During the night of August 21-22, 1955, a rural family near Kelly and Hopkinsville, Kentucky, reported a terrifying encounter with small, goblin-like creatures that besieged their farmhouse for several hours. The family claimed to have repeatedly shot at the beings, which appeared impervious to bullets, in what became one of the most famous and controversial close encounters in UFO history.1 The incident, often referred to as the "Hopkinsville Goblins Case," drew significant media attention and remains a subject of debate among ufologists and skeptics.2
The Night of Terror
The ordeal began when Billy Ray Taylor reported seeing a glowing, silvery object land behind trees near the Sutton family farmhouse. Shortly after, small, humanoid creatures, described as three to four feet tall with large, glowing yellow eyes, pointy ears, and spindly limbs, began to approach the house.3 The family, including five adults and seven children, claimed the creatures peered into windows and even tugged at Billy Ray Taylor's hair. Elmer "Lucky" Sutton and Billy Ray Taylor reportedly fired at the beings with shotguns and rifles, but the bullets seemed to have little effect, making a sound like "shooting a tin can" upon impact.4 The creatures would flip over when hit but then quickly get back up and retreat, only to reappear later, continuing their siege for nearly four hours.5
Investigation and Explanations
Terrified, the families eventually fled to the Hopkinsville police station. Police, state troopers, and military police from nearby Fort Campbell responded, finding bullet holes in the screen doors and damaged windows, consistent with the family's account of firing weapons.6 However, no other concrete evidence of the creatures or a landed spacecraft was found. Skeptical explanations have ranged from the misidentification of great horned owls, whose large, glowing eyes and silent flight could be mistaken for the described creatures, to mass hysteria potentially triggered by a meteor sighting that night.7 Despite the lack of physical evidence, the Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter remains a significant case in ufology, influencing popular culture and contributing to the "little green men" trope.8