Beyond the Veil Magazine

The Hopkinsville Goblins Return

Issue #45: September 1982

On the night of August 21, 1955, members of the Sutton family and their friend Billy Ray Taylor experienced something that defied explanation. For several hours, they battled small, glowing creatures that surrounded their isolated farmhouse near Kelly, Kentucky.

They called them “goblins.” The name has stuck.

The Farmhouse

The Sutton family lived in a small farmhouse between Kelly and Hopkinsville in rural Kentucky. There was no telephone, no running water, and the nearest neighbours were distant. The family included Elmer Sutton, his wife Vera, their children, and several other relatives.

On the evening of August 21, Billy Ray Taylor, a friend visiting from Pennsylvania, went outside to draw water from the well. He saw a bright object streak across the sky and descend into a gully beyond the tree line.

Taylor ran inside to report what he had seen. The family initially dismissed his story. Then, approximately an hour later, the creatures appeared.

The Siege

A small figure approached the farmhouse from the fields. It was approximately three to four feet tall, with an oversized head, enormous pointed ears, and large, glowing eyes. Its arms were long, ending in clawed hands. Its body appeared to glow with a silvery or metallic light.

Elmer Sutton and Billy Ray Taylor grabbed their firearms: a shotgun and a .22 rifle. They shot at the creature when it reached the porch.

The creature, struck by the blast, flipped backward and scurried away into the darkness.

But it was not alone. More creatures appeared. They surrounded the house. They peered through windows. They climbed onto the roof. When family members stepped outside, the creatures dropped from above, grabbing at them with clawed hands.

The siege continued for approximately four hours. The men fired repeatedly at the creatures. Each time one was struck, it would tumble away, apparently unhurt, only to return. The bullets seemed to make a metallic sound when hitting the creatures, as though striking metal.

The Flight

Around 11:00 PM, the family could bear no more. They fled in two cars, driving at high speed to the Hopkinsville police station.

The police found the family genuinely terrified. These were not pranksters or attention-seekers; they were rural people who clearly believed they had experienced something real.

Officers returned to the farmhouse and investigated. They found no creatures, but they did find evidence of gunfire: spent shells, bullet holes, and damaged property. The family’s terror was obvious and consistent.

The police left. The creatures returned.

The family spent the rest of the night under siege. By dawn, the creatures had finally departed.

The Investigation

The case attracted immediate attention. Police, journalists, and curious citizens descended on the farmhouse. The family cooperated with investigators but refused all offers of payment for their story.

Air Force personnel from nearby Fort Campbell investigated. They found no evidence of a hoax and no conventional explanation for what the family had experienced.

The witnesses were interviewed separately and repeatedly. Their accounts remained consistent. None recanted.

The Sutton family left the farmhouse shortly after the incident. They never returned.

The Creatures

Witness descriptions were consistent:

Height: Three to four feet. Head: Large and round, with pointed ears resembling those of a bat. Eyes: Enormous, glowing, set wide apart. Arms: Long, reaching nearly to the ground, with clawed hands. Body: Thin, almost emaciated, with a silvery or metallic sheen. Movement: Peculiar floating or gliding motion, particularly when struck by gunfire. Durability: Apparently unharmed by gunfire, though knocked backward by impact.

Theories

Aliens: The creatures match later descriptions of “grey” aliens in some respects, though they differ significantly in others. Were they extraterrestrial beings investigating the farmhouse?

Goblins or Fairies: The creatures resemble traditional descriptions of fairy folk. Were they manifestations of old folklore given physical form?

Owls: Some researchers have suggested the family encountered great horned owls, which have large eyes and can appear threatening at night. But owls do not glow, do not have clawed hands, and do not survive shotgun blasts.

Hoax: The family might have invented the story. But they had no apparent motive, refused payment, and maintained their account under intensive questioning for the rest of their lives.

The Legacy

The Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter became one of the foundational cases of ufology. It introduced many elements that would become standard in later accounts: small humanoid beings, large eyes, apparent invulnerability.

But it also remains an outlier. The creatures were hostile, or at least intrusive. They besieged a farmhouse for hours. They were shot at repeatedly. This was not a peaceful encounter.

Whatever descended on that Kentucky farmhouse in August 1955, it left lasting marks on those who experienced it. The family never recovered from their terror. The case was never solved.

And somewhere, perhaps, the goblins still wait.

Readers with knowledge of the Kelly-Hopkinsville incident or similar encounters are invited to contact our research department.