On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we hit you with a crazy recipe—take one part cryptid and one part UFO encounter, bake in the Kentucky summer, and you get the Hopkinsville Goblins. The case of the Hopkinsville Goblins is one of the most important in all of UFOlogy because it establishes the details that a great many UFO cases follow for years after. It is, in fact, the genesis of the term “little green men,” even though the Goblins weren’t thought to be green. So, what exactly happened in Hopkinsville that is still studied to this day?

Back in August of 1955, two families were staying in a small, homemade house in the woods of Kentucky. There were a total of 11 of them (5 adults, 4 children, and 2 carnies) at the house when things went sideways. One member of the house went outside to draw some water from the pump and saw what he called a flying saucer that showed every color in the rainbow. He told everyone this, and they dismissed it as a shooting star. (A highway patrol officer reported similar lights in the sky a few hours later, unbeknownst to each other).

About an hour after, everyone heard noises outside and went to investigate. Since the dog was freaking out, they took their guns and saw the Goblins. They were allegedly about 2 or 3 feet tall with large glowing eyes. They had atrophied legs but buffed upper bodies, and they walked with a strange gait that looked as if they were underwater (and some witnesses said they were floating off the ground). The two men fired at the first Goblin, hit it dead center, and reported a sound like a bullet striking metal. The Goblin fell back and retreated into the woods, and this was the start of a four hour campaign of fear and bullets.

The Goblins started to claw at the roof and pop up into windows and scratch at the door. The families fired over 100 rounds at them and eventually packed it up headed into town to get the police. The cops had heard tell of the fire fight, so they weren’t taking any chances. A total of 16 officers from three police and military unit went to investigate. They confirmed in all 16 of their reports that the house was damaged as if something was trying to get in. The police also heard strange things in the trees and saw the weird lights. Eventually, the cops left, and about 45 minutes later, the Goblins were back to terrorize some more.

The families left for the night, and it all hit the media. The next day, they gave their one and only interview to a local radio host, and they described the creatures. This is an odd case because it predates UFO hysteria, and the witnesses stood nothing to gain. They hated the attention it brought them and after later investigations were conducted, their story turned out to be one of the most consistent in UFO/Cryptid lore. So, what were these Goblins? Were they a great horned owl as many suggested? Was it a circus monkey painted silver (yes, that’s a theory). Were they all tripping balls on some chemical or drug? What connections do these creatures potentially have to the Mothman? Listen, laugh, learn.

 

Visit our Sources:

https://themothman.fandom.com/wiki/Kelly%E2%80%93Hopkinsville_encounter

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Hopkinsville_Goblins

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Kelly%E2%80%93Hopkinsville_encounter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly%E2%80%93Hopkinsville_encounter

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00336/full

http://www.kellyky.com/