While your PopCulteer and his lovely wife, Mel Larch, were galavanting around the highways of West/Central West Virginia last weekend, we got a wild hair to visit the Flatwoods Monster Museum on the home stretch of our premature leaf-peeping tour.

The museum is smallish, one room in an old Fountain drugstore, I think, but it’s filled with tons and tons of cool stuff devoted to the Flatwoods Monster, or as I’ve always called him (or her), The Braxton County Monster.  I’m going to cop the description of the fabled incident from their website, along with a live link…

It was almost fully dark on the evening of September 12th, 1952. Edward May, Freddie May, Neil Nunley, and Tommy Hyer, all young residents of the town of Flatwoods, were playing on the lawn of the Flatwoods Elementary School. Suddenly, a bright light streaked across the sky overhead and appeared to crash into a hillside on G. Bailey Fisher’s farm. To find out how the story end, click here.

I knew about The Braxton County Monster long before I’d ever heard of Mothman, and the additional element of an extraterrestrial origin makes it much more up my cryptozoological alley. I have to admit, I have an affinity for the space aliens.  Sorry Mothy, but I’m all-in for the BCM. Not that you aren’t cool in your own way.

If you know Sutton, the museum is hard to miss. If you don’t, it isn’t hard to miss at all.  My advice…when Google maps says to take a hard left, take a hard left. Check their Facebook page to make sure they’re open.

Anyway, we found the place on a quiet Sunday. A very friendly attendant left us to our own exploratory devices, and I’m bringing you some of the photos today. I didn’t want to show everything, because you really ought to go there yourself. The museum doubles as The Braxton County Visitors Center, so you can find information on all sorts of other things you can get into around the area (heck, there’s a Bigfoot Museum on the same street).

Since I’m in a Braxton County Monster Mood, I’ll give you a heads up that you might hear about Braxxie again this weekend, in PopCult’s Sunday Evening Video.

Without any further ado, here’s some photos of the museum, with a few captions…

The front door only hints at the weird, wonderful treasures within.

Upon entry we are greeted by Dale Morton’s rendition of the Monster, in mascot uniform form. Not the last cool thing created by a friend that we’d see here.

Ballcaps and other cool stuff, much of it for sale.

A very cool tabletop diorama.

One of many shirt designs available.

Cool Braxxie movie stuff, autographed!

Eventually I’m gonna get one of those cool lanterns.

As you can see on the far right, even Blenko got in on the Braxton County Monster act.

When I was a kid, we called these “Bean Bag Toss” boards. I blame Beavis and Butthead for them being called “Cornhole boards” now.

An assortment of books and stuff.

What are YOU lookin’ at, bub?

Another cabinet, filled to bursting with fine Braxton County Monster knick-knackery.

A diagram showing how kids might have pulled off a hoax. Of course, this conspiracy theory has been completely debunked, since we know now that it was really an alien visitation all along.

I really gotta get one of these lanterns.

These guys first showed up in RFC and  PopCult thirteen years ago.

A poster by Glen Brogan, a record by The Big Bad, a signed photo from Argyle Goolsby. It’s weird visiting a museum and finding displays of stuff from folks you’ve hung out with.

Cool artwork on display.

You’ll find out more about this guy on Sunday.

POSTCARDS!

Hello up there!

We leave you with a last look in the window at a very cool t-shirt, and a folk-art Braxxie. You’ve not heard the last of The Braxton County Monster.