The Day a Kentucky Family Was Attacked by “Little Green Men”

Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, there were SO many movies about extraterrestrials, Independence Day, Men in Black, etc. that sent me down many rabbit holes at the library.  I have always thought there is no way we are alone in the vast and neverending realm of the universe. To be honest, life has been so crazy lately that if I were to see an alien walking down the road, I'd probably just smile and wave and go on about my business.

Aliens Visit Kentucky

Almost 70 years ago today, August 21st, 1955, Elmer "Lucky" Sutton in Kelly, Kentucky (Hopkinsville area) and his family had a wild and infamous night. He and his wife, Vera, had some friends and family staying with them.  One of them named Billy Ray, went outside to get water from the well when he looked up and saw a bright light fly across the dark star-speckled sky. A saucer-shaped aircraft seemed to come to rest behind a wooded area. The two men went to investigate and came upon a 3ft glowing creature.

Mars Attacks!

They ran back to the house where the other folks were. That's when they all saw 10-15 more of the little gremlin-looking men they claimed started attacking them. Lucky and Billy Ray grabbed their shotguns, opened fire and after about four hours they were able to clear the area to run to Hopkinsville for help. It was said that the "space men" seemed to have some kind of invisible protective armor that kept them from being in the line of fire.

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Proof of Extraterrestrials?

Police officers and officials from Ft. Campbell came down to collect evidence and try to figure out what happened at the old farmhouse, but all they could find were shotgun shells. NO proof of any kind of spacecraft or extraterrestrial beings.

Word spread far and wide of the events that had happened overnight and folks swarmed from all over to search the land.  Newspaper reporters set up camp to write about the incident and look for clues.

The police chief at the time could never find corroborating evidence, but the matriarch of the family in the farmhouse was an honest woman who the community trusted.  Her account of what happened had the town convinced that the story of the little green men was true. Other members of the family, including the seven children recounted seeing these small glowing creatures and heard them on the roof and windows trying to get into the house.

The community eventually embraced its strange history with the Kelly Little Green Men Days Festival for nine years. Food, music, rides, games, and a costume contest celebrated the anniversary of the "Kelly Incident." You could even camp at the site the UFO supposedly landed. Unfortunately, the organizers moved away and no one has been able to take the torch of planning another one. Maybe one day! That sounds like a unique Kentucky tradition I would love to experience.