I’m from Springville Alabama, a town about 18 miles east of Trussville, and I grew up with stories about “The Shiny Gorilla” as it was known where I live. I even had the luck of seeing it once! But that is another story. Back before the mass exodus from Birmingham, like 20 years ago. The woods around Springville covered and went into 3 counties with most it uninhabited. There are lots of stories and lots of people who routinely see a white ape looking creature even today! I remember a report in a local news paper about a old lady in Ashville who saw a white ape tearing into her garbage! I grew up hunting, camping and exploring most the woods around that area. Just so everyone does know there are mountain lions, coyote, and even a few small black bears. I believe the hunt clubs brought in the mountain lions and coyote in the 60’s to hunt. But anyway if anyone else has anymore stories about spotting a white ape in alabama I would love to hear about it.

The Kelly-Hopkinsville creatures also reportedly had large elephant like ears and wore tight fitting silver jumpsuits, so very different in appearance. I will concede though that both of the stories share elements of many, many other “night visitor” stories.

Back to the cryptozoological angle. In my opinion although the story, at best, is likely local folklore grown up around some actual encounters with an unidentified animal (felid, hominid, or other), this doesn’t mean that encounters with white descendants of the original “white thing” haven’t helped keep the story alive. In fact it would make sense that, in an isolated population, albinism would occasionally crop up as even distantly related individuals carrying the gene eventually produced offspring. As albinos, these animals would naturally “stand out” more than their darker colored kin, and therefore would be more likely to be seen.

In fact, depending on the isolation of the area and any man made or natural barriers to movement, it could even be a population of some known animals that, in its isolation, occasionally produces some albinistic individuals for the same reasons mentioned above that then inspire these stories.

Interesting though, no matter how you slice it.

But it simply seems to be merely a fable, told and confused over long ago.

White and large, eh? Possibly a large cat, although the albino bear theory is quite more tasteful. Claws strong enough to scrape bark off trees-I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound like Bigfoot.

Yes, that “Albino Bear”theory is indeed a possible answer.

– Strange creatures approach isolated houses in the rural U.S. at night;

– They cause panic amongst humans; who reach for their weapons;

– Dogs also panic and hide;

– The creatures are described as “white” or “silvery”; “a ball” or “oversized head”;

– The creatures approach windows;

– Only one or two creatures seem to be involved: one in Alabama; at the most two are seen simultaneously in Kentucky;

– The creatures do not actually harm humans;

– The creatures emit unusual noises;

– Humans search but are unable to locate the creatures, footprints, paw prints, vehicle tracks, signs of landing of aerial vehicles, droppings, garbage etc.

– There are reports of scratching or talons;

The major difference is that in Alabama large mammals are blamed, while the Kelly-Hopkinsonville incident is generally considered a close encounter with extraterrestials.

One possibility is to think sideways, and seek alternative explanations. For Kelly-Hopkinsville large owls have been suggested, notably by a French commentator, Renaud Leclet, in a paper “What is the real nature of the Kelly-Hopkinsville entities?” (for link, see Wikipedia, Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter). He suggests the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), which grows to 25 inches in height, with a 60 inch wingspan, capable of making a variety of calls or shrieks.

It is also interesting to return to the Alabama stories, thinking of large owls:

“as swift as the wind” - they hunt live prey;

“a loud, heavy panting” - could a child mistake the beating of the wings of a large bird for “panting”?;

“claws strong enough to scrape bark off trees” - owls hungry enough to approach inhabited houses for food would be quite capable of tearing bark off trees to get at bugs or beetles;

“when he stood on his hind legs” - owls stand upright on two legs; Renaud Leclet reports cases of large walking owls which were mistaken for humans.