This article was published in the daily newspaper Kentucky New Era, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, USA, on December 6, 2002.
By MICHELE CARLTON
An independent production company in Glendale, Calif., plans a trip to Hopkinsville this month to research the 1955 invasion of "little green men" in the community of Kelly for a documentary.
Barcon Productions will be filming eyewitness accounts for a film entitled "Monsters of the UFO" to be released next summer.
"We interview witnesses and what they saw and then base our film on their accounts," said documentary producer Lisa McIntosh in a telephone interview from Glendale Thursday afternoon. "We'll try to recreate exactly what they saw."
The local legend took root when residents of the small town reported the landing of a spaceship near the home of Cecil "Lucky" Sutton home on the Old Madisonville Road at the edge of Kelly on Aug. 21, 1955. Sutton and other family members said 12 little men landed in a spaceship and then battled them at the house for hours.
Although the invaders are now known as the "little green men of Kelly," the original stories did not paint them green. Sutton and others actually said the creatures were silver.
Most of the Sutton family members who said they fought the aliens off with shotguns are deceased. However, McIntosh said former State Trooper Russell Ferguson, who investigated the Suttons' reports, has agreed to be interviewed on camera about the event.
"We are still looking for others," McIntosh said.
McIntosh and Barcon Productions owner Barry Conrad plan a trip to Kentucky as soon as they secure more interviews with witnesses to the Kelly event who are willing to speak on camera.
"We were both familiar with the Kelly story. When we decided to do this project, it was one of the stories we were just dying to work on," McIntosh said. "We were completely taken by it. It's truly an amazing story."
The documentary will focus on three stories involving close encounters with unexplained phenomenon. In addition to the Kelly green men, the documentary will explore firsthand accounts of the Mothman legend in Point Pleasant, W.Va., and the Flatwoods Monster in Flatwoods, W.Va. McIntosh said filming in the West Virginia locations is complete.
Barcon Productions specializes in producing documentaries on the paranormal. The company has produced shows featuring psychic talk show host James Van Praagh and "California's Most Haunted," a documentary on haunted houses in the Golden State.
McIntosh said "Monsters of the UFO" may air on cable television next summer. The SciFi and Discovery channels are possible markets for the documentary, she said. Michele Carlton can be reached by telephone at 8873235 or by email at mcarlton@kentuckynewera.com.
My dossier on the Kelly-Hopkinsville case is here.
