What is now known as the Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter took place on the evening of August 21st, 1955 near the small town of Kelly outside of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. But this story actually begins in the summer of 1954
when a Hopkinsville Police Officer saw three UFO’s early one morning in the skies over Christian County. Approximately one year later, this most unusual event originated on the night of August 21, 1955. That evening the Sutton family had a full house, as they were hosting the Calloway family, friends from Philadelphia. There were about a dozen people in the house Along with several children. Glennie Lankford ran the home, and would not allow alcohol, especially with children present, so all the adults were sober.
The night started to turn strange around 7 pm. The house had no running water, so Billy Ray Taylor went out to get a bucket of water. Taylor soon came running back into the home, excitedly describing a sighting of an object that seemed to land in a gully behind the house. He said he saw an object with colorful exhaust fly over the farm and he lost sight of it when it went behind the trees. No one believed Taylor’s story and they made fun of him. 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. 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."
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 r
an 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 and grabbed Billy Ray’s hair.
The pair shot at the little creature that was on the roof and at another “in a nearby tree” 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. After a lull in the “battle,” everyone piled into their cars and drove eight miles south to Hopkinsville’s police headquarters. The Hopkinsville police confirmed that when the people from the Sutton house arrived, they were genuinely scared and panicking. They did not want to return to the house until it had been thoroughly examined by the police.
Approximately 20 to 25 officers responded to the Sutton home including Deputies from Christian and Hopkins County, four Hopkinsville City Police, four Military Police officers, and three State Troopers. Officers were on the scene for more than two hours. While they were searching the premises, one of the MPs happened to step on a cat's tail while walking in the darkness near the house. The cat let out a squall and for a few seconds, it is said that there was much activity and ducking for cover on the part of those present. But local police seemed to take the event seriously. One sergeant had reportedly seen a glowing in the forest near the house, but upon investigation found nothing. It was also rumored that a trooper on his way to the Sutton ranch had seen a light, like a meteor, fly out of the forest and into the sky.
Although the creatures were described as being silver, the news started calling this an invasion by little green men from outer space, a description that obviously stuck. Over the next few days, a carnival type of 
atmosphere began as people from all over the world came out to look at the house, vendors showed up to sell hot dogs and trinkets. The Suttons tried to get them to go away, but couldn’t. The police had said they were unable to help.
Although investigators reported that the Suttons did not seek any financial gain or publicity from the event, they did begin to charge a dollar to everyone coming to the house. This led to skeptics believing that they were making this all up for money. Another skeptic speculated that what the Sutton’s had seen was a monkey dressed in silver that had escaped from a nearby carnival. No missing monkey was ever reported. But here are a few other facts…neighbors reported hearing the gunshots that night but thought they were firecrackers. The police didn’t find any evidence of the creatures, nor did they find a craft behind the house in the gully. They did find many bullet holes and shotgun shell casings, indicating that there was shooting going on that night.
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 to repair the damages? Including Billy Ray and Lucky, seven adults were witnesses to these events. All of them, when questioned separately, gave the same story. As the years rolled by, the accounts of the Sutton family stood firm. No evidence of a hoax has ever been brought forward. Fed up with all of the attention, and fearful of the creatures return, the Suttons eventually sold the house and moved. But questions remain to this day. Feel free to leave comments and be sure to hit the “Like” button at the bottom of this post.
