Who or What Was the Alabama Metal Man: Real Cryptid or Hoax?

The Alabama Metal Man, also known as the Falkville Metal Man, is an enigmatic cryptid linked to an alleged close encounter of the third kind in Falkville, Alabama, during the early 1970s. This creature is described as a bipedal figure of approximately human height, covered in a highly reflective, metallic suit or material.

The primary evidence for its existence comes from the account and photographs provided by the town’s police chief following his investigation into a reported Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) landing.

The nature of the encounter and the entity’s highly unusual appearance have cemented the Alabama Metal Man as a notable case in both cryptozoology and ufology.

Overview

Who or What Is Alabama Metal Man?

The Alabama Metal Man is a creature or entity associated with a single, highly publicized encounter near the small town of Falkville, Alabama, in 1973. The primary witness was Jeff Greenhaw, the town’s police chief at the time.

On the night of October 17, 1973, Greenhaw responded to an anonymous call reporting an unidentified flying object that had landed in a field outside of town.

After arrival, Greenhaw reported encountering a strange, humanoid figure covered in a shiny, metallic material. This figure immediately fled the scene on foot, moving with unnatural speed.

The event is often classified as a close encounter of the third kind due to the presence of an alleged occupant associated with a UFO sighting. While some view the Metal Man as an extraterrestrial entity or a type of robot, others categorize it as a cryptid due to its unconfirmed existence and its appearance in a single, folklore-like narrative.

The creature gained immediate notoriety, though the witness faced widespread scrutiny and professional difficulty following his public account.

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What Does Alabama Metal Man Look Like?

The Alabama Metal Man is described as a bipedal, roughly humanoid figure. The police chief reported that the entity stood slightly taller than 6 feet. The creature’s most distinguishing feature was its covering, a highly reflective material resembling a suit.

The description of the material is highly specific: Greenhaw reported that the figure was “really bright, something like rubbing mercury on nickel, but just as smooth as glass.” The figure’s body seemed to be completely encased, with its head and neck appearing to be “kind of made together”, suggesting a single, unarticulated unit, possibly a helmet.

The figure did not appear to have visible features such as eyes, ears, or a mouth, as they were concealed by the shiny covering. The Metal Man’s movements were also distinctive, with Greenhaw noting they were not human-like, suggesting that the creature moved as if it had “springs on its feet or something.”

This unnatural swiftness, combined with its reported speed of up to 35-40 mph, indicates a non-human form or apparatus.

Habitat

The alleged habitat of the Alabama Metal Man is the rural countryside surrounding Falkville, Alabama. Falkville is a small community in Morgan County, Northern Alabama. The area where the 1973 sighting occurred was characterized by dirt roads, open fields, and forested regions.

The immediate environment of the encounter was a field situated on a dirt road, which the police chief entered in his vehicle. The region lies is the Appalachian foothills and features a humid subtropical climate, with moderate temperatures and abundant vegetation, including dense forests and agricultural lands.

The sighting occurred at night, suggesting the entity’s activity may is nocturnal or that its appearance in the open was associated with the reported UFO landing.

Unlike cryptids tied to specific geographic formations or extreme isolation, the Metal Man is associated with a single incident on a local road, suggesting its presence was either temporary or linked to an unusual event rather than an established, long-term residence in the area.

Alabama Metal Man Sightings

The case of the Alabama Metal Man is defined by a singular, pivotal encounter.

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Encounter with Jeff Greenhaw (Falkville, 1973)

The primary and defining incident involving the Alabama Metal Man occurred on October 17, 1973, when Falkville Police Chief Jeff Greenhaw received an anonymous report of a landed UFO.19 Greenhaw drove out to the location, a dirt road in a rural field outside of town. After arriving at the scene, he observed a figure standing in the field near the road.

The figure was reported to be bipedal and approximately 6 feet tall. Its entire body was covered in a material that Greenhaw described as extremely reflective and metallic, resembling “mercury on nickel, but just as smooth as glass.”

Greenhaw attempted to communicate with the figure, saying, “Howdy, stranger,” but there was no response. As Greenhaw switched on his patrol car’s blue lights, the figure suddenly moved. It did not walk normally but moved with an unnatural gait as if on “springs”.

The entity then began to run at an extremely high speed, estimated by Greenhaw to be up to 35 to 40 mph. Greenhaw attempted a brief pursuit in his police car, during which he took four Polaroid flash photographs of the retreating figure. He soon lost sight of the entity after crashing his vehicle into a ditch while attempting to follow it.

The experience significantly affected Greenhaw, who resigned from his post weeks later amid the ridicule he faced.

Evidence & Investigations

The evidence regarding the Alabama Metal Man is limited to Police Chief Jeff Greenhaw’s eyewitness testimony and the four Polaroid photographs he captured.

The eyewitness account is detailed and specific, coming from an individual in a position of authority who was actively engaged in a duty-related investigation. Greenhaw maintained his account despite suffering professional and personal consequences, which some consider supportive of his credibility.

The photos, however, are of low quality due to the use of a simple Polaroid camera, the nighttime setting, and the figure being captured while in motion. The photos show a blurry, humanoid outline covered in a bright, reflective material consistent with the description.

No formal scientific or cryptozoological investigations were conducted beyond the initial local police report. The immediate investigation was limited to the original police follow-up, which failed to locate any wreckage of a UFO or definitive physical trace evidence of the Metal Man in the field.

Nearly a decade after the sighting, the four original photographs were allegedly stolen from Greenhaw’s home, leaving only copies and reproductions for analysis. The absence of the original evidence makes any definitive forensic examination impossible.

While the incident remains a topic of discussion in ufology and paranormal circles, it has not been the subject of any sustained academic or governmental study.

Theories

The unique nature of the Alabama Metal Man has led to several theories attempting to explain the single-witness event. These theories generally move between a conventional explanation and those that embrace the anomalous nature of the sighting.

Reflective Suit Hoax

The most frequent explanation is that the Alabama Metal Man was a hoax involving a person wearing a specially constructed suit. A human in a suit made of highly reflective material, such as aluminum foil or a high-visibility rescue blanket, would match the key descriptive attribute of a “bright,” “metallic” figure.

The unnatural gait and high speed could be attributed to the camera’s limitations in capturing fast motion at night, combined with the normal movement of a human in an unusual costume, which the startled witness perceived as out of this world.

The claim that the entity reached speeds up to 40 mph would, under this theory, be an exaggeration or a misjudgment by the police chief. This explanation accounts for the humanoid shape, the metallic appearance, and the absence of any physical traces other than the hoaxer’s footprints.

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Extraterrestrial Being or Robot

A prominent alternative theory, especially in ufological circles, is that the figure was a genuine extraterrestrial entity or an android/robot associated with an alleged UFO landing. The primary anonymous call that Greenhaw was responding to was a report of a UFO.

The figure’s reported ability to run at speeds far exceeding human capacity and its uncommunicative nature support the idea that it was not a conventional human.

The reflective covering is interpreted as either a protective space suit, which would explain the lack of visible facial features and the integrated head/neck, or the exoskeleton of an alien robot. In this view, the creature’s presence was brief because it was an emergency or temporary exit from a nearby landed craft.

Misidentification of a Local Individual

Another theory suggests the incident was a case of misidentification of an ordinary human. The event occurred near a road at night, and Greenhaw was alone and likely tense due to the nature of the UFO report.

The figure may have been a local individual wearing unusual clothing, such as a beekeeper’s outfit, a fire-resistant suit, or simply highly reflective apparel, for personal safety. The flash from the Polaroid camera, reflecting off such a suit, could create the impression of a blinding, metallic figure.

The panic of the individual after being confronted by an armed police officer at night, coupled with the officer’s heightened anxiety, could explain the sudden, high-speed flight and the perception of a non-human movement.

Comparison with Other Similar Cryptids

The Alabama Metal Man shares features with other cryptids and alleged alien entities, particularly those connected to humanoid encounters or high strangeness:

Was the Alabama Metal Man Real?

The question of whether the Alabama Metal Man was real remains unresolved. The case is fundamentally weak on definitive evidence, resting almost entirely on the testimony and photographs of a single witness, Police Chief Jeff Greenhaw.

While Greenhaw’s consistent account and the personal hardship he endured lend some weight to his sincerity, the low quality of the photos and the lack of any corroborating physical evidence (such as metal fragments, non-human footprints, or a crashed craft) prevent a conclusive determination.

The two main opposing theories—that the figure was an extraterrestrial or a hoax involving a reflective suit—are both highly speculative. The possibility of a hoax remains plausible, given the figure’s human-like shape and the historical context of other staged cryptid events.

Conversely, the high-speed movement and the report of a nearby UFO landing keep the case within the realm of the unexplained for many. Ultimately, the Alabama Metal Man is best categorized as an ongoing mystery and a notable, though isolated, incident within the annals of American ufology and cryptozoology.