In October 2009, a family gathering near Monahans, Texas was reportedly disrupted by a startling encounter involving both strange humanoid figures and an unidentified flying object. The event unfolded during the evening on a rural property some miles outside the town, as the group celebrated a birthday among close relatives. Witnesses described seeing an oval-shaped craft hovering silently overhead, emitting no sound but casting an eerie glow. Shortly afterwards, several figures resembling mantis-like humanoids appeared near the craft, observed moving in a deliberate yet unsettling manner. The family members were alarmed and quickly retreated indoors, but the experience left a lasting impression on those present. The incident was later documented in local UFO and cryptid reports, with several attempts made to corroborate the details.
According to multiple witnesses, the humanoids stood around five feet tall, possessing elongated limbs and heads reminiscent of insect morphology, specifically praying mantises. The figures reportedly lacked visible facial features typically associated with human-like beings, instead displaying large, multifaceted eyes and articulated antennae.
Some family members claimed the creatures exhibited an awareness of their presence but made no overt aggressive moves. The oval craft's smooth metallic surface and slow, deliberate motions align with numerous anecdotal accounts in the UFO field involving craft described as silent, hovering, and oval or disc-shaped. However, the absence of photographic evidence limits the incident’s corroboration, and no official investigation was publicly announced. Skeptics have raised possible misinterpretation of animals or lighting effects, though the detailed description of the humanoids challenges common explanations.
This encounter feeds into a broader pattern of mantis-like humanoid reports that have sporadically emerged in North American UFO and cryptid lore over recent decades. Such beings are often associated with themes of otherworldly or extradimensional origin, and their appearance coincides with sightings of unconventional aerial phenomena. Texas itself hosts a rich history of UFO encounters, ranging from the 1950 McDonald sightings near Lubbock to more recent military radar detections over the Gulf Coast.
The specific reference to an oval craft fits the pattern of craft shapes that deviate from traditional disc models, suggesting varied technological designs in the alleged visitation phenomena. The family’s experience highlights ongoing challenges in the study of humanoid cryptids linked to UFO events, where witness narratives may bridge folklore, psychological perception, and potential unexplained realities. This case remains part of an intriguing, albeit difficult to verify, subset of unexplained aerial and humanoid phenomena documented in rural American regions.
An Ontario witness described an almost identical sequence in 1970 — a UAP sighting followed by direct encounter with a towering, insectoid humanoid at close range documented in Ontario Witness Describes Encounter with Towering Mantis Being After UFO Sighting in 1970, making it one of the earliest and most detailed mantis entity accounts in the archive.
The family members are not publicly named in the available versions of the account. The report appears to involve multiple witnesses from the same family gathering, including nephews and a niece referenced by the original narrator, but there is no publicly available list of named witnesses.
This summary is based primarily on reporting by Phantoms & Monsters. As with many witness-based Fortean and UFO reports, the details should be treated as an account rather than a confirmed event. Stranger Times presents such cases as part of the wider record of unusual testimony, while noting where evidence is anonymous, limited or unverified.
Source: Phantoms and Monsters
