Fortean Links

Indiana, Ohio River, 14th August, 1955

It began on a warm August day near the town of Dogtown, Indiana. Mrs Darwin Johnson and a group of friends were enjoying a relaxing picnic and a swim in the Ohio River.

Talk amongst the group was of the recent happenings in nearby Dogtown; a number of brightly lit objects had been sighted hovering over the area which had been documented by a number of witnesses. But despite all this talk of mysterious visitors, nothing could spoil this day of sunshine and swimming.

Or so they thought.

Mrs Darwin Johnson took to the water, only to be suddenly grasped by what she would later describe as "furry clawed hands on the end of very strong, very thin, very long, discoloured arms." The creature attempted to drag Mrs Johnson under the surface and succeeded on two occasions, leaving Mrs Johnson with deep wounds. Only when the rest of the party entered the water to attempt a rescue did the creature abate.

The severely shaken party hurriedly left the scene and later told of seeing the very same "shiny objects" in the sky as they fled.

Kentucky, Kelly-Hopkinsville, 21st August, 1955

One week on, and the Levy family are visiting friends the Suttons at their farmhouse home located between the towns of Kelly and Hopkinsville (known locally as Hop Town). The two families numbered eleven in total, seven adults and four children.

At around 7pm, Solomon Levy stepped outside the farmhouse to get some water from the outside pump.

What he saw would stay with him forever.

Solomon burst back into the farmhouse and beckoned everyone outside. He claimed to have seen a flying disc like object hovering over the house, describing it as having "all of the colors of the rainbow" around it's edge.

The gathered families poured scorn on Solomon's claims, assuming he had seen a shooting star. Solomon, however knew he had never seen a shooting star like that before, but decided to keep to himself.

An hour had passed, when the families started to hear strange sounds from outside the house. The family dog started barking uncontrollably and fled to safety beneath the house.

Perturbed by what they saw and heard, Solomon Levy and Elmer Sutton grabbed a rifle each and headed out onto the porch.

Artists Impression Of The Creature

In a nearby patch of trees the men noticed a strange figure moving amongst the undergrowth. What's more, the creature seemed to be moving closer and closer to the house!

As it came closer the men got a better view of the creature. It was between 3-4ft tall, sported a large head and enormous pointed ears. The creature's eyes glowed and its arms ended in sharp talon like appendages. Although it had legs the creature appeared to float just above the ground.

Suddenly the pace of the creature's advance increased, bringing it to within 20ft of Solomon and Elmer. The men panicked and opened fire, Solomon with a shotgun, Elmer with a .22 rifle.

What transpired amazed the men. The bullets and shot seemed to bounce off the creature, producing a sound similar to shots ricocheting off metal.

The creature was startled and curled up into a ball, retreating to the trees once more.

The men sensed that they had injured the creature, and stepped off the porch to find it and finish it off. As they did, a taloned hand grasped down and started clawing at their hair. Turning around they discovered another creature sat on the roof of the porch. They fired at the second creature, resulting in the same metallic sound. The creature fled from the roof, seemingly unharmed.

Elmer Sutton Describes The Encounter

Solomon and Elmer quickly retreated inside the house, hurriedly barricading the door to prevent the onslaught. Suddenly there was more noise from the roof, it sounded as if several of the creatures were trying to break in. Clawing and scratching, pounding their way towards the hapless occupants.

Suddenly, another family member; J.C. Sutton spotted a creature at the window and immediately fired, breaking the window in the process. Other witnesses described the creature as being able to stick to the walls of the building like a spider.

There were several more appearances of the creatures at the farmhouse windows and more shots were fired. Witnesses explained that the creatures moved so fast that it was impossible to ascertain their numbers. The Sutton's and Levy's were under siege!

The siege continued for around three hours, but around 11pm when there seemed to be a lull in the creatures attacks the families decided to abandon the farmhouse and make a break for their vehicles. They were successful and drove directly to the Hopkinsville police station.

The clearly frightened families recounted their tale to Police Chief Russell Greenwell, prompting him to state: "These were not the sort of people who normally ran to the police … something frightened them, something beyond their comprehension." 

Suitably convinced of the veracity of the story, Police Chief Greenwell dispatched no less than twenty armed officers to the farmhouse. Officers discovered a scene of carnage - bullet holes, spent shells and broken windows. They also interviewed residents of nearby farms, many of which described seeing lights in the sky and hearing strange noises.

The police also ascertained that the families (both of which were tee-total) were not under the influence of drink or drugs. at the time of the incident.

But where had the creatures gone? The answer may lie with the testimony of a State Trooper, stationed near Kelly at the time. He reported that around 11pm he witnessed seemingly intelligently controlled "Meteor like objects" flying overhead, coinciding with the time that the Levy and Sutton families fled the farmhouse.

Could this have been the creatures returning home? We may never know.

Further Reading
Alien Legacy by Geraldine Stith.
True Alien Invasion of the Sutton Farm by Blue Deacon Publishing.

Further Viewing
Monsters of the UFO: The Incident At Kelly

VIDEO: The Incident At Kelly