People who live in the sticks in Kentucky are very familiar with raccoons. Duh.
Although I have replied previously, simply noting that people do make incredible mistakes sometimes, I would like to revisit this.
If considering the possibility, one thing assuredly remains troubling... how in hell would they not have recognised racoons?
Were they a rare sighting in 1955 and before?
The other factor, is that should it indeed have been such an extremely unusual occurrence, it coincidentally happens shortly after our observation of what is perceived to be a spaceship landing
However, if you take away the detail of those creatures apparently being capable of floating, there's not that much difference from raccoons at all, in fact, quite the opposite.
Can we remove our floating element? That seems to be key and we have this puzzle of it never being mentioned in original newspaper reports.
However, that can possibly be rationalised, as the early accounts are relatively brief and seem more focused on the siege and 3-4 battle which unfolded!
There wasn't, of course, any actual malice shown by the creatures, other than that one on the roof taking a swipe at Lucky Sutton's head (that's all it was, according to Isabel Davis), which seems to have morphed into a tale of it attempting to drag Sutton up by his hair.
There clearly seems to have been mass hysteria, resulting in everyone seizing an opportunity to flee the battlefield.
Either way, raccoons, or otherwise, it remains crazy stuff!
We might be able to make some more sense of it.
We just might not though.