Mystery in Kentucky: The Hopkinsville Goblins and Beyond - Part 2: Creatures from the Depths

On the night of August 21, 1955, two families in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, were tormented by creatures believed to have arrived in a cigar-shaped UFO seen earlier in the evening. In mid-2012, paranormal researcher Greg Newkirk received an email from a man calling himself Dr. David Christie. Dr. Christie, who lived in Eastern Kentucky, claimed that his family was also under siege from creatures identical to those reported in 1955, but these goblin-like creatures did not come from the stars; instead, they allegedly lived in the caves and mines that littered the surrounding area.

Greg Newkirk is a paranormal investigator who has been featured in many programs that deal with the subject, as well as producing his own shows and podcast, and is the curator of The Traveling Museum of the Paranormal & Occult. In April 2012, Newkirk received an email from a man calling himself Dr. David Christie. In the email, the frightened Christie, who said he had gotten Newkirk’s contact details through a mutual friend named Terry Wriste, was told that perhaps Newkirk could provide some assistance with the strange occurrences he and his family were experiencing. Christie told of his home, located on the border between West Virginia and Kentucky, being under siege almost nightly by strange, goblin-like creatures. He described them as the size of a small child, with no facial features other than large oily eyes and lipless mouths. The creatures were said to look through his children’s bedroom windows and try to gain access to the house. This was accompanied by some sort of communication, which came in the form of what sounded like chirping. But trying to gain access to the house was not where the encounter ended, as several nights later the family dog disappeared, supposedly taken by the creatures. Christie theorises that the creatures are coming from an old abandoned mine nearby the property.

The terrifying series of events began several months after the Christie family had moved into their new home. Suddenly, on what seemed to be a nightly occurrence, strange noises would be heard outside. On one occasion, Dr. Christie heard noises from his yard and upon going out to investigate, he found that his shed doors, which had been closed earlier in the day, were now mysteriously open, and many of the children’s toys that were kept inside were either strewn around the area or missing, and his yard was a mess, with items either tipped over or destroyed. Whilst the identity of the elusive visitors remained a mystery, one morning during breakfast, his five-year-old daughter began asking questions about the hairless children. Trying to gather more details, his wife asked about these hairless children, to which the daughter replied that she had watched them from her bedroom window the previous night playing in the yard. The daughter went on to describe them in more detail, saying they were bald like grandpa and were completely naked. That same morning a wreath that was hanging on the front door was found damaged and inside the family mailbox, were it seems it had been forcibly put as it was too big to fit normally.

Deciding to take action, Dr. Christie purchased motion-activated floodlights and placed them around the outside of the house, and this seemed to bring an end to the visitations, but this respite was short-lived. Several weeks later, Christie’s daughter informed him the bald kids had returned. One night, he was awakened by his daughter’s screaming. He rushed to her room but found her in the hallway, crying hysterically. When she had calmed down enough to talk, she described how the creatures were again trying to look through her bedroom window, but finding themselves unable due to their short stature, had instead started to tap on the window, which led to the terrified child refusing to sleep in her bedroom.

Every day for the next week, there was some evidence that there had been something in the backyard, and on March 7, 2012, Christie would see firsthand those responsible for the harassment his family had been receiving. Around 1:30 am, the family dog was scratching at the back door, desperate to be let out. Christie, noticing that the motion-activated floodlights were on, opened the curtains and looked out the window to check that the shed door was closed when he saw the shadow of a figure cast across the lawn. Although his current position meant he could not see the source of the shadow, he then heard a noise that seemed to be coming from the back porch and sounded like someone rummaging through a box that had been left out. Feeling rising anger at the fact that these trespassers were brazenly encroaching on his home, he banged loudly on the window in an effort to scare them off. The sound of the screen door being opened and then slammed was followed by a chirping sound, likened to that of a skunk but more guttural. It was then that Christie became aware that there was more than one trespasser in the yard, as a second shadow joined the first and seemed to communicate using the chirps heard earlier.

It was then that he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and in a flower bed just below the window was a small humanoid with silky skin. It seemed to be looking intently towards the source of the two shadows and had not yet noticed it was being observed from the window. The face was devoid of any features, with only a slit for a mouth and dark, oily eyes, similar in shape and color to those of birds. The creature chirped, communicating with the two other intruders, but its lips didn’t move, indicating that the sound originated from within its throat and not through its mouth. Frozen to the spot in fear, Christie watched as the creature joined its two companions before scrambling into the woods at the edge of the property.

Whilst this tale itself is both strange and terrifying, things would get stranger with the receipt of the second email. Whilst the first email contained the story, the second contained a photo of what looked like a three-toed footprint, actual physical proof. Almost three months later, a third email was received. The family had fled, but Dr. Christie was returning to the property one final time to gather the family’s belongings before leaving for good, but he promised he would get more proof to validate his tale. The next email also contained images of a footprint, clearly from a different location, but this time with a yardstick next to it. They were 3 to 4 inches in length and again only seemed to have three toes and no heel. Also included were several very dark photos taken from the back porch that allegedly show the creatures. Whilst most of the pictures don’t seem to show anything out of the ordinary, mainly because of the poor quality and darkness, one does seem to show a figure that looks very similar to the popular images of grey aliens. Another seems to show a strange-looking figure with a large bald head and a glow, leaning around a tree. Photographic proof does seem to make this story more credible, but this was the last communication from Christie, and even though Newkirk made several attempts to reestablish contact, no further messages were received.

As you can see, this tale has many similarities to the 1955 encounter: a household being terrorised by strange-looking creatures, the location (both in Kentucky), and the description of the visitors (small with large black eyes, pale skin, glowing, and communicating with chirp-like sounds). However, there are also some differences. While the Hopkinsville creatures were thought to have arrived in a UFO sighted earlier, no such object was seen in the 2012 encounter, leading witnesses to assume the creatures inhabited the nearby caves.

The number of witnesses also differs. The 1955 encounter was observed by over ten people, whereas the 2012 encounter only involved two family members. Additionally, the 1955 encounter had the testimony of police officers, who attested to the witnesses’ state of fear when they arrived at the police station and noted signs that shots had been fired, corroborating the witnesses’ claims. In contrast, the 2012 encounter had what was claimed to be photographic evidence, something missing from the Hopkinsville incident.

So what do we make of this strange new encounter with unknown creatures? Many people believe the 1955 Hopkinsville Goblins encounter truly occurred, but they are equally divided on the identity of the goblins themselves. Were they misidentified owls, or did they arrive earlier that evening in the strange craft seen by Billy Ray Taylor? The 2012 Hellier case is proving harder to authenticate.

Let’s start with the witness himself, Dr. David Christie. It seems that Dr. David Christie does not exist. In his first email, he requested anonymity, so it is feasible that he was using a pseudonym, but no one in the local area remembers a doctor arriving and then leaving a short time later without warning. In fact, no one remembers anyone arriving and then leaving abruptly a short time later. Given that Hellier is a very small town, a new arrival would have been noticed, and their disappearance even more so.

The location of the house itself is not given specifically, but several features are mentioned: a back porch, shed, isolated location, and proximity to an abandoned mine/caves. There are several houses that fit the description in the area, some even appearing to have been abandoned at short notice. Tales of strange creatures are not exclusive to this story; the area has a history of alleged encounters with strange beings.

While we can’t definitively prove the events of the 2012 Hellier case, the similarities to the 1955 Hopkinsville encounter and the area’s lore keep the mystery alive. As with many paranormal stories, the mere possibility that these events could be true is enough to leave a lasting legacy.