The Dover Demon Encounters

On the nights of April 21-22, 1977, four teenagers in the affluent Boston suburb of Dover, Massachusetts independently encountered a bizarre creature unlike anything in cryptid lore. The “Dover Demon” was seen on three separate occasions by credible witnesses who had no connection to each other.

First Sighting - April 21, 10:30 PM

Seventeen-year-old Bill Bartlett was driving with two friends along Farm Street when his headlights illuminated something unusual by a stone wall. Bartlett observed a creature:

• Approximately 3-4 feet tall
• Large, watermelon-shaped head
• Orange glowing eyes
• Thin, spindly body and limbs
• Apparently hairless with rough, beige skin
• Long fingers gripping the stones of the wall

Bartlett drove past in shock. His passengers didn’t see the creature clearly. Deeply disturbed, he created a sketch that night.

Second Sighting - April 21, Midnight

Two hours later, fifteen-year-old John Baxter was walking home from his girlfriend’s house on Miller Hill Road when he encountered a small figure approaching him.

Thinking it was a friend, Baxter called out. The figure stopped, then moved off the road and down a shallow gully. Baxter followed and found himself face-to-face with the creature:

• Standing about 25 feet away
• Thin body wrapped around a tree
• Large head silhouetted against the sky
• Long fingers gripping the tree trunk

Terrified, Baxter fled. He later created a sketch matching Bartlett’s description—though the two hadn’t spoken.

Third Sighting - April 22, Midnight

The following night, eighteen-year-old Will Taintor was driving with fifteen-year-old Abby Brabham on Springdale Avenue when Brabham spotted something in the headlights.

She described:

• A hairless creature crouched on all fours
• Large head
• Glowing eyes (she reported them as green, not orange)

Taintor saw only a glimpse but confirmed an unusual figure.

Investigation

Cryptid investigator Loren Coleman interviewed all witnesses and found:

• Consistent descriptions from unconnected witnesses
• Genuine fright evident in all accounts
• No apparent motive for hoaxing
• Skilled sketches created independently

The witnesses were considered reliable—good students from respected families with nothing to gain from fabrication.

The Creature

Composite descriptions yielded:

• Height: 3-4 feet
• Head: Disproportionately large, watermelon-shaped
• Eyes: Large, glowing (orange or green)
• Body: Thin, spindly, almost emaciated
• Skin: Hairless, rough, beige or tan colored
• Hands: Long, thin fingers

The description doesn’t match any known animal or typical cryptid type.

Theories

Alien Being: The creature’s unusual appearance led some to suggest an extraterrestrial connection, though no UFO activity was reported.

Unknown Species: Some proposed an unknown animal, possibly subterranean or aquatic.

Hoax: Skeptics suggested a prank, but the independent sightings and witness credibility argue against this.

Misidentification: A deformed animal or moose calf were proposed but don’t match the detailed descriptions.

The Name

Loren Coleman coined the term “Dover Demon” to describe the creature. The witnesses themselves didn’t name it—they simply described what they saw.

No Repeat Appearances

Unlike many cryptid cases, the Dover Demon has never been reliably reported since April 1977. The brief window of sightings and complete absence of subsequent encounters make the case unusual.

Legacy

The Dover Demon remains one of the strangest American cryptid cases:

• Brief, concentrated sightings
• Multiple independent witnesses
• Detailed, consistent descriptions
• Creature unlike any known animal or typical cryptid
• No subsequent sightings

Whatever the witnesses saw on those two April nights in 1977, the Dover Demon remains unexplained—a creature that appeared, terrified four young people, and vanished forever.