Not from Around Here

In the year 1919, a bright light is observed over south central Virginia. Soon after this unexplained event, local farmers begin losing their livestock. The animals have been killed in some mysterious fashion. The main character in this story, a young man who lives on a farm where one of the mysterious deaths occurs, is the first to observe a strange creature (referred to as a "thing") seemingly responsible. He becomes involved in the effort to eradicate the things, which turn out to be extraterrestrial beings, before they become a major threat to the earth.