Elliot Budd Hopkins (June 15, 1931 – August 21, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter and sculptor, and one of the most influential investigators of alleged alien abduction phenomena. Though primarily known in the art world for his paintings exhibited in major galleries and collections, Hopkins devoted much of his later life to researching and documenting abduction accounts, ultimately interviewing hundreds of claimants.

Hopkins became interested in UFOs in 1964 after witnessing an unidentified object over Cape Cod, Massachusetts. By the late 1970s he had begun collecting and investigating abduction accounts, working with witnesses through interviews and, controversially, hypnotic regression. He worked closely with psychiatrists and psychologists to study his subjects' accounts and physical symptoms.

His first book, Missing Time (1981), drew widespread attention to the phenomenon of "missing time" (unexplained gaps in memory often associated with abduction accounts) and helped establish a research framework for investigating such cases. His subsequent books Intruders: The Incredible Visitations at Copley Woods (1987) and Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions (1996) further developed his research and presented what he considered compelling evidence for physically real abduction events.

Hopkins founded the Intruders Foundation in 1989, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support and research resources to alleged abductees. His work has been both influential and controversial: supporters credit him with creating the first systematic research methodology for abduction reports, while critics argue that his use of hypnosis may have inadvertently created or reinforced false memories.