Goblins in Kentucky? The Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter
A drawing of the Kentucky Goblins provided to Project Bluebook. Image: ATI
The Kelly–Hopkinsville encounter was a close encounter with extraterrestrial beings in 1955 near the communities of Kelly and Hopkinsville in Kentucky. UFOlogists regard it as one of the most significant and well-documented cases in the history of UFO incidents.
The Kelly-Hopkinsville Goblins
On August 21, 1955, while visiting his friend Elmer "Lucky" Sutton at a farmhouse in the small town of Kelly, Billy Ray Taylor from Pennsylvania went outside to get water from the well. Suddenly, he noticed something flying across the sky that was very bright and had colorful exhaust. Filled with panic, he quickly ran back inside and informed everyone, including his wife and the Sutton family, that he had just seen a UFO.
Taylor also mentioned that he didn't hear any loud noise like an explosion, but there was a hissing sound when the object landed somewhere near the back of the farmhouse. However, nobody took Taylor's claim seriously until they heard the dogs barking, indicating that someone or something was approaching the house.
The intruders had large, round heads and long arms with claws that almost reached the ground. Every aspect of their appearance appeared to shimmer and emit a glow in the darkness.
Their eyes emitted a yellowish light, and their bodies glistened as if they were composed of silver metal.
The groupgathered at the Sutton farmhouse were determined not to surrender without a struggle. Sutton and Taylor quickly armed themselves with guns. When one of the creatures approached the window and pressed its face against it, they immediately began shooting at it.
Later that evening, a group of five adults and seven children rushed to the Hopkinsville police station in a state of fear and desperation. One of them managed to utter, "We require assistance. We've been battling them for almost four hours."
The group claimed that they had been fending off the otherworldly invaders for nearly four hours using gunfire. Sutton and Taylor recounted shooting at around "twelve to fifteen" short, dark figures that kept appearing at the door and peering through windows.
UFOlogist Jerome Clark describes the creatures as floating through the trees and the sound of bullets hitting them resembling bullets hitting a metal bucket. He also mentions an unusual glowing patch and a mysterious green light.
Thinking they were dealing with a gunfight between locals, authorities swiftly responded to the scene. Four city police officers, five state troopers, three deputy sheriffs, and four military police officers from the nearby United States Army Fort Campbell rushed to the Sutton farmhouse in Christian County, near the town of Kelly.
Despite an extensive search, they found no trace of the alleged extraterrestrial beings, except for bullet holes in the window and door screens caused by the residents' gunfire.
The farmhouse was occupied by Glennie Lankford, her children Lonnie, Charlton, and Mary, as well as Elmer "Lucky" Sutton, John Charley "J.C." Sutton, their wives Vera and Alene, Alene's brother O.P. Baker, and Billy Ray Taylor with his wife June.
Reportedly, the Taylors, "Lucky," and Vera Sutton were transient carnival workers who happened to be visiting the farmhouse. The following day, neighbors informed the officers that the families had hastily departed after claiming that "the creatures had returned around 3:30 in the morning."
Possible Mundane Explanations
Psychologists Rodney Schmaltz and Scott Lilienfeld use the incident as an example of pseudoscience to teach critical thinking. They suggest that alcohol may have influenced the sighting, despite claims of no drinking.
Skeptic Joe Nickell proposes that the family mistook nocturnal owls for aliens, noting their aggressive behavior and resemblance to reported creatures. Author Brian Dunning highlights the similarities between the owl's height and the reported size of the beings.
According to French UFOlogist Renaud Leclet, the simplest explanation for the case is that the residents mistook great horned owls for the creatures.
Investigations by police, nearby Air Force officers, and civilian UFOlogists found no evidence of a hoax, although there are discrepancies regarding the involvement of Air Force investigators.
Some UFOlogists compared the creatures to gremlins, leading to their popular nickname, the "Hopkinsville Goblins." UFOlogist Allan Hendry noted the case's significance due to its duration and the number of witnesses involved, while Project Blue Book labeled it as a hoax without further comment.
Kentucky Goblins and the ‘Little Green Men’
The encounter with the goblins in Kelly-Hopkinsville led to the popularization of the term "little green men." Before this sighting, beings in flying saucers were simply referred to as "little men," while "little green men" was mainly used in science fiction stories.
After the alleged sighting, local reporters began describing the creatures as "little green men," and the phrase quickly spread through newspapers, radio, and translations into other languages.
Have you ever seen a UFO? Tell us about it in the comments!
If you enjoyed learning about the Kentucky Goblins you might also be interested in the Falkville Metal Man or the Astral People of Dogon.
