Overview
Van Meter is a small town west of Des Moines, Iowa. In late September and early October 1903, newspapers reported that respected local men, including a doctor, a banker and merchants, had seen a strange flying creature over several nights. Accounts describe a tall, half-human, half-animal thing with large bat-like wings, a horn or beak on its head that gave off a bright light, and a foul smell.
The witnesses said they fired guns at it at close range with no effect. The creature was said to leave three-toed tracks and to retreat into an abandoned coal mine at the edge of town. On the last night, a group said they saw two creatures come out of the mine and drove them back with gunfire, after which the reports ended.
The story was printed in the Des Moines Daily News and reached as far as The New York World. Then it faded for a century. Researchers Chad Lewis, Noah Voss and Kevin Lee Nelson revived it with a 2013 book. That same year the town started the Van Meter Visitor Festival, held each fall.
Whether it was an animal, a prank, newspaper fiction or something else is still open. Organizers present it as local history and folklore and leave the verdict to visitors.
Timeline
- Late Sept 1903Miners report eerie noises from an abandoned mine (per later retellings).
- Sept 29, 1903U.G. Griffith sees a moving light on rooftops on Main Street.
- Sept 30, 1903Dr. A.C. Alcott says he saw the creature and fired at it.
- Oct 1, 1903Bank cashier Clarence Dunn fires through the bank window; tracks found.
- Oct 2, 1903O.V. White and Sidney Gregg see it on a telephone pole.
- Oct 3, 1903J.L. Platt and an armed group see two creatures at the old mine.
- Oct 1903Des Moines and New York papers carry the story.
- 2013Lewis, Voss and Nelson publish The Van Meter Visitor; first festival held.
Reported sightings
Main Street, Van Meter IA
Sept 29, 1903 (about 1 a.m.) On the record
U.G. Griffith, a local implement dealer, said he saw what looked like a searchlight moving across store rooftops. It disappeared, reappeared across the street and then vanished. Townspeople did not take him seriously at first.
Source: pararational.comDr. Alcott's office, Van Meter IA
Sept 30, 1903 (after midnight) On the record
Dr. A.C. Alcott, the town physician, said a blinding light woke him. He described a tall figure, half human and half animal, with huge bat-like wings. He fired several shots at close range and reported no effect.
Source: pararational.comBank, Van Meter IA
Oct 1, 1903 (about 1 a.m.) On the record
Clarence Dunn, the bank cashier, was guarding the bank overnight. He said he heard a strange choking noise and saw a bright light through the front window, then fired a shotgun through the glass. Three-toed footprints were found outside the next morning, and plaster casts were reportedly made. None are known to survive.
Source: pararational.comMain Street telephone pole, Van Meter IA
Oct 2, 1903 On the record
Hardware merchant O.V. White said he saw the creature perched on a telephone pole and shot at it, then noticed an overpowering smell. Sidney Gregg, a merchant, said he watched it climb down the pole using its beak and move off in long hops with its wings out for balance, heading toward the old mine as a train approached.
Source: pararational.comAbandoned coal mine, Van Meter IA
Oct 3, 1903 (after midnight to dawn) On the record
J.L. Platt, a brick plant foreman, said he saw the creature fly out of the mine with a smaller one behind it. He gathered armed men. At dawn, the two creatures returned and the group fired a volley with no visible effect. The creatures went back into the mine. Reports say the entrance was then sealed, and the sightings stopped.
Source: pararational.comVan Meter IA (press coverage)
October 1903 On the record
A 2026 Des Moines Cityview article confirms the 1903 newspaper accounts of a winged creature that frightened residents, was shot at, including by a bank manager through a window, and retreated toward an old coal mine. It notes the case remains unsolved.
Source: dmcityview.comEvidence
Three-toed footprints Unexplained
Reported outside the bank and near the mine; casts said to have been made, none survive.
Bullet damage Unexplained
Witnesses fired many shots; no creature was hit, per the accounts.
Newspaper reports Disputed
Des Moines Daily News and The New York World (Oct 5, 1903) carried the story.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
The witnesses were not drifters. They were the town doctor, the bank cashier, merchants and a plant foreman, men with reputations to lose. Their accounts span several nights and build on each other, and several said they fired at the creature directly.
Researchers Lewis, Voss and Nelson went back to the original newspapers and talked to local historians for their 2013 book, and they argue the case deserves serious attention as a documented event.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Skeptics note that 1903 newspapers often printed tall tales, and small towns enjoyed elaborate pranks. No physical evidence survives. Owls or herons startled at night, plus lamplight and nerves, could seed the first reports, and each new night would build on the story.
The odor could have come from mine gases. Some people suggest a surviving pterosaur, but there is no biological evidence for that.
Open questions
- Did the 1903 papers report the story straight, or as a joke?
- Where exactly was the mine, and is it still sealed?
Visiting
Where: Van Meter, Dallas County, Iowa, a few miles off I-80 west of Des Moines.
Access: Downtown walking tours during the festival include the old bank and routes toward the mine site. The mine is not a public attraction.
Events: Van Meter Visitor Festival, held each year (usually in the fall) since 2013, with tours, talks and vendors.
Did you know?
- The festival grew out of a book event at the public library.