Down-
town Grafton was full of
cryptid, oddities and vid-
eo game enthusiasts Sat-
urday as the second and
final day of the Grafton
Monster Festival was in
all like, ‘Yeah.’”
Then five months lat-
er, the inaugural Grafton
Monster Festival was
held, Lyons added.
Lyons said she feels a
sense of satisfaction put-
ting on the festival again
this year.
have mutated because
of the atomic war, and
he helps people out. He
helps people learn how to
purify water, grow crops
and just how to survive in
the wilderness of Appala-
chia.”
Winkler added he at-
full swing.
The festival was spurred
by the original sighting of
the Grafton Monster back
in 1964 on U.S. Route 119,
by a local newspaper re-
porter Robert Cokrell.
The festival began as a
way to help celebrate the
60-year anniversary of the
sighting of the creature,
according to Alicia Lyons,
president of the Grafton
Monster Festival Inc.
“It was around Janu-
ary of last year, I had re-
alized that it was the 60th
anniversary of the sight-
“It’s pretty satisfying,”
she said. “I think it might
be more stressful because
we have expectations now.
We’ve had a lot of support
which is good, but I hope
it continues to grow and
be something people want
to return to.”
One of the biggest parts
of the festivals was all of
the different guest speak-
ers scheduled throughout
the day.
One of those speakers
was Noah Winkler, also
known as the character
Ranger Ben.
tended the Grafton Mon-
ster Festival last year,
too.
“The Grafton Monster
Festival is a real plea-
sure,” he said. “I was
here for the first annual
Grafton Monster Festi-
val. I was here a few years
ago with some folks doing
some pictures, and that’s
when some folks at the
art gallery said, ‘Would
you guys come to a festi-
val?’”
Winkler noted he is a
huge fan of the popular
game series Fallout, but
ing in 1964,” Lyons said.
“So I contacted a bunch
of my friends and asked
if they thought we could
pull this off and we were
“Ranger Ben is a cryp-
tozoologist here in the
world of Fallout 76,” Win-
kler said. “He researches
the various monsters that
his character comes from
the game in the series set
in the mountains of West
Virginia Fallout 76. “I am a huge fan of the
Bethesda game Fallout
76,” Winkler said. “My
display has all sorts of
oddities throughout the
wasteland. I’m here to
educate people on the
cryptids and critters of
Fallout 76. It’s just a fun
interactive display peo-
ple can enjoy.”
Winkler added he
hopes to continue to see
the festival grow and
expand in the coming
years.