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SEPTEMBER 13, 1952, FRAMETOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, USA, GEORGE SNITOWSKI AND HIS WIFE:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

A story with a tone of fiction but claimed to be a true story, narrated by its alleged witness George Snitowski, appeared in Male magazine in 1955.

The narrator told that about 08:00 p.m. on September 13, 1952, he was on the road driving back home to New York with his wife and 18 month old son, when his car suddenly went dead in Braxton County, West Virginia, somewhere in the area around Frametown and Sutton. Since it was a long trip and they were not in any hurry, they had been traveling off the highways, taking in some of the small towns. He hit the starter but the battery was dead, although it was a relatively new battery and there had been no indication that it was running down.

The narrator tells:

"A faintly sickening odor, somewhat like a mixture of ether and burnt Sulphur, trailed into the car. The baby, sleeping in the backseat crib, suddenly began wailing and coughing. My first thought was that something in the car was burning and I got out fast and raised the hood. There was nothing I could find wrong and I spent about 10 or 15 back-breaking minutes trying to get the car to start. The odor seemed to be getting stronger and I got inside the car and closed all the windows. The baby wouldn't stop crying and my wife was nervous."

"Probably a Sulphur plant burning off waste," I commented, trying to ease her mind. "The wind ought to carry it off." It was fairly dark and I didn't want to leave Edith and the baby on the deserted road and walk into the nearest town, which was Frametown, about 12 miles away. I thought we could relax and either wait for another car to give us a hand or sweat it out until morning. It was then the dazzling flash of light flooded the car with a wavering, unsteady beam. Edith and I looked out and the light seemed to be coming from the woods bordering the road. A strange thing about it was that, although the light was a soft, violet hue, kind of diffused, it was blinding to the eyes; I turned open the dust-clouded window for a clearer look and the stink pumped in at us in a nauseating wave. I wound the window back up fast. I felt the gall rise inside my stomach, and Edith began gagging. I didn't know what the hell was going on! But it was worse for the baby: he was choking and screaming. We doubled one of Edith's fine silk hankies and tied it lightly over the child's nose and mouth..."

"I stepped out of the car quickly and slammed the door shut. Edith called after me, but I waved to quiet her. I had to find out what was happening. But the smell almost stopped me before I'd taken 20 steps. It curdled my insides and I doubled over against a tree and threw up all over the place!"

"The roadside dropped into a valley, and when I looked down between the trees, I was able to make out the outline of some kind of a luminescent spheroid. It was like a frosted street lamp a couple of hundred times enlarged. It wasn't solidly implanted upon the ground though. Instead, it seemed to float on one end, moving slightly back and forth..."

"I've always considered myself a very level-headed person, but the first thought that came to my mind was all the current talk and articles about flying saucers and other objects of mysterious origin. I never believed any of it and even while I was looking at the sphere, I still felt there had to be some logical explanation. The object was 200 or 300 feet away, behind a few trees, and I started to move in closer, fighting back the nausea. About halfway to it, a hot, tingling sensation struck at my body. It was the same feeling you get when your legs falls asleep, only this was all over me."

"I still couldn't make out any details, mechanical or otherwise, on the surface of the object. I'd advanced about a dozen or more steps when thousands of the needle-like vibrations irritated my skin like a low-grade electric shock, and I jerked away and began stumbling back to the car."

"My legs were numb and they collapsed under me several times. I staggered up to the trees bordering the road and I leaned against one to catch my breath."

"Then a piercing scream from Edith made my blood run cold. I made a wild rush for the car and I saw her white face jutting out of the window."

"Edith for God's sake what's the matter?" I shouted."

"Her lips moved and her eyes were wide and staring at something beyond me. I turned around, and when I saw it I sagged against the car. The figure, was standing immobile, on the fringe of the road about 30 feet off to my right. It was a good eight or nine feet tall and in the general shape of a man, with a head and shoulders and a bloated body. It was sharply silhouetted against the light beam from the spheroid and I couldn't make out any of its features."

"I fumbled with the handle of the car door, climbed inside the car and slammed the door. There were some cooking ustensils in the glove compartment and I grabbed for a knife and gripped it in my shaking hand. I slid down the seat and crouched on the floor, pulling Edith and the baby down beside me. The baby was still crying."

"Try to calm him! Muffle his mouth!" I said to my wife. She whimpering in sheer terror. We remained huddled up on the floor for several minutes. My chest was rhering like a sledge. I poked my head up slightly, and got a closeup of whatever it was out there. Reaching across the windshield from above a, long, spin was forked into two soft ends. It seemed to be examining the surface of the car. If I ever prayed in my life, I was praying then."

"Then, a few seconds after, without making any hostile or aggressive moves toward us, the creature started back toward the woods. It wasn't walking and I could not make out anything that might be called legs. The lower torso was a-single solid mass that seemed to glide across the uneven road surface."

"The smell was as sickening as before; but to tell the truth I was hardly aware of it then. I was too scared. The figure vanished among the trees and I waited another several minutes before I even dared breathe. Then I drew Edith and the baby up from the floor."

"My wife became hysterical and I put the baby in the car crib and tried to calm her."

"Then my eyes caught sight of the ascending iridescent globe over the trees and I watched it, my eyes glued to it in terrible fascination. I almost forgot Edith."

"It rose slowly and made intermittent stops, hanging in mid air for a split second before continuing upwards, and then, at about 3,000 feet I guess, it swung back and forth like a pendulum gathering momentum. Suddenly it swooped up in an elliptical arc and with a dazzling trail of light, shot completely out of sight!"

"I don't know what made me try to get the car started again, but when I worked the starter, it caught without any trouble. I had to steady my hand on the wheel as we took off down the road. Edith and I didn't say a thing until we came to an all night diner on this road with several trailer trucks parked outside. We wondered how to tell the people inside, whether they'd even believe us."

"Then we decided to keep quiet about the whole thing. It was something neither of us felt we could talk about then. We didn't want to be regarded as another couple of crackpots as most of the people who had previously reported sighting saucers and mysterious floating objects are regarded. All we wanted to do was to get home quickly. We were both shaken up too badly."

"We stopped at a motel later that night and in the morning when we climbed into the car, I noticed something odd. Along the hood, where the creature had examined the car, a dark discoloration was browned into the paint as though the metal had been, singed. The outline was fork-shaped."

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. pl1:] PAUL LIEB:

A man called George Sitowski told some time between 1952 and 1955 to UFO investigator Paul Lieb:

[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

In his catalogue of UFO landings, Jacques Vallée indicates that on September 13, 1952, in Frametown, West Virginia, Mr. and Mrs. George Snitowski and their little girl suddenly found their car stalled, and an unpleasant smell of ether mixed with sulphurous smoke filled the air.

Mr. Snitowski thought a chemical plant might be burning in the area and walked toward a strong light visible in the woods, in spite of the nauseous smell. Coming near it, he felt prickling throughout his body, had to stop, lost his balance several times as he returned to the car where he found his wife terrified, pointing to a giant creature, 3 meters tall, human-shaped, 10 meters away.

They locked the car as "it" inspected the vehicle, glided away and went into the woods. Soon afterward, the sphere of light was observed to rise gradually, to swing like a pendulum, and to leave a luminous trail.

Vallée indicates that his source is Paul Lieb.

[Ref. jc1:] JEAN-FRANCIS CROLARD:

This author indicates that on September 13, 1952 in Frametown, in Virginia, Mister and Mrs George Snitowski noticed a 3.50 meters tall creature with brilliant eyes which seemed to float and inspected their vehicle.

[Ref. lc1:] LOREN COLEMAN:

US cryptozoologist Loren Coleman indicates that Mark Hall has discovered in Appalachian Ghost Stories and Other Tales by professor James Gay Jones that on September 12, the same night as the Flatwoods encounter, two eyewitnesses, George and Edith Snitowsky of New York, were driving on the road between Gassaway and Frametown, West Virginia, just north of a place oddly named Strange Creek.

Their car was equipped with a brand new battery but stalled as happens when a UFO is around and disrupts its electromagnetic system. Then a nauseating smell made their baby gag, George got out of the car and searched for what smelled so badly.

He looked down the slope of the highway and saw a large globe moving slowly back and forth and hovering over the ground while giving off a soft violet light. George moved closer and felt a "sensation of thousands of needle-like vibrations" on his skin, then he got sick and staggered back to the car.

His wife screamed and yelled that something was behind him and when he looked back he saw "a figure about eight or nine feet tall with a big head, bloated body, and long, spindly arms gliding rapidly" toward him.

Safely inside the car, the couple quickly locked it, and watched in terror as long spindly arms with forked ends stretched across the windshield. The couple crouched in horror, and when George looked up he saw the monster gliding away. They were waiting and waiting and finally saw a glowing globe swaying back and forth that lifted above the trees and took off into the sky leaving a light trail.

They found a motel in Sutton and tried to sleep, and the next morning they were startled that a gas station attendant showed them a V-burnt brown spot on their hood.

Loren Coleman notes that John Keel, in The Eighth Tower, briefly mentioning this encounter dating it of September 13, instead of 12 and spelling the name Snitowski, with an "i" instead of a "y," the incident did occur, as well as that of Flatwoods, and even debunkers admit it, but they remain a mystery.

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Frametown, West Virginia, on September 13, 1952 at 08:00 p.m. Mr. Mrs George Snitowski and their little girl suddenly found their car stalled, and an unpleasant smell of ether mingled with sulfurous smoke filled the air.

Thinking a chemical plant might be burning, Mr. Snitowski got out of the car and searched for what smelled so badly. Looking down the slope of the highway, he saw a large globe moving slowly back and forth, hovering over the ground, and giving off a soft, violet light. George moved closer and felt the "sensation of thousands of needle-like vibrations" on his skin. Then he got sick and staggered back to the car. Edith Snitowski screamed and yelled that something was behind him.

He turned to see "a figure about eight or nine feet tall with a big head, bloated body, and long, spindly arms gliding rapidly" toward him. The couple, safely inside the car, locked it quickly. Terrified, they watched as one of those long spindly, arms stretched across their windshield. The end was forked. The couple crouched in horror. When George looked up, he saw the monster gliding away. Waiting and waiting, they finally saw a glowing globe, swaying back and forth, lift above the trees and take off into the sky, leaving a luminous trail. A gas station attendant found a V-shaped burned brown spot on the car hood.

Albert Rosales indicates that the sources are Paul Lieb, Jacques Vallee and Mark Hall.

[Ref. jb1:] JEROME BEAU:

Jerome Beau indicates that on September 13, 1952, at 8 p.m. in Frametown in Western Virginia, Mr. and Mrs. George Snitowski and their small daughter saw their car suddenly stalling while an unpleasant odor as of ether mixed with a sulfurous smoke filled up the air. Mr. Snitowski thought that it was a fire of a chemical plant of the sector, and went in direction of a strong light visible in the wood, in spite of the nauseous odor. Arrived near the gleam, he felt tinglings on all the body, was obliged to stop, lost his balance several times while returning to his car, where he found his terrified wife pointing within 10 meters a 3 meters tall gigantic creature, of human aspect. They locked the doors of the car because the "thing" inspected the vehicle, then it slipped away to go back in the wood. At once after that, they observed the sphere of light rise gradually, swing like a pendulum and move away while leaving a luminous trail.

Points to consider:

Let's first note without spending too much time on this that many distortions were introduced in the story. The story is only the content of the first source, the article in Male magazine. There is nothing more to it in the file, and all the posterior variations start from this single document.

We thus see that certain authors put the sighting one day earlier. The rest of my remarks might shed light on a possible agenda behind this change of date. We see that an additional "witness" is added as the man of the gas station who opportunely notes the marks of the forked hand on the car, but there is nothing like that the primary source. The relatively new battery becomes a brand new battery. Elsewhere, shiny eyes are added. The size of 2.40 meters to 2.70 meters increases to 3 meters, and even to 3.50 meters. The odor becomes an odor mixed with smoke. The son becomes a daughter. Now, let's see the core of the affair.

Taking into account the literary form of the story, and the nature of the magazine in which it appeared, it should be realized that this was by no means a classical witness' report with ufological investigation attached, but much more probably a pure fiction. The stylistic marks that the story is not from the witness but written by an author used to writing fictions are numerous, the most classical being the last sentence, the true traditional "fall" of most fantastic or horror tales: "The outline was fork-shaped."

Male magazine, in the 50's. Not quite the top ufology source.

A minimum of knowledge of the ufological casuistry would allow the realization that the inspiration comes straight from the famed "Flatwoods Monster" case: the nauseous odor, the vomiting, the pricklings, all of it is the same. The description of the lower part of the entity, as being without distinct legs is, its sliding on the ground is. The UFO is also identical; the Flatwoods UFO, a "true" flying saucer for certain ufologists of the whimsical fringe such as Gray Barker or Ivan Sanderson, as well as for sensationalist magazines, but practically undoubtedly a meteor for those who made some research or thinking about it like Major Keyhoe, had a trail, as any bona fide meteor should, a trail which is included here in the story, marking its fictionesque nature. This fictionesque nature is very probably its only true nature - or then, I would like to know on what ground this should be called a true story.

The Flatwoods Monster.

Even the place is telling in this respect: Flatwoods is also in Braxton County, Flatwoods and Sutton are the nearest town. Of course, the date is one day after the Flatwood Monster was reportedly seen, this being probably not so much due to lack of imagination and more likely a deliberate attempt to add credibility to the story by linking it to the Flatwoods Monster story and vice versa.

The summary by Jacques Vallée obviously cancels by re-writing and simplification the clues of fiction in the original article, and he refrained from providing the relevant but no-so-impressive source "Male Magazine", preferring to provide only the author's name, a much less suspicious sounding "Paul Lieb". May ufologists stop this kind of practices of pure pseudo-science and understand that providing one' source is not to drop just some quite useless name but also to indicate the title, type of source, publication date, issue number or page number, to give to the reader the information that will make it possible for him to indeed check the real context as well as the real content of the original source.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Journalistic invention.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

• [pl1] * "The West Virginia Monster", article by Paul Lieb and George Snitowksi, in Male magazine, New York, Vol 5. #7, pp 39-41, July 1955.
• [jv1] * "Passport To Magonia - On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Contemporary Books publisher, USA, 1969.
• [---] ? "The Eighth Tower", book by John Keel, Signet Books publisher, USA, 1977.
• [jc1] * "L'Enigme des Extra-Terrestres", book by Jean-Francis Crolard, Guy Trédaniel publisher, France, page 93, 1995.
• [---] ? "Appalachian Ghost Stories and Other Tales", booklet by James Gay Jones, self-published, McClain Printing Company, USA.
• [---] ? Mark E. Hall, 2001.
• [lc1] * "Mothman and Other Curious Encounters, chapter 1: Flatwoods, book by Loren Coleman, Paraview Press publisher, USA, 2002.
• [ar1] * "1952 Humanoid Sightings", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2004, at www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1952.shtml
• [jb1] * "1952", compilé par Jérôme Beau, France, circa 2005, à www.rr0.org/data/1952/2.html

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