The 25-Hour Terror

In April 1977, something unearthly appeared in Dover, Massachusetts. Over just 25 hours, multiple credible witnesses encountered a creature so bizarre it defied explanation—then it vanished and was never seen again.

Bill Bartlett’s Encounter

First sighting:

• April 21, 1977
• 10:30 PM
• Driving with friends
• Farm Street
• On stone wall

What Bartlett Saw

The creature:

• Oversized head
• Watermelon shaped
• Glowing orange eyes
• Thin spindly body
• Long fingers gripping wall

John Baxter’s Walk

Hours later:

• Same night
• Walking home
• Miller High Road
• Saw small figure
• Approached

What Baxter Saw

His account:

• Small humanoid
• Large head
• No visible features
• By tree
• Watching him

The Confrontation

What happened:

• Baxter approached
• Creature stood
• He felt fear
• It retreated
• Into woods

Third Night

April 22:

• Abby Brabham
• Will Taintor driving
• Springdale Avenue
• Creature by road
• Green eyes this time

The Sketches

All witnesses:

• Drew independently
• Remarkably similar
• Large oval head
• Thin body
• Long fingers

Loren Coleman’s Investigation

Cryptozoologist:

• Interviewed all witnesses
• Named it “Dover Demon”
• Found them credible
• Documented case
• Published findings

Why Credible

Arguments for authenticity:

• Separate sightings
• Consistent details
• Good reputations
• No profit motive
• Never wavered

Not an Animal

Why it wasn’t:

• Size and proportions
• Head-to-body ratio
• Glowing eyes
• Behavior
• Nothing matches

Alien Connection

Theory:

• Extraterrestrial being
• Brief visit
• Earth survey
• Observed humans
• Departed

The Disappearance

After April 22:

• Never seen again
• Nowhere
• By anyone
• Complete vanishing
• Mystery deepens

Significance

Multiple credible witnesses in 25 hours describing identical impossible creature that has never been explained.

Legacy

The Dover Demon is cryptozoology’s strangest case—a being so alien it couldn’t be from Earth, witnessed by reliable people, and then simply gone.