Flatwoods Green Monster movie draws capacity crowd at local theatre

*The following is a Citizen's News article from Tuesday, April 10th 2018 titled "Flatwoods Green Monster movie draws capacity crowd at local theatre"*

The Elk Theater in Sutton was at max capacity with 245 fans on hand to watch the premier of "The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear" on Saturday, April 7. The anticipation of the release of the movie, based on local folklore, led to the presale of over 100 tickets before the big night. Beginning before 6:00 pm, people were lined up along Main Street waiting to get in the theater to watch the movie. Shortly before the start time of 7:00 pm, the owner of the theater, Charles Murphy, had to close the box office and turn away hopeful moviegoers.

The encounter of a group of bows, a mother, and a with an unusual creature on a hillside at night has captivated people for almost 60 years. On September 12th 1952, a group of local Flatwoods boys were in a field playing football when a bright object lit up the night sky and landed on a nearby hilltop. The curious boys headed out to see what it was and stopped along the way to pick the mother of two of the boys, Kathleen May, and the neighborhood dog. This was the beginning of a tale that has been scrutinized by several and believed by many for years.

The production was by Small Town Monsters out of Wadsworth, Ohio. The award-winning production company had worked previously on movies about other area events like the Mothman of Point Pleasant and the UFO sighting in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania. Small Town Monsters is dedicated to documenting small town America's strange tales and occurrences. The story of the Flatwoods Monster is just one of those stories that Executive Producer Seth Breedlove belied needed t o be told. "I 100% believe Fred and Ed May that they saw something that night. I have no reason not to believe what they are saying." The 45-minute documentary style movie included interviews near the sight of the event with the May brothers.

Local individuals including John Gibson, Ashley Teets, Dave Spinks and Andrew Smith participated in the filming of the documentary and were available at the end of the showing for a short Question & Answer along with Breedlove. Teets grandmother had written about a similar incident that had occurred just a few days before the now famous "Monster" sighting. Spink is a local para-normal investigator who has researched the incident. And Gibson was a friend to some of the individuals who saw the monster and believed their story. He also is the developer of the Flatwoods Monster figurines available to buy at various locations in the county. During the Q & A, the guests talked about their experiences and why they believed something happened that night on the Baily Fisher's farm location in Flatwoods.

Smith, Director of the Conventions and Visitor Bureau, has been instrumental in the start of the Flatwoods Monster Museum and bringing the story back into the community. He planned and helped with the development of the Flatwoods Monster chairs and the tourist attractions in various locations in the county.

Breedlove spoke about this being his sixth movie about small town tales. He told the audience this production took almost a year to complete when it normally takes him only three to four months. His production company, Small Town Monsters, also produced "CASE-Files" on Youtube and Amazon Prime about paranormal mysteries.

Luckily for the individuals that were turned away at the door, the theater agreed to do another showing of "The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear" on Sunday at 3:00 pm for a showing. Over 50 fans got the opportunity to take in the movie at the matinee showing.

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**Source(s):**

Citizen's News, Tuesday, April 10th 2018

Transcription Note: I was at this premier and am visible
 in the front row within the newspaper photo!

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