The Abominable Albino Aerobeasts

 The Abominable Albino Aerobeasts

By Cole Herrold

West Virginia is a haven for some of the most bizarre cryptid creatures and paranormal entities ever reported. The Mountain State is most well known for Mothman, the giant, red-eyed flying phantom that was seen in Point Pleasant in 1966, as well as the infamous ace of spades, shaped-headed Flatwoods Monster, and the eerily human extraterrestrial Indrid Cold the Grinning Man. While these entities are perhaps the most famous, one of the most constant reappearing creatures in the hills and hollows of the state are bizarre white-colored entities of various shapes and sizes. This pale menagerie includes the Grafton Monster, a colossal seemingly headless beast that was sighted in the early 1960s, the violent and carnivorous Sheepsquatch, and the White Things strange quadrupedal creatures resembling large dogs or small bears that have supernatural abilities. While these are clearly the superstars of the pigment-less bunch, there are another group of creatures that seem to of been hidden from the spotlight because of these other cases. These entities are very similar to the White Things, yet they have one element about them that makes them very different, and that is that they have the incredible ability to fly.

The creatures I’ve come to dub the Abominable Albino Aerobeasts are a group of cryptids that often gets lumped in with other West Virginia cryptid accounts such as the White Things, the Flatwoods Monster, and the Grafton Monster; however, these creatures are far from it and seem to be completely different. These creatures were first reported in 1952 and seem to be either mechanical or biological entities that somehow have managed to break the constraints of gravity. They've been seen both extremely far off as in the first case or extremely close, which is where we can confirm that these creatures appear to be, in fact, sky critters and not UFOs or some other alternative identity.

The very first account of a creature that fits the parameters of an Abominable Albino Aerobeast comes from an article in the September 21, 1952, edition of the Raleigh Register. It was 9 days after the infamous Flatwoods incident when a woman named Mrs. Earl Hutchinson was outside when she noticed a bizarre object seemingly jerking around in the sky. She stared in amazement as the form which she at first thought was a man in a parachute continued to swing back and forth and jump up and down. It was based on this motion that she could make out arms and legs, which seemed to poke out of a washtub-looking form, and that the figure had a seemingly whitish-silver color to it which she claims seemed to of been shiny, indicating possibly some metallic structure to the object. However, she was certain that whatever this peculiar object was, it was living and even felt she knew what/ who it was. Mrs. Hutchinson felt that what she was seeing before her eyes was clearly the Flatwoods Monster on its way to Beckley for a rendezvous with other monsters.

This sighting which is the first official account of a creature that defies any other known cryptid reported in West Virginia, is certainly not the Flatwoods Monster or Grafton Monster as some researchers have linked it to instead; it seems to belong to its own category of white furry fliers that only rarely have appeared in the skies of the state. It is important to note that this account could be something mechanical as its appearance is similar to a washtub, and the shiny color of it could be indicative of some sort of mechanized figure. The problem with this, however, is the fact that the object was seen from a distance, so getting a super detailed account of what she had seen makes exact identification difficult, but this would not be a problem with the second account of these creatures.

In the Summer of July 1973, another group would come face to face with a creature that would officially give a full close-up description of the Abominable Albino Aerobeast. A family driving home from a Reunion in Mason County had happened to need to turn into the Twilight Zone-esque area known as the TNT Area. The family was cruising along and almost oblivious to the absolutely insane history the area was known for as well as its reported residents. It was as they entered a particularly thick area of the McClintic Wildlife Area that one of the members of the car seemed to notice a large what he at first thought was a cloud come seemingly low near their car. The witness watched as this white object seemed to pick up speed and get to the same level of the car, sliding over towards the window he was facing. In a scene reminiscent of Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the witness realized that this was not some atmospheric phenomenon or some car lights glare but a bizarre creature that seemed to be hovering above the ground. The creature, without the aid of wings or some other method of propulsion, seemed to fly at the same speed as the family's car, which currently was at 65 mph. The member of the family who saw the albino abomination was taken back by this apparently lawless creature and had the best look of the creature. The creature was seemingly covered in thick shaggy hair, and its featureless head was almost three feet wide. The exact length and dimensions of the creature's form were difficult to determine as it seemed to be enormous. The witness was unable to make out the face of the creature but was certain that it had to have one. The creature seemed to hover next to the vehicle, never once looking at it or peering inside yet continued to keep up with the car as it hovered over the ground. This continued for some time until the creature suddenly began to float away, disappearing from sight and reportedly never seen again.

While these bucolic buggers have not had the incredible amount of sightings as their seemingly similar cousins, the Sheepsquatch and White Things, and are certainly not as dangerous, they are still a captivating mystery. These creatures, which instantly make me think they came from a Studio Ghibli film or are some relative to Appa from Avatar: The Last Airbender, are creatures that seem to not match any known reported cryptid. Flying mammals as cryptids are reported, but they always have wings or bizarre skin flaps; as far as I'm aware, there has never been a case where a mammalian flying cryptid was seemingly wingless. This is perhaps the most interesting element of the case; if these creatures were simply the classic white quadrupeds, we would automatically classify them as typical White Things, but the flying element is something that is just unfathomable.

In nature, very few animals have the capacity of flight or gliding without the use of wings; the most plausible for this creature when looking at a possible comparable feature is actually the Humboldt Squid and the Neon Squid; these cephalopods have a form of jet propulsion that they utilize when out of the water that allows them to fly for about 20 meters as they glide on their fins. While this is not true flight, this feature might be similar to what we are seeing here. Yet this is pure speculation, for no mammal that we are aware of has this feature.

With this creature, trying to find a suitable creature to compare it to is impossible because of its ability to fly. There are no large mammals capable of this and none in the fossil record that even comes close. This then makes misidentification of a known animal extremely implausible unless it was a pure white cow that was somehow shot from a catapult in pure Monty Python and The Holy Grail fashion, but then you would think there would be a body or a cow in a tree or something indicating such a zany antics. Which in itself is both cruel and highly unlikely.

Going into some alternative theories, it's plausible that this creature may be an extraterrestrial or even a strange hairy UFO. While most UFOs are metallic, it is not impossible that perhaps some culture, whether from another planet or another dimension, has found a way to create a nonmetallic craft, but this is pure speculation. Another possibility is that this creature might be some faerie beast. Faeries are often known for seemingly breaking the laws of physics, and many of the faerie animals are prime examples of this. While I've not found a faerie that matches this creature, faeries are allegedly, if the tales are believed, shape changers, so this could be one of the forms they chose to take on. Another possibility is that the creature might be some interdimensional entity where it is entirely natural for these creatures to fly the way they do. The TNT Area is allegedly a window area, a place where all sorts of entities can slither in and out from their respected dimension to ours. So perhaps that may be what is seen here. But with all these possibilities, it is mere speculation that we are no closer to discerning an answer to the origin of these atmospheric anomalies.

While sightings of these creatures are basically nonexistent, I'm captivated by them. I want to believe there is some secret stash of accounts of these or similar creatures hidden away in some undiscovered John Keel, Stan Gordon, or Gray Barker file or tucked in a dresser drawer of Mark A. Hall or Ivan T. Sanderson. Maybe there are other sightings that have just gone unreported simply because the witnesses feel as though no one will believe their encounter or that they have no idea who to report such an encounter to. If there are more witnesses, I really hope they eventually come forward, for while there is a stigma to such accounts, there are others who have encountered such creatures, and therefore they are not crazy or alone but witnesses to an important albeit bizarre and rare phenomena and whose account could help others who have seen similar entities. Yet as with all mysteries, this would only be revealed in time; until then, we are still left pondering do they fly in the skies among us?

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammals

Location: Skelton, Raleigh County, West Virginia and McClintic Wildlife Area (TNT Area), Mason County, West Virginia

Sighted: September 21, 1952, and July 1973

Works Cited:

The Grafton Monster By George Dudding

Monsters of West Virginia By Rosemary Ellen Guiley

White Things: West Virginia’s Weird White Monsters By Kurt McCoy

The Raleigh Register Beckley, West Virginia 21 Sep 1952, Sun