The Flatwoods monster
The account
A light fell onto a hill, and at the spot a three-meter being with a spade-shaped head terrified a group of locals.
What investigators found
Skeptical investigators point to a meteor seen across several states that night and a barn owl in a tree.
The story
On the night of September 12, 1952, boys in Flatwoods saw a glowing object come down over a farm. A small group, including the mother of two of them, climbed the hill and said they found a huge figure with a glowing face and a head shaped like the ace of spades, along with a strong smell that made some of them sick.
The case made newspapers across the country and landed in the Air Force's Project Blue Book. That same night, a bright meteor was seen in several states, which would explain the light. Investigator Joe Nickell proposed that the creature was a startled barn owl perched on a branch. For locals, however, the monster became a symbol of the region.