Welcome to our first season finale of The Legend Queens!
First off, thank you for all the love and support we’ve gotten over this first season of content. It’s been fun diving back into a topic that the two of us had looked into years ago, and to finally be able to share that story with others has been a treat as well as a fun revision.
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This week, Amber will be giving you more details on the Hopkinsville Goblins story we referenced back in Chapter One (and if you haven’t read Chapter 2 or Chapter 3, we recommend reading those before continuing). Afterwards, Austin will wrap up our take on the Hellier story while also providing some insights and conclusions where to continue the story if you’re interested in diving deeper into the madness happening.
Please hit like, share our article, and drop a comment to let us know how you enjoyed the season! These kinds of interactions with our material helps us reach more viewers and get more people involved in these spooky conversations.
With that… shall we begin?
What Happened With the Hopkinsville Goblins?
Written by: Amber Brevig
Because little green men don’t really live in the Mammoth Cave system… do they?
Goblins Appeared Where?
As the legend goes, on August 21, 1955 in Kelly, Kentucky, a local household filled with the Suttons and a few of their neighborhood friends (accounts vary on how many people were involved that night - History.com says there were three children and eight adults, but the Kelly, KY website states there were seven children and five adults) allegedly encountered about a dozen small, human-like creatures after seeing a flying saucer fly overhead and land in a nearby field.
The household described the creatures as “glowing, three feet tall silver beings”, and the Suttons claimed that these extra terrestrials terrorized the property for a prolonged period throughout the night and into the next day.
Their first contact with the creatures, lasting from early on in the evening until about 11:00pm, left the family with palpable trauma. At around 7pm, a visiting neighbor witnessed a flying saucer glide over the Sutton property, trailing an exhaust of rainbow colored fumes (very much so giving nyan cat vibes). When he returned to the house to tell the others, they laughed off his alleged encounter.
About an hour later, however, the family dog started to continuously bark outside, and upon investigating, the Suttons discovered a little silver being walking towards the house with its hands up. In true American fashion, the Suttons immediately reached for their shotgun and fired at the creature, causing it to scurry off. After retreating back into the house, the Suttons shot at another creature they saw peering into the home through a screened window. The encounter escalated even further when a member of the household went outside and was swiped at from a creature perched on the roof.
At around 11pm, the family finally booked it to their car and managed to escape to the Hopkinsville police station.
Although the goblins had been shot, when police arrived with backup to the scene later on that night, the only traces left of the encounter were the bullet holes in the sides of the house and bullet casings on the ground.
However, after the police left, the Sutton home continued to be terrorized by three goblins who returned to the home and stayed on the property until dawn the following morning.
You can imagine how much action small town Kentucky gets, especially in the middle of the 1950s, so it wasn’t long until this story had gotten out to the rest of Hopkinsville and the media, who flooded the property and highlighted the story to the rest of the nation.
Coral and Jim Lorenzen from the Aerial Phenomenon Research Organization (APRO, and now known as MUFON - Mutual UFO Network) later investigated the credibility of the witnesses and determined that they *were* credible and had seen something otherworldly that late summer night (however, I personally take this information with a grain of salt given the Lorenzen’s lives centered around UFOs and discovering / proving alien life). Police also noted that there was no drinking involved at the Sutton house the night of the incident.
Kentucky Goblins Today
Since the 1955 event, Kelly and Hopkinsville have ran with the goblin story and have now celebrated over 60 years of Little Green Men days, a free festival celebrating that first encounter with the three feet tall extraterrestrials. The cities will even go so far as to recreate the flying saucer that allegedly landed on the Sutton property that August night.
Now I know what some of you might be thinking - “Why is the festival called Little Green Men if the creatures were silver?” and that’s a GREAT question I can’t find a single answer to. My best guess is that “little green men” was already a term used to reference alien life (as depicted in earlier works of science fiction) and, so as to not confuse anyone not knowing the Kelly, Kentucky story and to gain more traction for the festival, they stuck with the already widely accepted little green men description. But that’s all my own speculation, and what do I know, really?
Other depictions of the goblins in today’s media include a fun little musical titled “It Came From Kentucky” - here’s the synopsis from Annoyance Theatre if you were curious:
"It Came from Kentucky" is an original musical inspired by actual events set in 1955 Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Billie Ray Taylor is visiting her Aunt and Uncle Sutton on break from college. But she's not the only visitor. When Billie Ray and her cousin, Kaci Lynn, spot a UFO the question becomes, "Where did these strange visitors come from, and what do they want?"
Reviews claim it’s a musical comedy - to me it’s giving a “Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me” vibe, but if you ever attend the show PLEASE send us a message or drop a comment and let us know how it was!
Last, but certainly not least, the Kelly Goblins have also made their way into many of our childhoods. First depicted in Generation III, the Pokémon cave-dweller Sableye was created based on the 1955 story (and for all of you fellow nerds, its shiny is green, so that silver glow in the Sutton account is only found in the Hopkinsville police sketches and Sutton statements).
Have the Goblins Been Seen Since 1955?
You may recall from Austin’s article “Hellier: Part 1” in Chapter One that the goblin story was what kickstarted Hellier - David Christie sent the Newkirks evidence of three-pronged footprints in the mud near his house along with a detailed account of his experience with these small, gray creatures he believed were coming out of the mine on his property.
When the Newkirks visited Hellier, Kentucky (where Christie claims to have lived), locals were able to give them several stories about the strange happening throughout the town (especially as it pertained to the mines), and a small child drew a three-pronged foot for them without having first been told about the goblins.
Although the Newkirks never heard from Christie again and were unable to find his property, their search for evidence of the goblins in the Mammoth Cave System continues throughout the Hellier series.
So no, at this time we can’t definitively say “Yes, three foot tall silver goblin creatures live in the caves”… but we also don’t have any evidence on the contrary.
If you’ve heard of any local folklore or have any spooky tales or strange encounters of your own (or know anyone who would be willing to share), please drop a comment below! We’d love to hear from you and talk to you about your story for an upcoming special project we’re working on!
Hellier: Part 4
Written by: Austin Charles Bolkcom
The gang is still reeling from having just discovered a tin can in the entrance of the cave they were coming to, the same tin can that Connor had seen in his mind during his Estes Method session. Connor stating that it felt like something had intentionally led them to this point and wanted them to be there. He didn’t know if that was a good thing for them or a bad thing but nonetheless they were supposed to be at this cave. The synchronicities happening since they’ve arrived to town were all pointing to having an interaction or for them to experience the phenomena in a way they haven’t yet.
The crew getting comfortable with where they wanted to park for the night, they started to get their gear out and set up for them to conduct several experiments while they were in the tunnel. The first experiment they show us is Greg being set up to do a Ganzfeld Experiment. A type of sensory deprivation that allows the user to tap into innate psychic abilities to use a form of remote viewing, allowing Greg’s subconsciousness to travel somewhere else from where the Hellier crew currently was to get more information based on the questions he was being asked. This method of experiencing paranormal activity seemed to be very similar to the Estes Method but instead of relying on a “Spirit Box” to give you any information, the receiver just describes what they are seeing/experiencing to those around them.
Before getting into the Ganzfeld Experiment, Greg sets another Intention Setting Ritual in the tunnel to send out a communication around them that they were there to experience whatever was present with them in Hellier. Telling the group to think of the word “contact” and send it around them.
Getting set up to be a receiver, Greg has ping pong balls that are taped to his eyes meanwhile a red light is facing him. Along with removing his sense of hearing with audio, Greg has to rely on the: images, emotions, sounds, and sensations happening to him. Not only this but he also has to be able to accurately detail and explain what is happening to him while he is under. A lot to ask of someone while they have to keep their temperament and not give into their nerves.
The visions and sounds are never quite that clear but this session the minute I put those headphones on, I was hearing things automatically
—Greg Newkirk
At first, similar again to Connors session, it seems that Greg is “flipping through channels.” Not quite lining up with where they are in space, time, or what the group is asking but rather just a chain of odd events before everything starts to line up with the moment, the present. Eventually he seemed to attune to the group and their line of questioning
During these channel flips, Greg explains hearing like he is at a football game. Seeing a crowd of people cheering. During this part the group hears a distinct honk of a car horn, which isn’t possible given their location. They had to hike a ways to even get to this point and knew a vehicle wouldn’t be in this area. Almost as if the tunnel was mimicking a car horn at the football game that Greg was experiencing.
What are you?
Karl Pfeiffer asks
When Karl asks this, Greg seems to be taken on a journey. All of a sudden he is seeing himself moving through a series of tunnels. With every tunnel he notes falling deeper into the trance like state.
Guys….
-A whisper from the cave
I’m sure a cold chill ran down Karl, Dana, and Connor’s spines as they turned their heads to where the three had heard a voice whisper just a moment ago in the tunnel. Looking back and forth at each other for confirmation without speaking, they all realized that they had heard the same thing and weren’t just making it up in their mind. Shinning their light down the tunnel and calling out, they couldn’t see anything and didn’t hear anything move. But the shock on all their faces is enough to say that they believed that they just heard someone call out to them.
After the instance with the whisper, the three gathered themselves to turn their attention back to Greg. Still deep in his trance like state and not having any knowledge of what had just happened to the group.
Can you show him what you look like? Please?
Connor Randall asks.
Greg talks through an experience of looking up into the night sky. He seems to get irritated speaking about how cold he’s getting and feeling like his body is vibrating. He is taken back to the night sky and sees a ring of trees as if he is in the forest.
I’m seeing a face. Blue eyes… Oh I don’t like that.
Greg Newkirk states.
All of a sudden the noise being plugged into Greg’s ears, to remove his sense of hearing, stopped and the sensations of cold vibrations stopped happening in his body. The machine he was using to cancel out noise started buffering, something that’s never happened before during his usage of the Ganzfeld Experiment. Newkirk seems really agitated and states how scary of an experience that was, feeling a presence with him in the trance. He is convinced what he saw was a variation of the Grey Alien. Dana starts to build further on this theory. What Greg experienced is very typical of what people experience when they are going through an abduction scenario, a close encounter of the fourth kind. Especially because he felt like he was going to be taken by something. Before anything could happen though, the noise canceling started to buffer and he was taken out of his trance state.
A short break after the Ganzfeld Experiment and the crew seems ready to dive back into more work while they have the time in the cave. They figured that it worked so well the other night that why not do another Estes Method session since they were now in the earth. Connor again being the receiver for the information to flow out of for the group to record and document. He seemed a bit wary at first, having a big experience last time he did but eventually he took the hot seat.
Unlike their first session, this session seems to prove less fruitful. A lot of the audio coming from the box the being repeated through Connor seemed pretty random and inconsistent. The complete narration of events that had happened the other night didn’t seem to be as on target. During this session, everyone in the group notes how at peace they feel. Getting a sense that they came to experience what they were going to experience. Even if it isn’t what they came for, they still experienced something in the tunnel.
Not sure they were going to find anything more than what they came for, feeling as if whatever is here is asleep and isn’t awake. Leading them off into different directions of where this journey is taking them, leaving them with more questions than they had answers. Feeling confused and a little bit left astray, they decide to call up an old friend and mentor to help ground them and what they’ve experienced during their time in Hellier.
John Tenney was a mentor, guide, and friend to the Newkirks. A very seasoned paranormal investigator and someone they can call when they need to brainstorm about theories, ideas, and experiences. Calling up Tenney in the middle of the night, he helps bring everything into prospective for the group. A lot of paranormal investigators have spent their lives looking into one thing, only to be lead somewhere else. A weird force in the universe constantly leading them astray from the object they were trying to focus on. Making the fuzzy picture they were looking at even fuzzier. Tenney helps bring into focus that all these events, related or not, are there to bring them not a conclusion of one event or story but to reinforce the fact that the strange and paranormal do happen. The answer isn’t the goal, the goal is the journey and what they learn along the way. Having to get “closure” is something to do with the ego and not everything has to have an explanation or reasoning.
Starting the journey with a story and bout of troublesome goblins and then the story going in a completely unfounded direction was not only jarring to watch but I’m sure one to experience as the Hellier crew. Regardless of them not seeing any goblins or small people, they still had a bout of experiences and collection of interviews with locals that all proved to them that something IS happening in this town. Just what is happening is still the mystery, but not necessarily one they have to solve.
Hellier doesn’t just stop there but there is a lot more to the story that Amber and I couldn’t include due to sheer length of the story but also some of the implications the path will take you on. This has been a great story to explore with you all as it sets up a lot of building blocks into bringing you into the paranormal world. If you want to experience the full length of the Hellier story, you can head over to Hellier.tv to watch it in its entirety.
Until next time…. See you for season 2 of The Legend Queens!