One evening in August of 1955, a family of 5 adults and 7 children burst into the Hopkinsville Police Department claiming small alien creatures had been attacking their farmhouse. Elmer Sutton and Billy Ray Taylor held them off with gunfire for nearly 4 hours, as the creatures repeatedly popped up in windows and doorways. 4 city police officers, 5 state troopers, 3 deputy sheriffs, and 4 military officers from nearby Fort Campbell arrived on site, but found no evidence apart from property damage from a gun battle. Afterwards, the family claimed the creatures returned about 3:30am and packed up, leaving the property.
The Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter is one of the most significant and well documented cases in the history of UFO events. Press coverage was nationwide and spread to international news outlets, and became the inspiration for several television shows and movies, including Spielberg's E.T. Every year in August, Hopkinsville hosts the āHopkinsville Goblin Festivalā - also known as āThe Little Green Men Days.ā
Explanations at the time ranged from escaped circus monkeys to the most likely - a family of great horned owls, which are known to be territorial and aggressive. (Quite possibly, coupled with an excess of moonshine.)
Dimensions: 8" x 15" framed
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