The chili reached judging temperature at 2:14 p.m. The entity arrived at 2:51 p.m. The chili was not judged.

HARLAN’S CREEK, WV — The fourteenth annual Harlan’s Creek Fall Festival concluded Saturday at approximately 3:30 p.m., or forty-one minutes after it began, following the emergence of a ten-foot entity from the tree line behind First Methodist Church on Caldwell Road. The entity, which witnesses describe as sulfur-smelling, spade-headed, and possessed of what one attendee called ‘a posture that implied judgment,’ was consistent in description with the Flatwoods Monster reported at the same event in 2023. Festival chair Brenda Cohle confirmed the pumpkin pageant, chili cook-off, and craft vendor row were all suspended and that the committee would be ‘revisiting the venue situation’ in January.

Nineteen witnesses reported the sighting. All nineteen are in stable condition. Several have requested that their chili entries be formally scored in absentia, a request the committee has described as under review.

Community Notice

Sequence of Events, As Reconstructed

According to multiple accounts, the afternoon had proceeded without incident until 2:51 p.m., when attendees near the pumpkin pageant staging area reported an odor described variously as sulfur, burnt rubber, and ‘the inside of a car that something organic had been left in.’ The entity emerged from the tree line approximately ninety seconds later, moving at a pace witnesses described as purposeful without specifying a destination. Festival DJ Craig Hooper cut the music at 2:53 p.m. This decision is widely considered correct. Evacuation of the festival grounds was complete by 3:30 p.m. The entity returned to the tree line at 3:44 p.m. without having approached any structures, overturned any property, or communicated in any verifiable way. One vendor’s wind chimes were disturbed. The vendor has declined to comment on the wind chimes specifically.

We had an excellent turnout right up until we didn’t. The bunting held up beautifully. I want that on the record.

— Brenda Cohle, Harlan’s Creek Fall Festival Chair

Trevor Gillespie, 44, a handyman and resident of Harlan’s Creek who attended the festival with his nephew, filed a witness report with the DCA regional office by 5:00 p.m. Saturday in which he described the entity as ‘almost certainly an alien in a purpose-built atmospheric suit, probably scouting the Methodist church for geological reasons.’ The DCA has acknowledged receipt of the report. A spokesperson confirmed the report was complete, correctly formatted, and had been assigned a reference number. The DCA did not confirm or deny the geological survey theory. They did not rule it out.

I’m not saying it came specifically for the chili cook-off two years in a row. I’m saying that is a pattern that the committee is aware of and is factoring into our January discussions.

— Brenda Cohle, Harlan’s Creek Fall Festival Chair

Official Response and Outstanding Questions

Sheriff Linda Calhoun confirmed that her office responded to the incident and that the matter is being handled through the appropriate channels. She delivered this statement with identical inflection to the statement she issued following last year’s incident. Arthur Bellamy of the DCA Harlan’s Creek Field Office was reached for comment and remained on the line for four minutes before noting that he would not characterise the entity’s return as escalatory without further data and that the tree line behind First Methodist had been ‘of ongoing interest’ to the field office. He did not specify since when. DCA Spokesperson Arthur Pritchard issued a written statement describing the situation as ‘developing in ways consistent with previous documentation’ and confirming that revised public guidance for fall outdoor events would be issued ‘in advance of the relevant season.’ He was asked which season. He thanked the questioner for their time.

Brenda Cohle confirmed that the Fall Festival Committee will convene in January to assess venue options, insurance implications, and what she described as ‘the broader question of whether the tree line behind the Methodist church is a structural issue or a scheduling issue.’ Reverend Gerald Oakes, whose church shares a property boundary with the festival grounds, was reached for comment and said that the congregation remained at peace and that the matter fell, in his assessment, within a jurisdiction he considered well above his own. He offered this assessment calmly. He was standing with his back to the tree line when he said it. He did not turn around.

A fundraiser has been established to compensate vendors for lost revenue. As of Sunday morning, it had raised $340. Junior Polk, overnight cook at the Moonlight Diner, was asked if he had anything to add regarding Saturday’s events. He refilled the coffee without making eye contact and said he was not at the festival. He has worked every Saturday for eleven years. WTC has not confirmed his whereabouts on Saturday afternoon. This is noted for the record. Reporting continues. Authorities continue to urge caution.