An Unexplained Encounter
A creature with wings, a glowing horn, and a secret beneath a small Iowa town.
Van Meter, Iowa — 1903
— Mr. Adventure
Van Meter was a small Iowa town where people knew their neighbors. Then, one night, a local businessman named U. G. Griffith noticed something strange above the buildings. It looked like a bright light, moving from one rooftop to another. Griffith couldn't explain it. And the town had no idea what was coming next.
Griffith told others about the strange light. According to the old accounts, his story wasn't taken seriously. But that wouldn't last long. Because another resident was about to encounter something far more disturbing. And this time, the witness would get a much closer look.
Dr. A. C. Alcott was awakened by a brilliant light. He went outside with a firearm to investigate. That's when he reportedly saw a large creature with enormous bat-like wings. And the light seemed to come from a horn on its head.
The doctor reportedly fired several shots at the creature. But according to the story, it showed no sign of being hurt. Alcott retreated into his office and waited for daylight. The strange light was no longer just a light. Someone had described the thing behind it.
A bank employee named Dunn reportedly saw the creature outside the bank. He fired through the window. The next morning, strange three-toed tracks were said to have been found outside. Reports even describe plaster casts being made.
More witnesses soon reported seeing the winged creature. One account placed it on a telephone pole. Another described its strange, hopping movements before it flew. The reports also mentioned a terrible smell. And the creature appeared to be heading toward an old coal mine.
The reports eventually led to an abandoned coal mine outside Van Meter. A man named J. L. Platt reportedly saw the creature near the mine entrance. But he wasn't looking at just one creature. According to the account, a second, smaller one was there too.
The sightings had become too much for the townspeople. A group of armed men gathered near the mine. They waited for the creatures to appear. When the two Visitors returned, the men reportedly opened fire. But the gunshots didn't seem to stop them.
The two creatures reportedly disappeared into the mine. The townspeople then blocked the entrance with heavy planks. And according to the legend, the strange visits stopped. No creature was captured. But the story of what happened in Van Meter survived.
What fascinates me most is how quickly this story grew. One strange light became a series of encounters. Then came the discovery of two creatures at a mine. We don't have proof of what the witnesses saw. But I can't help wondering what started it all.
— Mr. Adventure
Three details that make the Van Meter Visitor such an unusual mystery.
In 1903, Van Meter was a small Iowa community with a history closely connected to coal mining. Railroads, local businesses, and nearby mine workings formed part of everyday life.
That setting matters because the creature at the center of the story wasn't reported in a distant wilderness. Witnesses described encounters around ordinary buildings, streets, and businesses. Some witnesses also reported a powerful odor.
One of the earliest encounters involved local businessman U. G. Griffith, who reportedly noticed an unusual light moving around a building late at night.
At first, the phenomenon could have been mistaken for someone carrying a lantern. But the light behaved strangely, appearing to move in ways that didn't match an ordinary person walking through the street.
Dr. Alcott became one of the witnesses associated with the creature's nighttime appearances.
According to later retellings of the 1903 reports, he encountered the winged figure and fired a weapon at it. The creature reportedly showed no obvious injury. The important point is that several townspeople claimed to confront the phenomenon rather than merely observe it from a distance.
The most extraordinary development came when residents reportedly tracked the mysterious activity toward an abandoned coal mine.
According to the story, a group of armed men gathered near the entrance and witnessed two winged creatures rather than one. Some accounts describe a larger animal accompanied by a smaller one, encouraging speculation that the pair might have been adults and offspring.
Unlike many cryptid stories that emerged decades after their supposed events, the Van Meter Visitor has a historical newspaper trail.
Reports published in 1903 describe the unusual creature and the attention it attracted. The strength of the case is that the legend can be traced to its own era rather than relying entirely on modern recollections.
The luminous projection described on the creature's forehead remains one of the hardest details to explain.
Some modern interpretations compare the Visitor with pterosaurs, but prehistoric flying reptiles aren't known to have possessed such an organ either. Rather than providing a clear zoological identification, the descriptions create a collection of unusual characteristics that investigators must separate and examine individually.
Explore the full Van Meter Visitor story in the Adventure Explore Discover episode.
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