THE HOPKINSVILLE ALIEN INVASION OF 1955

BY BJ Booth
UFO Casebook
ufocasebook.com

 Possibly an allusion to Ireland’s leprechauns could account for the derisive term of “little green men,” in referring to aliens. Whatever the source, the question arises, “Has anyone actually seen a little green man?” Well, some people believe so! Of the many cases of alien encounters, one of the most bizarre is the Kelly-Hopkinsville account of a terrifying night of “little green men.” This most unusual event originated on the night of August 21, 1955. Located in the rural area of Christian County, Kentucky, this UFO enigma took place in the little town of Kelly, located near the small city of Hopkinsville. The family Sutton would be the target of this “one of a kind” journey into the unknown.

The lifestyle of a typical Kentucky rural family has been kept intact for many decades, and the Sutton family fit this tradition to a tee. “Lucky” Sutton, as he was he was known to friends and neighbors, was the “patriarch” of this bluegrass clan. Visiting Lucky and his family was a man from Pennsylvania named Billy Ray Taylor. Billy left the Sutton house to go for some water from the family well. There was no inside plumbing at the Sutton farm house. At the well, he saw an immense, shining object land in a small gully about a quarter of a mile away. Running back to the house, he excitedly reported his sighting to others in the house. Billy was laughed at; no one believed his “crazy” tale.

After a short period of time, the family dog began to raise a ruckus outside. As was the custom in those parts, Lucky and Billy grabbed their guns and headed outside, planning to shoot first, and ask questions later. Only a short distance from the front door, both men were stopped dead in their tracks by the sight of a 3-4 foot tall creature, who was walking towards them with hands up, as if to surrender.
This most bizarre creature would be described as having “large eyes, a long thin mouth, large ears, thin short legs, and hands ending in claws.” Frightened by the small greenish entity, Billy Ray fired a shot with his .22, and Lucky unloaded with his shotgun. Both men later admitted that there was no way they missed the creature at close range, but the little being just did a back flip, and ran into the woods in fright.

No sooner had the two men reentered the house before the creature, or another like it, appeared at a window. They took a shot at him, leaving a blast hole through the screen. They ran back outside to see if the creature was dead, but found no trace of it. Standing at the front of the house, the men were terrified by a clawed hand reaching down from the roof in an attempt to touch them. Again, they shot, but the being simply floated to the ground, and scurried into the cover of the woods.The two men sought the protection of the house again, only to find themselves under siege from these little men. For a time, the entities seemed to tease the family, appearing from one window to another. Taking pot shots through the windows and walls, their weapons seemed totally ineffective against the invading creatures.
After several hours of fear, the Sutton family decided to make a break from the house, and get help at the Police station at Hopkinsville. Family members took two vehicles to the Police Station in Hopkinsville, and reported their strange tale to Sheriff Russell Greenwell. Finally persuading the policemen that they were not joking, the authorities agreed to visit the Sutton house.
Arriving at the farm, police found no trace of the creatures, but did find numerous bullet and rifle holes in the windows and walls. Greenwell was in charge of the twenty plus officers at the scene, and reported that the Suttons seemed sober, and were genuinely frightened by something. After a canvas of the neighbors, reports were entered of the “hearing of shots being fired,” and the observation of “lights in the sky.”
Exhausting all efforts to find the origin of this strange report, the police left the Sutton place at about 2:15 am. As soon as they did, the creatures made their return. They began again peeking in the windows, seemingly out of curiosity. More gunfire took place, but again without effect. Several more hours of antics followed, finally stopping just before daybreak. The police were finally persuaded to call in Air Force personnel the next morning, but a new search brought no results. After the beings had left, Billy Ray and Lucky had gone into Evansville, Indiana to take care of some business. The other five family members were questioned by Air Force and Police.
On 8/22/55, the Kentucky “New Era” newspaper carried the story of the events. Naturally, initial public opinion was that the whole story was a hoax. If this was the case, several questions must be answered. Why would the Sutton family make up such an incredible claim? They made no money from the story, and did not seek any publicity. Why would they shoot holes in the walls of their home, causing a financial drain on the family.

Including Billy Ray and Lucky, seven adults were witnesses to these events. All of them, when questioned separately, gave the same story. Also sketches were made of the beings, and they depicted the creatures in a like manner. A year after the events, the case was thoroughly investigated by Isabel Davis, who related that the witnesses’ stories had not changed. As the years rolled by, the accounts of the Sutton family stood firm. No evidence of a hoax has ever been brought forward. The case was also looked into by Bud Ledwith, who was an engineer at a Hopkinsville radio station. Noted investigator, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, also accepted the accounts of the Suttons. Hynek discussed the details of the case with Davis and Ledwith. Although the Kelly-Hopkinsville case is an extremely unusual one, it is considered today to be authentic by many UFO investigators.

(UFOS AT CLOSE SIGHT) These events occurred on the night of August 21 to 22, 1955, near the little town of Kelly, located near the small city of Hopkinsville, in the rural area of Christian County, in southwestern Kentucky, USA. “Lucky” Sutton, as he was known to friends and neighbors, was the “patriarch” of this bluegrass clan. Visiting Lucky and his family, was a man from Pennsylvania named Billy Ray Taylor. Billy left the Sutton house to go for some water from the family well, there was no inside plumbing at the Sutton farm house. At the well, he saw an shining object land in a small gully about a quarter of a mile away. Running back to the house, he excitedly reported his sighting to the eleven people in the house. Billy was laughed at, as no one believed his tale and no one left the house to check.
After a short period of time, the family dog began to bark loudly outside. As customary in this rural area, Lucky and Billy quickly went outside to find the reason of the dog’s concern. The dog actually hid under the house and was not seen anymore that evening. At a short distance from the front door, both men were stopped dead in their tracks by the sight of a glowing hovering light, which came towards them and allowed them to see that it was in fact a 3 and a half feet tall creature, advancing towards them with hands up, as if to surrender. The bizarre creature would be described as having “two large eyes with a yellow glow, more on the sides than in the human face, a long thin mouth, large bat-like ears, thin short legs, and unusually long arms with large hands ending in claws.”
As tradition imposes, they grabbed their guns and shot first, all questions postponed, at the moment that the creature was no farther than 20 feet to them. Billy Ray fired a shot with his .22, and Lucky unloaded with his shotgun. Both men later admitted that there was no way they missed the creature at close range, but the little being just did a back flip, stood up again, and fled into the woods. No sooner had the two men reentered the house before the creature, or another like it, appeared at a window. They took a shot at him, leaving a blast hole through the screen. They ran back outside to see if the creature was dead, but found no trace of it. Standing at the front of the house, the men were terrified by a clawed hand reaching down from the roof in an attempt to touch them. Again, they shot, but the being simply floated to the ground, and scurried into the cover of the woods. The two men sought the protection of the house again, only to find themselves under siege from these little men. For a time, the entities seemed to tease the family, appearing from one window to another. Taking pot shots through the windows and walls, their weapons seemed totally ineffective against the creatures.
Many times, the creatures would again approach the house, their hands raised above their head as in some kind of friendly gesture. The two men would fire at them, the bullet did metallic clanging noise when it hit the creature, which would flip over, or float in the air, or escape on all fours towards the weeds, only to come back again minutes later. The Suttons estimated that they might have been as many as 10 to 15 such creatures harassing them, although they never attempted to penetrate the house.
After three hours of fear turning into sheer panic, with three children crying or shrieking, the Sutton family decided to make a break from the house, and get help at the Police station at Hopkinsville. The farm was located nearer to Kelly, but the nearest police were in Hopkinsville. Family members took two vehicles to the Police Station in Hopkinsville, and reported their strange tale to Sheriff Russell Greenwell. Finally persuading the policemen that they were not joking, the policemen agreed to visit the Sutton house. Arriving at the farm, police found no trace of the creatures, but did find numerous bullet and rifle holes in the windows and walls. Greenwell was in charge of the twenty plus officers at the scene, and reported that the Suttons seemed sober, and were genuinely frightened by something. After a canvas of the neighborhood, reports were entered of the “hearing of shots being fired,” and the observation of “lights in the sky.”
Exhausting all efforts to find a rational explanation to the strange story, and finding no clear evidence of any alien visitors, the police left the Suttons farm at about 2:15 am. 90 minutes later, the creatures made their return. They began again peeking in the windows, seemingly out of curiosity. More gunfire took place, but again without effect. Several more hours of antics followed, finally stopping some 90 minutes before daybreak.
SHORT DISCUSSION: Naturally, initial public opinion was that the whole story was a hoax. If this was the case, several questions must be answered. Why would the Sutton family make up such an incredible claim? They made no money from the story, and did not seek any publicity, on the contrary. Why would they shoot holes in the walls of their home, causing a financial drain on the family to repair the damages? When, days later they attempted to protect themselves against human invaders walking in number across their fields, police was helpless. They thought of asking one dollar by visitor, to get some money to repair all the damages, but almost no trespasser paid. Of course, as soon as they tried to raise money, the press labeled them hoaxers and closed the case.
Including Billy Ray and Lucky, seven adults were witnesses to these events. All of them, when questioned separately, gave the same story. Also sketches were made of the beings, and they essentially depicted the creatures in a like manner. A year after the events, the case was thoroughly investigated by Isabel Davis, an investigator from New York City, who related that the stories had not changed. As the years rolled by, the accounts of the Sutton family stood firm. No evidence of a hoax has ever been brought forward. The case was also looked into by Bud Ledwith, who was an engineer at a Hopkinsville radio station. Noted investigator, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, also accepted the accounts of the Suttons. Hynek discussed the details of the case with Davis and Ledwith. Although the Kelly-Hopkinsville case is an extremely unusual one, it is considered today to be authentic by many UFO investigators. Indeed, there would not be one single reason to reject it, if it weren’t for its fantastic implications.
FOLLOW UP: According to a text from the Kentucky archives of the Mutual UFO Network, another interesting event took place in Knoxville, Kentucky, on August 22 1955, with description similar to the Kelly-Hopkinsville event, unfortunately I have not yet found the time to search for information on this other event.