Vegetable Man Day honors Marion County cryptid
Trending
FAIRMONT - The third annual Vegetable Man Day will take place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Frank & Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Squibb Wilson Boulevard. The event commemorates the history of the Reedsville "Vegetable Man," an alien-like monster discovered by Jennings Frederick in 1975, according to Michael Strayer, host of the Mothboys Podcast and event host.
"A man named Jennings Frederick was out hunting woodchucks one day, and he heard a strange noise coming from a bush next to him, and this strange creature jumped out. Tall, green, lanky...It has long arms with suction cups on its end of its fingers and needles," Strayer said.
According to Strayer, the man asked Frederick for "medical assistance," but as he turned to run, was grabbed by the beast.
"The creature jumped at him, lunged at him, and attached his suction cup needle fingers to his arm and started siphoning blood from his arms," Strayer said. "While the creature's sucking blood out of the man's arm, the guy looks up at the creature's face, and the creature's eyes start turning different colors, and it puts him in a trance to where he doesn't feel the pain."
Strayer believes the Vegetable Man did not want to hurt Frederick, and even wrote a children’s book, "Curious Creatures: The Vegetable Man," detailing the cryptid's point-of-view.
"I like to think that he's an alien in my story, and he's making a checkup on Earth, and he's driving over West Virginia, and he realized he forgot to eat breakfast that morning," Strayer said. "He [the Vegetable Man] hopes the man knows he didn't want to hurt him. He just needed to refuel his body, which I guess was human blood at the end of the day."
Strayer is a longtime lover of "creepy things," and storytelling. He is also the author of "Mothman learns the ABCs" and "Curious Creatures: The Grafton Monster." Strayer created the festival to bring West Virginia history to Fairmont and Fairmont State students.
He said the event will include annual vendors, such as Mothbrewed, Appalachian Escapes, Cryptid Comforts and more. Guests can expect food, entertainment and crafts, all with a mythical twist.
He hopes the day brings the Vegetable Man the attention other West Virginian myths receive.
"I love cryptids, and I thought there's all these other cryptids and weird creatures getting love, so why not another strange event in West Virginia?" He said. "I think it's important because it's an aspect of storytelling that's not as much in culture anymore."
He said there will be festivities for everyone, regardless of your belief in the monster. Strayer's favorite part is seeing familiar faces return to the Folklife Center every year.
Entry is free, and all proceeds from vendor fees go back into making the event better next year, according to Strayer.