The Braxton County Monster—The Cover-up of the Flatwoods Monster Revealed." ...We’ll digress momentarily to inform the reader that this was a purposefully botched publication, all fault to the errant publisher, and is disavowed by Feschino at great personal cost! It contained hundreds of mistakes & mismatches, unapproved editing, and even unwarranted deletions of text, all very suspicious… besmirching, right off the bat, the scholarship and the stunning revelations of Feschino… who was suggesting, for the first time, remember, an associated and documented air war with ET!
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| Feschino and Friedman plus Paper headline blowup |
Also? …To besmirch the STERLING reputation of one very eminent ufologist, Stanton Friedman, who had read the Feschino approved manuscript, so knew how it was supposed to be… and who put his reputation on-the-line for Feschino, writing fore and aft in that, what turned out to be, ruined (and ruining!) publication! Friedman would write, fore and aft, in all of Feschino’s subsequent books…
Summing up? Feschino was to have “final say” in the published
content. He didn’t, and his story was very nearly destroyed, right there, out
of the gate! …Again, all very suspiciously!
…Anyway, an indefatigable Feschino rallied, forthwith, and, suspecting
that he wouldn’t get a fair shot in legacy publishing? He self-published the
correct manuscript, himself! This book was later re-released into an "Updated
and Revised" edition... as his investigation is ongoing.
The point? Ultimately, it was Feschino who investigated and
reanimated the Flatwoods case, videotaped the original first-hand witnesses,
wrote the reference book, illustrated the cover, did all the interior
illustrations, maps… and took all the photos contained within it.
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| One of the first forensic Feschino renderings... |
Most noteworthy, let us not forget that it was crack illustrator Frank Feschino, Jr. who actually sat down with the "Flatwoods Monster" witnesses in their homes like family and did unhurried police-style renderings of the so-called "monster"… all this setting the record straight... or straighter!
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| Feschino... and the May family, all deceased now. Sans Feschino, their story would have died with them. |
It was Feschino who revealed or otherwise discovered WHAT the witnesses actually saw that night! ...That it was NOT an entirely living, breathing, if supernatural "flesh-and-blood monster," one even more dismissible than what had been portrayed, as such, for several duplicitous decades!
The famous drawing of the so-called "monster" from
1952, we'll recall, depicts a giant figure fitted in a silly garment outfit,
covered in a hood with a tunic-type top, and wearing a long-pleated sweet-sixteen
skirt, then tricked out with long skeletal arms and sharp claws. This was all “Public Domain”
bupkis. A mislead! A distraction! A deflection! There would be other such!
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| Infamous "We The People" 1952 rendering! |
Feschino was told by the witnesses that this
original drawing of skirts, arms, and claws was absolutely
wrong and the "thing" they saw didn't look like that, at all! They
were rushed and pressured in its execution at the TV station and had little
input on the finished product. Feschino would correct precisely
that!
See? …And on the contrary, they informed Feschino that the nearly 12-foot-tall figure they saw was some kind of a metal "Space Suit" device that resembled a rocket, and that it was topped with a large helmet shaped like an ace of spades! That was the report from the start.
In likely reality, folks, the
"Flatwoods Monster" was probably a machine functioning as some kind of silent…
the witnesses don’t mention a “motive” sound, at all, suit! We digress, but imagine
the raucous roaring sound of the amount of "leaf blowers" required to keep that huge thing aloft in a maneuvering hover, the cloud of dirt-road dust and debris thrown up in that blast… yet
the witnesses, all seven, don’t even mention that… where they have clearer descriptions of
everything else! It would have been mentioned, one reasonably suspects. No, from what remains, it had to have been a hovercraft or
vehicle… some kind of encounter suit… but a quiet one apart from its reported sound
of a strange electrical or "frying fat" sizzle. What a strange propulsion this thing must have had!
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| The Flatwoods Monster, REVEALED! |
…This could be likened to a “manned” probe? ...The boggled mind struggles to wrap itself around SOMETHING!
On Sept. 19, 1952, first-hand witnesses Kathleen May and
Gene Lemon went to New York to recount their frightening story to a nationwide
TV audience on the popular NBC talk show, "We The People," and,
as we have written beforehand, an artist hired for the TV episode
talked for mere moments to Mrs. May and Lemon backstage in the studio
before their interview. They “collaborated,” drawing an illustration
of the "monster" to accompany the program, right there on
the spot, from scratch! What could go wrong?!
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| Lemon and May |
Sadly, as has been written, this less-than-salient artist, aspiring to wow the “woo-factor,” one can surmise, “misinterpreted” the witnesses' descriptions of the so-called "monster" …so drawing it incorrectly. This inaccurate drawing of the figure was then shown to a nationwide TV audience during May and Lemons' interview… so was then inculcated, reader, cemented into the minds of a credulous National audience…(and its researchers!) that “this,” this "skirted claw monster," was the true likeness of the "entity" in question. It would discourage, corrupt, and mislead other investigators for decades!
See? As a result of the initial artist's gross misinterpretation, the so-called "Flatwoods Monster" was portrayed INCORRECTLY, and in a manner subsequently rejectable as a West Virginia tale of dismissible folklore, moonshine and hillbillies, so utterly discountable by the authorities. …Then Feschino was to take an interest, quite simply devoting his life to it! There was now a new sheriff in town!Put more simply honing the point, were it not for the decades of Frank Feschino's singular research dedicated to this case... and the crafting of his forensic illustrations... those illustrations accurately portraying the so-called "Flatwoods Monster," finally... Well, we would all still be in the dark… stuck in that inaccurate mindset of 1952 and a fog of government cover-ups outlined in Feschino’s books! Almost lost... The Flatwoods monster… AND? (cue the ominous music!) ...That associated and pesky “air war with extraterrestrials” he exposed... All would be lost to the cloying fogs of mirthful myth and lurid legend.
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| A. Lee Stewart |
Remember that at the time, both the state police and local police were out on previous calls (More UFO calls!) and so were unable to get to her home. Mr. Stewart, however, knew the State Police well, professionally, and had worked with them on numerous occasions.
With his pro-grade camera always at his side, Stewart assisted the troopers at crime and accident scenes by taking photos for them! He'd do this while also covering the stories for his newspaper. Subsequently, A. Lee Stewart, Jr. was empowered by the State Police that night to respond to Mrs. May's call! Stewart was the first person of authority, then, to reach her home after the incident!
Our intrepid Mr. Stewart drove to the house and walked into a chaotic scene! Stewart organized the chaos and even led an armed posse of locals onto the Fisher Farm in search of the "monster"! That's some grit!
He was the first person to talk to the
witnesses that night! He interviewed them over the weekend and had the boys,
under some harsh third-degree duress, and separately, draw pictures of the
"monster." Shortly after he left the house that night, he broke the
"Monster" story to "The Charleston Gazette"
newspaper. He’d be back. There was an astonishing story a'foot, and he
was an old-school journalist!
His breaking story appeared in "The Charleston
Gazette" in an article dated, Sunday, September 14, 1952. The
headline read, "Did It Ride Meteor? Boys Spot Appalling Creature Near
Flatwoods, Link It To Passage of Fiery Object in Skies." Reporter A. Lee
Stewart, Jr. was credited with the byline, "Special to the Gazette,"
which was the information he had given to the newspaper. Feschino reports
to have all these papers and articles…
The series of events unfolding in Flatwoods that night was
accurately explained in his article, and the huge figure at issue was called, a
"Thing," the "object," an "Appalling
Creature" and "the Monster."
…But here’s the substantive rub! There was,
STILL, no physical description given of the “Monster” or what the figure
actually looked like! That would be a mystery until Feschino took an interest!
Later that day, a follow-up article on the incident appeared in "The Charleston Daily Mail." It contained information from reporter Stewart, as well as information from a Gazette reporter, an additional man who had driven up to Flatwoods to cover the story.
This reporter also added information to the article, and reported, "Braxton Co. Residents Faint, Become Ill After Run-In With Weird 10-Foot Monster." It gave a description of the "Monster" and stated, "Having the shape of a man, blood-red face, bright green body, protruding eyes, and hands extended forward and appeared to give off an eerie light." It also added, "It had a black shield affair in the shape of an ace of spades behind it."
Although this description of the figure was not
entirely correct and didn't give a good visual image of its true appearance,
the article did contain a small detail! It reported the huge figure was
"metallic."
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| METALLIC! Reported from the start! |
On Monday, September 15th, The Charleston Gazette ran
another article, "Braxton Monster Left Skid Tracks Where He Landed.
(Special to The Gazette)." This was yet another article that contained
additional information that A. Lee Stewart, Jr. had given them as he
continued to interview the witnesses over the weekend. The headline read,
"Braxton Monster Left Skid Tracks Where He Landed."
Most importantly, this article gives a more accurate description of its true appearance for the first time! The article states, "The Phantom of Flatwoods: Left tracks from six to eight feet apart. Wore a suit of green armor. Looked like a mechanical man. Was 10 feet tall, four feet wide. Had a blood-red face. Sported a black spade-like cowl, which extended a foot or more above its head. It had claw-like 'toy' hands too. And orange-green eyes the size of silver dollars, according to Mrs. May, a 32-year-old beautician who saw the 'thing.'"
As a result of Stewart's exceptional
reporting, the description he received from Mrs. May about the
"monster's" true appearance was finally known and put into print! Sadly,
Mrs. May's information was never seen in the press again! The monster would continue to wear a skirt for decades!
Meanwhile, the United Press news service had already picked
up the Flatwoods story over the weekend, and on Monday, September 15, 1952, the
Flatwoods story broke nationwide. That lit the fuse! The story went off like a bomb, worldwide!
The Flatwoods incident appeared in newspapers all over the
country, but it only addressed the figure as a "monster" of indeterminate shape! As a
result, the newspapers carrying the story ran with the "monster"
angle, and their stories continued to portray it as a duplicitous “flesh-and-blood” entity. One can see the reason for the use of "inculcated" and "cemented," above...
Overnight, Flatwoods was put on the map as reporters,
journalists, and investigators swamped the tiny town looking for information and
interviews about the huge "monster" from Flatwoods. Since Mr. Stewart
was the johnny-on-the-spot reporter who had interviewed the witnesses and broken
the story, he was sought out and overwhelmed by the countless reporters and
investigators seeking information about the incident!
Subsequently, "The Braxton Democrat"
newspaper office in Sutton was also swamped and became the news hub where newspaper
reporters from around the country met while covering their stories.
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| Ivan Sanderson |
Later that week, the "North American Newspaper Alliance" syndicate caught wind of the story and contacted world-renowned biologist, zoologist, and author Ivan T. Sanderson about the incident. They asked him to go to Flatwoods and write a news story about the affair! Shortly after, Sanderson left New York for Flatwoods with his assistant Eddie Schoenenberger to investigate the story.
Upon arriving in Sutton late that Friday morning, September
19th, they dropped their luggage at a motel and then repaired to Flatwoods.
After arriving in town, Sanderson met five of the boys who saw the
"Flatwoods Monster" and interviewed them. He was then escorted onto the
Fisher Farm to the encounter site where he inspected the area for the remainder
of the day.
Meanwhile, even he had interviewed some of the boys, Sanderson did NOT get to meet Mrs. May, Gene Lemon, or A. Lee Stewart, Jr. when
he arrived in Flatwoods that Friday! They had already left town and were
away on their journey to New York to be interviewed for the NBC talk show "We
The People" later that night at 8:30 p.m. Again, Sanderson never met with the adult first-hand witnesses!
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| Sanderson and his investigation team... |
On the following day, Sanderson and Schoenenberger went back to Flatwoods and conducted further interviews with the boys throughout the morning. They were also joined by members of the Charleston chapter of the National Speleological Society, and others, who Sanderson had called the night before to assist him with his work. This writer surmises that when Sanderson called, one came.
Sanderson also met with Gray Barker, who was in town investigating
the case, as well. Barker, a native West Virginian, was born in Riffle, Braxton
County, but was a current resident of Clarksburg where he was employed. He also
went to Flatwoods to investigate the incident and was on assignment to write an
article for FATE Magazine.
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| Gray Barker |
Barker arrived in Flatwoods late Friday night and went into
town Saturday morning. While in Flatwoods, Barker stated he "...spent 3 days
subjecting these 7 people [Flatwoods witnesses], and other residents of the
area to rigorous questioning." He added, "I had worked three days
running down leads the story involved." Throughout the weekend, Gray
Barker interviewed many of the locals as well as the boy witnesses, and he did
manage to have at least 3 of them draw a sketch of the so-called
"monster."
In his own writings, Barker states that he relied heavily on the testimony of 14-year-old Neil Nunley for most of his information. During his investigation, he also chased down other leads that weekend, going to other locations where objects were sighted on September 12th, and he interviewed those witnesses.
Though Barker, like Sanderson, never met with May or Lemon! Kathleen May in actuality, having enough of the "embarrassing affair" finally later on, actually ran Barker off when he showed up, unannounced, subsequently, for an interview! Barker never spoke to her!On Saturday morning, Sanderson continued to examine the farm
with his colleagues. They surveyed the area, mapped out the farm, obtained
samples from the encounter site, and they took photos. Sanderson then departed
Flatwoods with his assistant, Eddie Shoenenberger, following the leads of
additional sightings reported in Braxton County the same night. We’ve written
about those, too.
They traveled southwest of Flatwoods and investigated the locations where fiery objects were reported to have crashed. They were joined there by Gray Barker.
Throughout the day, they interviewed witnesses, investigated the crash locations, and then wrapped up their investigations late Saturday afternoon. Gray Barker drove back into town while Sanderson and Schoenenberger drove down to Charleston to investigate the other September 12th sightings reported in the press!
They spent most of Sunday interviewing various people.
Meanwhile, Barker stayed in the area and continued to chase down new leads! He
interviewed people throughout Sunday, by his report, then departed Braxton County, driving back
to his home in Clarksburg.
Both Sanderson, and to a lesser degree, Barker, did thorough enough jobs while
investigating the Flatwoods incident and the other UFO events that occurred on the
night of September 12, 1952. They were the pioneers in this case and helped
to put Flatwoods on the map, while covering the "Flatwoods Monster"
incident…
Only, full stop! The reason for this essay is not the who, what, when, why, and where's of Sanderson’s and Barker's involvement in this case! The writer is not here to split hairs about their investigations in Braxton County that weekend! They did what they did, and it was FINE! It was a beginning, even if a doomed one.
Their investigations, such as they were, have been covered in all of their writings and repeatedly told (parroted, purloined and plagiarized?) by numerous other writers and “Barker adherents” for decades... and to this day.
No, this writer is here to raise a question concerning
a key point that Barker and Sanderson never were able to derive after their exhaustive investigations! That point, reader, is a true and accurate portrait of the
appearance of the so-called "monster." Let this writer explain!
As a result of his investigation and interviews with the boys, Ivan T. Sanderson did conclude the huge figure the witnesses saw on the Fisher Farm was not a "monster." On September 25, 1952, "The Pittsburgh Press" newspaper ran Sanderson's story about his Braxton County investigation. It was datelined, "SUTTON, W.Va. Sept.24." The headline of this "North American Newspaper Alliance" article read, "SAUCER REPORTS VALID, EXPERT SAYS - 12-Foot, Glowing 'Monster' was a Machine, Science Writer Says."
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| Sanderson's Report... |
Sanderson concluded the following about the figure in question called the "Flatwoods Monster." He stated plainly that it "...was not a man, or a monster. It was some sort of machine like a diving bell."
Here, Mr. Sanderson states that the so-called "monster" was actually a "machine." In reference to the "black, spade like cowl, which extended a foot or more above the head," and was mentioned in Stewart's article ten days before, Sanderson added that it had "a circular transparent window in front of it." This black cowl was likely an outer helmet encasing a red inner helmet.
Summing up! A. Lee Stewart's article accurately described
the giant figure, "looked like a mechanical man" and likewise,
Sanderson said "It was some sort of machine like a diving bell."
Sanderson was also correct in his assessment that it "was not a man, or
a monster."
Furthermore, Sanderson also wrote a detailed account of his
Flatwoods investigation in his 1967 book, "UNINVITED VISITORS." It
appears in the chapter, "A THING ON THE GROUND."
He made the following statement about the
"monster" encounter near the tree writing, "It was caught
in the act by seven human beings, but, being 'fixed' in a pressurized suit,
when it 'saw' that it had been observed, it headed back to its ship."
Although Ivan T. Sanderson's descriptions of the 12-foot-tall figure are
correct and accurate; he never fully comprehended what it actually looked
like!
Moreover, Mr. Sanderson's book, "UNINVITED
VISITORS," did NOT contain any illustrations of the "monster"
from his investigation in Flatwoods that weekend. Yet, the private files of his
investigation do contain 2 color drawings of the "monster" that were
never published in his writings!
This "WE The People" episode was
aired from an NBC studio in New York at 8:30 p.m. It featured interviews with
witnesses Mrs. May and Gene Lemon. They retold their frightening story to a
live nationwide audience that night. As a visual aid to be used
during the episode, a large drawing
of the "monster" was used to accompany them.
Before the show aired, an artist sat backstage, as
described above, with May and Lemon! The
artist talked to them while drawing the figure they described to him.
Sadly, as outlined above, the artist totally misinterpreted their descriptions! He
portrayed the figure as a scary "space monster." He
illustrated it as a magically floating figure with a pointed cloth hooded over
its head, wearing a long-pleated dress, and having long skinny arms and
claws. This inaccurate drawing became the standard portrayal of the
figure and has been seen across the world for many decades.
We’ll remember that a forgotten key figure, who also
appeared on the program that night was the aforementioned A. Lee Stewart, Jr. from
the Braxton Democrat. He went to New York with Mrs. May and Gene Lemon,
sat on stage with them during their interviews, and actually wrapped up the
program, himself, by talking about his involvement in the
incident!
We note that there were other drawings of the
so-called "monster" appearing in print and attached to Sanderson's
name! One such article appeared in a small 1956 privately published newsletter
called, "INFINITY" and dated, "Oct.-Dec. 1956."
Even by 1956, it is obvious that no one knew what the
"monster" had actually looked like and was still showing silly
drawings of it. Moreover, as a side note, even though this publication had a
limited distribution for the time, the "monster" article was found by
Project Blue Book officials and actually appears in the case file "#2078"
for "12 SEP 1952." This indicates that officials at Blue
Book were closely monitoring the Flatwoods case even after four years and were
still recording it!
When Gray Barker's article appeared in the January 1953
issue of FATE Magazine, it was titled, "The Monster and the Saucer."
The article describes the "monster" on the title page, "The huge
shape with the weirdly glowing eyes" and illustrates a black and white ink
drawing of a pointy-headed Black man with his arms sprawled out! This is as far away
from the truth as one could imagine. See, no one had any idea, but the first-hand witnesses... and Feschino had yet to pull that out of them!
Later, Barker published a small private booklet,
"FLATWOODS, W.VA.
'MONSTER' - A Full Report " that is dated, "September
1953." He writes, "The cover of this issue illustrates the
'Monster' in quite an imaginative way, and is used only because it is the best
art available at the time. That Cover is based on a
drawing by artists [an artist] for the 'We The People' telecast on which
two of the witnesses appeared.”
He continues, "It is the purpose here to report in
greater detail, what I found out for Fate." The cover of this booklet
replicates the incorrect garment-wearing, clawed "monster" drawing
used during the 1952, "We The People" show. Again,
wrong!
Barker explains, "THE MONSTER" and writes, "Towering over their heads, was a vast shape of something like a man. The face everyone agreed was round, and blood red. No one noticed a nose or mouth, only eyes, or eye-like openings, from which projected 'greenish-orange' beams of light." Barker continues, "Around the 'face' and reaching upward to a point (see cover) was a hood-like shape, dark in appearance." Barker then talks about the lower torso, "The [sic] also saw clothing-like folds around the body."
In closing, he
writes, "Was it a robot, controlled mechanically?" and adds, "...Or was it a man, or 'thing' in a spacesuit." These statements
by Barker were probably made in reference to the description of the
"eyelike openings,' from projected 'greenish-orange' beams of light."
Furthermore, Gray Barker also wrote about his Flatwoods
investigation in his 1956 book, "They Knew Too Much About Flying
Saucers." It appears in Chapter 2 of the book and is titled, "Flatwoods,
West Virginia." Here, Barker writes, "Three years have passed
since some people were almost scared out of their wits in Flatwoods."
He closes the chapter, "The excitement has about died down, but
West Virginians in the reach of radio singer Cindy Coy still love to hear the
inevitable ballad composed by announcer Don Lamb." The name of this
song is "The Phantom of Flatwoods.”
Still, Gray Barker never knew what the
"monster" looked like, aside from the simple drawings that were made
by WTP and the young boys. This becomes even more apparent when he published his 1956
UFO magazine booklet, "Saucerian Bulletin" issue #21.”
The front cover shows the same old rehashed incorrect 1952 drawing of the
"monster" and is superimposed over the path area, near the Oak tree
where the encounter occurred. The back cover is the same photo of Barker
standing next to the Oak tree. Again, it is obvious that Barker never knew what
the so-called monster looked like, either, as his published works never gave an
accurate illustration of what the "Flatwoods Monster" actually looked
like!
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| Barker never knew what it was... and didn't connect the Air War with ET angle as a cause... |
The point, reader? These investigators, Fabulist Barker, credited only by the credulous, or First-drawer Professional Sanderson, credited by the planet as a world-travelled investigator, never sat down with any of the witnesses to do police-style rendering while conducting interviews with them… because they were NOT forensic artists and never in contact, moreover, with the adult first-hand witnesses, as has been pointed out! It was a forensic ARTIST that was required to blow the lid off, a forensic artist in an unrushed interview with the first-hand and cooperating witnesses! Forensic illustration is not art, per se, before it is evidence recovery.
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| One of many such stories! |
Feschino would be that forensic artist! It was HE, after all who, in pulling that information so painstakingly from the witnesses, revealed the “Flatwoods Monster” at all ...AND its straight-line connection to an AIR WAR with ET during 1952’s “Summer of Saucers.”
Before Feschino: folklore, confusion, and mockery. After Feschino: coherent narrative, consistent witness testimony, and accurate rendering. The late Stanton Friedman, as a result, with a host of nameable others, thought so, too! ...Accept no substitutes. Read on…
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| Frank C. Feschino Jr. |
