Alex Carson
Strange Occurrences
When something strange comes from the sky, many people automatically believe that it is a UFO. Even those who don’t think that there is life on other planets start to believe when they see something strange. Today, we have more advanced technology, which makes it easy to debunk UFO sightings. We have technology that can show us what is in the sky and where it came from. Back in the ’50s, we didn’t have this technology, which made it a bit more difficult for us to tell what came down from the sky. This was the case in Braxton County, West Virginia, on a fall night in 1952.
Three Boys In West Virginia
The event took place on a quiet fall night. Two brothers, Fred and Edward May, were out with their friend, Tommy Hyer. They were playing outside together as they did on most nights after supper, when they saw something bright in the sky of West Virginia. The bright light caught the boys’ attention, and they followed it with their eyes through the sky, and they saw it crash down to the Earth. It appeared that whatever flashed in the sky had landed on a farm belonging to G. Bailey Fisher. The boys knew that they needed help to find out what had come from the sky, and they went to tell their parents.
Help Arrives
Shortly after the boys saw the strange object, another child arrived who also saw something. His name is Neil Nunley, and he claimed to have seen a flashing red light in the distance. Between what the boys had seen and what Neil had seen, people were starting to wonder what was really going on. It wasn’t long before a national guardsman heard about what was happening, and he joined in the search. His name is Eugene Lemon, and he also saw something. According to Eugene, there was a tall “man-like” figure with a round, red face.
A pointed, hoot-like shape surrounded him. Each member of the search party reported seeing something slightly different, but they all painted a picture of something monstrous that was in their midst. They all claim that the figure was hissing at them, which caused them to head for the hills. The last thing they wanted was to come face to face with the monster that had crashed down to Earth.
Feeling Sick
When the search party saw the “monster,” they all reported something that made them feel sick. This was when the sheriff and his deputy got involved. When the residents were feeling sick, it was time for the town law enforcement to get involved. They claimed not to have found anything in the woods, but a reporter who heard about the incident claims that they are wrong. The reporter says that when he heard about what was happening in the woods, he went out there on his own to search for traces of a UFO. He said that he found markings and traces of a gum-like substance, which he was sure was the signs of a UFO that had come down to Earth. He reported the story, and soon, UFO enthusiasts and even some who were skeptical were sure that a UFO had landed in Braxton Country, and now, there was an alien life form walking among them.
Thanks to the reporter, the story started to get around quickly. It was the ’50s version of a story going viral. People from all over the world were sure that a UFO had crash-landed on that fall night. It wouldn’t be for almost 70 years that someone would revisit the case and try to determine what really happened that night.
The Committee For Skeptical Inquiry
In 2000, a group called the Committee For Skeptical Inquiry decided to investigate what happened that night. This is a non-profit organization that works to either prove or debunk strange occurrences. The man looking into the story was Joe Nickell. He wasn’t sure if the UFO theory was correct; however, he had to be sure for himself. He did some digging into other events that occurred that night in other areas and determined that whatever had come from the sky was a meteor. It had been spotted in several other states that night. Next, Joe started looking into the pulsing red light that Neil claimed to have seen. Joe determined that the pulsing light was from a beacon that was used in air navigation. These beacons are designed to activate when a hazard occurs, like when a meteor hits the Earth.
The final question that Joe had was the figure that everyone claimed to have seen. Unfortunately, since it had been nearly 70 years since the incident occurred, he couldn’t search for what everyone claimed to have seen. Based on the witness accounts, he determined that what they had seen was a barn owl. He cannot be sure, but it is his theory. Nearly 70 years after a bizarre incident in West Virginia, people are still asking questions. Joe Nickell thinks he has the answers, but he can’t be 100 percent positive.
