Flatwoods monster - An entity reported to have been sighted in the town of West Virginia on September 12, 1952 after a bright object crossed the night sky

Over 50 years later, some investigators have stated that they believe the light was a meteor and the creature was a barn owl perched in a tree with shadows making it appear to be a large humanoid.[4]

Descriptions varied

'nuff said.

I keep thinking of Majora’s Mask farm aliens

Mothman energy.

https://youtu.be/6tRUvtyAMOg?si=J2eB_S3nz3ZmhIYX

^ this dude has a theory that the monster was likely a barn owl feeling threatened by the witnesses. I thought it was pretty plausible and cool. He has a longer video about it too

Disclaimer: idk anything about his qualifications but as someone in a tangentially related field to anthropology/history he seems to know what he's talking about

Fallout 76, which is based in Virginia, has a lot of Cryptozoology