Just days before “IT” returns as the Guest of Honor at the Second Annual Grafton Monster Festival June 13-14, the lifelike Grafton Monster mascot that’s been popping up at local events over the past year is drawing new national interest in the Taylor County town, West Virginia and artists from around the nation.

 

The 7-feet-tall Grafton Monster, made as an homage to the legendary faceless and pale creature spotted at night by several witnesses in 1964, will be celebrated June 13 and 14 along Main Street in Grafton during the Second Annual Grafton Monster Festival beginning Friday afternoon at 2 p.m., and at 10 a.m. Saturday.

 

“Graftie,” as the creator and fans call him, returns to his hometown next week to pose for pictures and greet visitors with a new national award from one of Hollywood’s most famous monster effects studios, where it was selected by the Stan Winston School of Character Arts’ famous annual Creature Making Contest. The design was one of 10 honorable mentions among the winners, announced on social media on May 30, 2025.

 

The annual contest was open to both amateurs and professionals, and welcomed designs such as figurines, puppets, statues and creature suits. Entrants posted photographs, videos, and descriptions of projects to the school’s website. The selection panelists judged more than 200 entries from across the globe, and The Grafton Monster received one of nine “Honorable Mentions” in the annual contest honoring the creator of iconic movie creatures including Alien, Predator and the Terminator.

 

“Stan Winston imagined and designed so many famous creatures,” said Greg Popovich, the Bridgeport native who designed and constructed the award-winning creature. “To receive recognition from a group having such a legendary lineage is mind-blowing.”

 

Popovich, an amateur monster maker who also serves on the festival planning committee when he isn't in costume at the festival, is a physical therapist and professor of exercise science. The Buckhannon  resident credits his background and love of anatomy and movement sciences to inject realism and functional movement into his creations.

 

 “As purely a hobbyist who lacks a proper workshop, I was reluctant to submit a design, but did so at the insistence of several friends,” he said. “This is a win for West Virginia and its folklore. I’d like to think it also exemplifies the resourcefulness that West Virginians are known for.”

 

Matt King, a librarian at the Taylor County Public Library, knows a bit about monsters as he is also co-owner of Asterisk Video, which specializes in horror and monster movies.

 

“It seems appropriate that Greg’s creation is being recognized by the Stan Winston School. Like Stan’s Pumpkinhead design, with its massive tendril-like fingers, and deliberate, lumbering frame, this Grafton Monster really stands out among monsters,” said King.

 

The latest accolade for Popovich’s monster helps further the fame of the Grafton Monster itself, whom Tygart County natives put in the same club of West Virginia folk monsters including Mothman, Bigfoot and the Flatwoods Monster, who each draw crowds and visitors through local museums, festivals and souvenirs.

 

“It's been really exciting and fun to see the monster evolve and grow in popularity, said Alicia Lyons of Grafton, the owner of the Grafton Monster Museum and President of the Grafton Monster Festival Planning Committee. “I think the more visible the monster is, the more variations it will inspire among artists and creators and lead to a bigger and better festival in its honor every year.”

 

More than 2000 visitors came to the first annual festival in 2024, especially avid fans of the Fallout 76 video game, which includes Grafton as a location and the Monster as a character that players will encounter. With the fame of Fallout rising due to a new TV series and the festival gaining attention, even more events and people are expected June 13-14. 

 

Keith Petrucci, a digital creator posting under the name FalloutFanatics, will be making the trek from Carmichaels, Pennsylvania to see the monster in person at the festival.

 

 “After a few years of touring real-life Fallout76 locations I came upon a group of equally passionate and amazingly talented fans and what felt like the holy grail when seeing the highly detailed and functional Grafton Monster!” Petrucci said. “The work that Greg (Popovich) put into forming this work of art is astounding from the joints of every knuckle to the toes--you can tell by the detail that this creation is a labor of love by someone far more skilled than they will ever admit. It’s the craziest build I have ever seen.”

 

Popovich, who also portrays the monster, began crafting the costume well in advance of the inaugural Grafton Monster Festival in 2024. In total he worked more than 500 hours over the span of a full year on his covered deck. His design is partly based on the depiction of the monster in the videogame Fallout 76, which is itself an interpretation of the creature’s description in local lore.

 

Though gargantuan, the costume weighs just 11 pounds – because it’s carved out of lightweight upholstery foam and pool noodles, Popovich said.

 

For interested artists and cosplayers, Popovich will be hosting a “How to Make a Monster” class at the festival starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 14. Tickets are $5 at the door and the presentation will be at City Council Chambers, 1 West Main Street, Grafton, WV.

 

Information on the two-day festival is available at The Grafton Monster Festival page on Facebook. 

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Greg Popovich with the costume, while it is shown with him inside in the bottom image.